How to Make a Rabbit Skin Blanket by Bob Gillis and Judy Gillis

"First, I want to tell you how wonderful the finished blanket is: it
is extremely luxurious, light weight (4 lbs) and yet exceedingly
warm, soft, and supple. We consider this blanket one of our most
prized possessions. You feel like you're snuggling up with 50 soft,
cuddly rabbits whenever you want. If you choose to make one you will
not regret it." Materials needed: 50 rabbit skins 250 feet cotton
cordage Spindle to hold wound furs 4 lengths of 2 inch diameter wood
for the frame (two 4 foot lengths and two 5.5 foot lengths) and
strong cordage to lash the frame together. 1) Obtain hides. Use raw
jack rabbit hides or tanned rabbit hides Tanned rabbit skin hides
can be ordered through http://www.chichesterinc.com: phone 800-206-
6544, price $1.50 each (as of January 3, 2003) plus shipping. 2) We
used 50 tanned rabbit hides to make the 3 feet by 4.5 feet blanket
photographed in this article. 3) Mark your hides into a spiral from
the center outward to the edge that is 1 inch wide. 4) Using a
utility knife to cut the hides. Hold the hide off the table to avoid
cutting off fur. 5) Attach the fur to something that you will wind
the twisted fur onto. We used a plastic spindle made for a large
electrical cord, but a 2 foot section of a 2 inch diameter branch
would do. 6) Attach your spindle to an object to hold it tight. We
pinched it inside a drawer. 7) Now twist the fur strips, folding
them in half, fur side out, and roll them up onto the spindle. 8)
Join the strips by cutting a small 3/4 inch slit in both ends of
each strip of fur, one inch from the ends of the strip. Slip one end
of the untwisted strip of fur into the slit through the twisted
strip of fur. Pull the untwisted strip through its own slit and pull
tight. This will lock the two strips together. 9) Continue joining
and twisting your skins until all skins are completed. 10) Now build
a frame out of 2 inch diameter branches or 2 inch by 2 inch lumber
that are at least 4 feet by 5.5 feet. Use strong cordage to bind
each corner of the frame. 11) Attach one end of your twisted and
joined hides with a cordage to one of the 4 foot side of your frame.
12) Wrap the twisted hides around and around the two shorter sides
of the frame until all hides are wound onto the frame. 13) Now
starting at the bottom of the frame, using cotton cordage, TWINE the
fur strips together every 1.5 inches from left to right (or right to
left). We used a length of cordage that was approximately 18 feet
long. Starting from the left hand side of the frame tie the middle
of this cordage onto the first strip of fur. Then twist the cordage
once around itself on the other side of the first strip. Then weave
in and out of each fur wrapping the cordage around itself before and
after each strip of fur. Tie off the cordage ends to the fur strip
at the far side of the frame. Now, repeat this twining every 1.5
inches until you reach the top. This twining is very important. If
you were to simply weave the cordage it would not stay put nor would
it hold the strips in a uniform twisted shape. 14) Remove from the
frame and enjoy! Compared to a wool blanket, a rabbit blanket is
surprisingly warm: being about 1" thick rather than a wool blanket
which is most often quite thin. Warmth in thickness. The photo below
(from the book The Native Americans by Colin F. Taylor) is of an
authentic rabbit skin blanket. For more information on making a
rabbit skin blanket out of raw jack rabbit hides, see the book
entitled, Survival Arts of the Primitive Paiutes, by Margaret M.
Wheat (pages 75 - 77). Jimmy George (Paiute) demonstrates the
process of skinning, twisting, and twining together the long spiral
strips of raw rabbit pelts.