Burda Style For people who sew

I’ve come into about 40 vintage leather coats, and about 20 of those are fur trimmed. They’re wrinkled and smell musty, and the conditions range from ripped to pretty good.
The fur trim on the coats includes mink, fox, and raccoon.
I’m thinking that I can make more money on them by repurposing them, and since I got them for practically free (work I did last year, finally collected on this trade)… I was thinking of making a fur trimmed leather bikini (using the Jessica #8038 A pattern which looks easy enough)…

I have the basic Singer 1507… can I sew suede leather with it? I’ve not sewn in about 10 years, though as a teenager I used to be pretty good.

Are there any basic fur and leather sewing tips, recommended patterns, projects, etc?
Thanks!

Jun 27, 2013, 03.59 PM by Jessica Murray

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  Jun 30, 2013, 05.08 AMby RJMCreations

  You can deconstruct them and with leather you can use vodka (cheap stuff) or regular rubbing alcohol, spritz the sueded side and let dry. This should remove all odor. I have used old leather coats (goodwill.com is a great source) to deconstruct and make handbags. With old fur you have to be very careful because it can fall out if not treated well. You may have to go to a professional to get clean and fresh. Fur is a great trim for any project and usually has a heavy leather under to stabilize that can be hand stitched onto things; or you can part the hair and run a machine stitch. I would suggest you practice with some of the lower quality ends to figure out what works for you. A kiss-lock clutch always looks classy and can take a lot of embellishment and still be fun for day or night.
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  Jun 30, 2013, 01.49 PMby sophvack

  To remove the musty smell place the garments in a plastic bag with a good amount of cloves. Seal and leavve for a month. The cloves are potent enough to remove the smell, and leave a pleasant aroma that offsets the must.