The upper surface of the face being attended to, turn it upside down on a folded bag or something in the nature of a cushion while we lace it across the form with a stout thread and needle. If a hollow paper form is used it should be filled with crumpled paper, excelsior, coarse tow or similar material. Do not use fur scraps for this as I have seen done or it will be a moth nest.
The whole inside of the skin may now be poisoned after slightly dampening, and then tacked out fur side up in the proper shape to dry. In order to make an animal skin lay flat to the floor it is necessary in most cases to cut out several V-shaped pieces. Behind the fore legs almost always and often in front of them, also and frequently in front of the hind legs are the places where these gores are removed. Consisting as they do of the thinly haired skin inside the legs their absence is not noticeable when neatly sewed up.
Take care in this final stretching of the rug skin to get it alike on both sides, or, as the artists say, bilaterally symmetrical. When tacked out, go back to the face and perfect it so it may dry just right. With a fine awl point draw the upper eyelids down a little, straighten the eye brows, lashes and whiskers, and mould the nostrils into shape, bracing them with damp clay; when dry it is easily removed. Now set it aside until fully dry before proceeding with the trimming and lining. One and a half or two inch wire brads are good to use in stretching skins, but 3d wire lath nails will do; the longer brads are more easily handled.
After removing the nails turn the skin on its back and draw a line from neck to tail with pencil or chalk. By measuring from points on this line we can trim off the legs and flanks of the rug evenly. If it is a small or medium size skin it will look best with an all felt lining. So by laying it flat on a piece of felt somewhat larger all round and marking around it at a distance of 3 inches we can cut out the lining. The edge of this is to be pinked. One end of our chopping block, usually of sycamore or oak, is kept for this function, and a few minutes work with pinking iron and hammer will border the lining with neat scallops.
A sufficient length of felt strips about 2 inches wide, should be cut to reach around the outside of the skin, also pinked on one edge. Allow generously for this as it will have to be gathered in rounding the feet and head. In the case of animals having a bushy tail or brush as the fox, wolf, etc., the tail is merely sewed up on the under side after poisoning and not lined or trimmed. Pumas, tigers and others with short furred tails are trimmed and lined like the rest of the rug. In lining large rugs a double trimming of felt is often used and a lining of strong canvas is used throughout, as when on the floor it is not visible, protects the skin as well, and costs somewhat less.
The trimming felt is sewed around the edge of the skin, passing the needle through from the back obliquely, resulting in a long stitch on the felt and a short one on the fur side. What few hairs are drawn down by this can be picked out later with a needle or awl.
Before sewing the lining on an interlining of cotton wadding should be cut out and basted in place with a few long stitches. Now place the skin fur side up, on the lining and adjust it so an equal margin shows on all sides and pin it in several places to prevent its slipping while sewing it fast. To do this turn it felt uppermost and sew around just at the edge of the skin, in the trimming felt, reversing the stitch previously used. This hides the short stitch outside and if drawn up evenly will hardly be noticed if a color of thread has been selected corresponding somewhat to that of the felt.