DEER SKIN TANNING & LEATHER CLOTHING - Only 6 spots left!

Before the advent of modern tanning agents, humans were turning raw skin into usable leather products using fundamental techniques and materials. Learn to produce incredibly soft, strong, and durable leather from raw animal skin using one of humankind’s earliest tanning technologies!

Utilizing materials readily available in the surrounding environment, we will walk through the steps of this transformation. Learn the progression of this process from raw skin to beautiful, usable, finished leather! 

The first three days of this 7-day intensive course will focus on tanning Deer Skin with variations of fat tanning using lecithin as the dressing agent. Whilst not for the squeamish, the end product is worth the work!

The class will cover desalinating preserved skins, de-fleshing, de-hairing, de-graining, and softening the skins, as well as smoking them so they can be easily washed.

In addition to enthusiastic instruction, I provide comfortable, easy-to-use tools and detailed handouts that cover the tanning and sewing processes, as well as ethnographic anecdotes and a list of helpful literature for those who wish to further their knowledge of tanning. So, please join me for a course sure to contain plenty of memorable moments, lots of practical information, and, if you put in the work**, one that will see you heading home with a beautiful, unique, and usable traditionally tanned skin!

Ready to transform a deerskin into incredibly soft leather?

* Using brains or egg yolks as alternative traditional dressing agents will be covered.

** Please be aware that a reasonable amount of fitness is required for this course. I will provide instruction on good technique and timing with the skins, but you will need to be on your feet and active for 6 to 8 hours per day. 

Prerequisites: None

Please Note:

1) The last 4 days of this course are designed to teach you how to pattern and tailor bespoke/custom leather clothing of your own design! 

This course will cover everything you need to know to start patterning and creating your well-fitted leather garments!

2) The course will begin with an overview of the possibilities when tailoring and designing leather clothing. You will have the opportunity to view a large collection of sample garments for inspiration. We will discuss the options and uses for different types of leather for various types of clothing and utilitarian items. 

3) You will learn a variety of stitches used for sewing fat-tanned leather, as well as which stitch is best used for which type of seam or part of the garment. Each person will create a stitch card to practice the different stitches and sewing with leather lace.

4) Of course, the most important step for making well-fitted clothing is good tailoring! This course will help you overcome the difficulties typical of your first time sewing with leather. We promise you will leave the course with a garment that fits! 

5) It is often difficult to visualize a 2-dimensional pattern fitting a 3-dimensional body. Theresa will walk you through this process so that you create a pattern unique to you!  

6) After patterning, how to lay the pattern out on the leather will be covered. This is important to do well so the garment stays the same shape throughout washing and wearing.

7) You will work with lovely soft, fat, tanned skins, which, while commercially produced, are the closest equivalent to hand-tanned brain-tan/buckskin. 

The sewing will be done with either leather lace and/or artificial sinew.

8) The course aim is to have everyone's garment as finished as possible by the end of the course.  How far you progress on your item will greatly depend on what you choose to sew, how complicated the stitching you choose is, and how fast you sew.

9) Most participants do not finish a complete garment in the 4 days. However, by the end of this course, you will have the skills and confidence to complete the garment on your own, as well as produce future functional works of art!

10) Any serious injuries must be discussed with me before booking the course.

The Leather:  (Price of leather is €22.00 per skin)

*The price of the leather is NOT included in the course price due to the variation in the number of skins needed for different garment types and sizes. We ask for your choice of garment in advance, as well as your basic measurements.

* Due to the time frame of the course and the complexity of some clothing, we limit the kind of garments you can choose from.

*The leather we buy is commercially tanned grain-off fat tanned sheep skin. 

*You can, of course, bring and use your own leather if this is grain-off fat tanned leather (buckskin/brain tan). 

*We ask you to bring your own fastenings (buttons and alike) as those are a personal taste.

The options for the type of clothing you can make are:

• Skirt

• Shorts

• Tank top/Vest top

• Short-Sleeved T-Shirt

To give you an idea of the skins needed for each garment type:

• 2-3 for a sleeveless top

• 4-5 for a short-sleeved shirt

• 2-4 for shorts

• 2-3 for a skirt (depending on length)

Additional Information:

Duration: 7 days (Friday 10:00 am - Sunday ± 4:00 pm)

Venue: Wild Beings. The property is a beautiful, remote bush block on a ridge top with amazing sunset views. There's a diverse array of wildlife, a swimming dam & plenty of flat space amidst the trees to set up a tent or a camper van.

There is no phone reception unless you’re with Optus. The driveway is a dirt road, but 2WD can make it unless they are really low to the ground. There is a trading post down the road where you can buy a coffee & cafe snacks. The suburb is called Laguna, located 20 minutes from the historic town of Wollombi.

Explore the local trails, take in the fresh mountain air, and immerse yourself in the beauty of this remarkable region. I look forward to welcoming you to Wollombi this October for an unforgettable experience!

Catering: This course is self-catered.

Included: All course materials (except leather skins), coffee/tea.

Not included: Off-site Accommodation and food.

A bit about me:

I'm an avid practitioner of traditional living skills and primitive technology of all kinds. My interest came in part from growing up in the Rocky Mountains in the USA, where backpacking, hunting, and fishing are deeply rooted in the culture. This passion led me to the academic field of Experimental Archaeology, where I earned a PhD from the University of Exeter in the UK.

My work has been featured in both documentaries and popular TV shows, including Alone Season 8 and Surviving the Stone Age. I've been tanning skins using traditional methods for over 30 years. Learning to tan was a natural offshoot of my desire to use as much of an animal as possible, and it had the added bonus of producing a beautiful end product.

In my instruction, I share a wide range of information—from the intricate details of skin morphology to helpful tips for dealing with the numerous and frustrating problems that are often encountered when you're first learning to tan.