Ladies and Gentlemen of X-Marks, I've been away for quite a while pursuing other interests and hobbies, but tonight, I return with something I've been

planning for several years. One of my newer hobbies is traditional tanning deer hides, making them into buckskins. It occurred to me that kilts are made

from leather, so why not buckskin? Buckskin is different than leather. It breathes and it is supple and soft. These were hunter killed deer - three hides

skinned by a good friend that tans for a living and one hide was from a local friend who hunted the deer. These hides would have been left to rot or

dumped in a landfill, normally. The only thing used to process these hides is water, brains, smoke and a heck of a lot of elbow grease. It takes me about

12 to 14 hours to tan one of these beauties. I used 4 hides to make this kilt so I figure I have at least 60 hours into this kilt. Of course, it didn't happen

unless there are pictures. The first picture is a hide I tanned in it's finished form. the second pic is of a hide I cut for kilt material.












Here's the outer pleats sewn down.



Sewing down the inner pleats. You can see where I joined the hides.



Working on the waistband.



Sewing in belt loops - going through 8 layers of hide. For some of them, I had to turn the machine wheel by hand.



Finished! (and yes, that's a bullet hole)



My wife is out for the evening, so I had to photograph myself in the mirror.



Pleat shot.



It's really soft and comfy, but a little stiff so sitting takes some extra care, but it should be great for busting brush!


I hope you all liked it.

Dale

Eugene, Oregon