I shoot a lot of cottontail rabbits every year while bird hunting, and have looked into tanning the hides to have something made. A well known fur handling company that I contacted, told me that rabbit pelts are very thin and prone to both tearing and the fur coming out (sheding). I'm no expert, but would hate to spend the time only to have something that isn't very durable and ends up self-destructing. I guess since you already have the pelt, give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'm sure you can salvage the rest of the project and use a different fur to replace the rabbit one.