How many hides to make a hunting frock

[Dan'l Hickham]

I now have 5 hides ranging from 8 sq ft to about 12 or 13 sq ft. And I am wondering will this be enough to make a frock for a guy my size

I wear a 46 in a suit coat

[Chuck Burrows]

Should be plenty - probably more than enough.
I also re-prestretch before cutting to get us much stretch out of the hide first.

[Dan'l Hickham]

Thanks Chuck

Hey is plugging the holes HC for this type of garment (some have thin spots that opened up in stretching and I figured I could trip a piece to fit the holes and sew them in and then flatten the repairs on my staking pole?

Keith

[Chuck Burrows]

They are most defiinitely PC - I use the so-called baseball stitch to do repairs since it leaves a flatter seam and yep it's PC too.

[Rod]

Just cut a small plug out the size of the hole and stitch it in, keep your stitches to the inside for a neat job.

Like Chuck said, the number of hides you have should be plenty. I think I used 4 mule deer on mine---one for the front, one for the back, one for the sleeves (sleeves are two-piece, seamed front and rear on mine), and one larger hide for the skirt. You'll still have plenty of scrap pieces left over, it just that you have to go with an entire hide to get the bigger pieces cut. Also, kind of like fabric, I found it helps to lay out the pattern so like pieces lay in the same direction (don't cut one sleeve half crossways on the hide and the other half lengthwise and then sew them together--lay them out so they are both crossways or both lengthwise, otherwise, they'll stretch differently). I was able to get the entire skirt out of one hide because I made the skirt on mine shorter than alot of guys make them---mid-thigh at most. Seems like I see alot of them knee length or better, which I thought would kind of get in the way. I also have it split up the back to where it joins the body.

Rod