DIY Arctic parka with fur ruff

[mmcniven]

Hi

I am planning a snowshoeing trip to norway in early march and for the trip i am going to make a ventile parka to which i would like to fit a fur ruff round the hood. Does anyone have any experience of fitting a fur ruff ? Where would i get the fur ? What type of fur is best ? I have seen a few fox skins for sale on Ebay is this any good? Is there any preperation i need to do to the skin/fur before fitting ? In fact any information would be a great help.
Many thanks

Michael

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hi

I am planning a snowshoeing trip to norway in early march and for the trip i am going to make a ventile parka to which i would like to fit a fur ruff round the hood. Does anyone have any experience of fitting a fur ruff ? Where would i get the fur ? What type of fur is best ? I have seen a few fox skins for sale on Ebay is this any good? Is there any preperation i need to do to the skin/fur before fitting ? In fact any information would be a great help.
Many thanks

Michael

Hi mate;

you can get furs often cheap at garage sales. Wolf, Fox, coyote, wolverine are best. You have to buy only real furs if you want that they keep a good microclimate near to your skin. Synthetic fur doesn't work.

cheers and have a good snowshoeing tour, what kind of snowshoes do you have mate? I got myself Faber Alaskan snowshoes.
// Abbe

:chill:

 

[arctic hobo]

I'd recommend reindeerskin, it is hollow fibres so it keeps you warmer than other furs might. But basically any fur from that part of the world, as Abbe says. You can find reindeer fur at http://www.tregor.co.uk/nordic.html.
I have a bearskin coat for the high arctic, which is wonderful brilliant and amazing. However the only place you seem to be able to get them is Russia.
Whereabouts in Norway are you going?

 

[Abbe Osram]

I'd recommend reindeerskin, it is hollow fibres so it keeps you warmer than other furs might. But basically any fur from that part of the world, as Abbe says. You can find reindeer fur at http://www.tregor.co.uk/nordic.html.
I have a bearskin coat for the high arctic, which is wonderful brilliant and amazing. However the only place you seem to be able to get them is Russia.
Whereabouts in Norway are you going?

Hi Arctic hobo,
the reindeerskin is amazing to sit or sleep on because of the fibres of the fur, but is the reindeer fur not too short for a ruff around the head. I would think that the tail furs work best of wolf or Fox etc?

all the best to you
Abbe

:chill:

 

[mmcniven]

Hi

I have a reindeer skin but think the fur is not dense enough for a ruff, i think a fox tail or similar would probably be better, the hard bit is getting hold of one :shock:

I am hopefully going to the Telemark area of Norway although i am still in the planning stage of the trip, i have a flight but that is about it at the moment. I went just north of Lillihamer last year on cross country skis but it wasnt really remote enough, even though i didnt see another sole on all the tracks i covered. This year i am doing it on snow shoes as i found it easier going on snow shoes last year......maybe that is just because my skiing isnt that good... had alot of face on encouters with the snow last year :rolmao:

I have a pair of Atlas snow shoes which are great for Scotland ....on the odd occasions i have used them.....due to the crampons on the sole. I am hopefully going to get a more traditional pair of wooden snow shoes when i am in Norway.

Michael

 

[arctic hobo]

Abbe, you're right of course - I hadn't thought of the length.
mmcniven, have a lot of fun - I haven't been to Telemark apart from a long weekend ice climbing in Rjukan. If you get a chance, I'd strongly recommend this. Although I'm not sure about your hopes of isolation - March is when all the norgees come out skiing, and nowhere more than Hardangervidda!

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

Traditional parka ruffs are usually made of wolf or coyote. Wolverine is mentioned in the literature. The coyote is the only animal not under pressure so that pelt is the most ethical. Pelts come in many forms with a cased pelt showing all legs to claws and the underbelly. Other pelts may consist of only the main upper body,tail and head. Your pelt needs to be fully tanned and from a winter kill for the longest and thickest hair. You might consider a detachable unit, with several large buttons instead of sewing. This will extend your parkas seasonal use to warmer periods when you just need the windbreaking capacity. The main body can be utilised by simply folding it over the hood's rim -> . You can probably use fox skins also. These are all active predatory animals with metabolisms similar to us two legged predators. Finally, you might want to say a simple THANKYOU to the animal's spirit. Trickster Coyote is an extremely powerfull spirit . But then I've been known to rescue marooned earthworms from the noonday sun. :?:

 

[Paganwolf]

Traditional parka ruffs are usually made of wolf or coyote. Wolverine is mentioned in the literature. The coyote is the only animal not under pressure so that pelt is the most ethical. Pelts come in many forms with a cased pelt showing all legs to claws and the underbelly. Other pelts may consist of only the main upper body,tail and head. Your pelt needs to be fully tanned and from a winter kill for the longest and thickest hair. You might consider a detachable unit, with several large buttons instead of sewing. This will extend your parkas seasonal use to warmer periods when you just need the windbreaking capacity. The main body can be utilised by simply folding it over the hood's rim -> . You can probably use fox skins also. These are all active predatory animals with metabolisms similar to us two legged predators. Finally, you might want to say a simple THANKYOU to the animal's spirit. Trickster Coyote is an extremely powerfull spirit . But then I've been known to rescue marooned earthworms from the noonday sun. :?:

Well said Chris, But WOLF!! next time i have a hair cut ill send you the clippings Im always rescuing worms and slugs from the heat of the sun also, seems a good thing to do imo :biggthump

 

[Carcajou Garou]

Wolverine is best :rolmao: , but not mine :shock:

 

[mmcniven]

I managed to get 2 Coyote skins off Ebay, well they are coming from America so they might take a little while to get here but at £7 for 2 i couldnt argue with that. Big skins as well so i am trying to think of other things i could make with them ? Any suggestions ?

Michael

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

You could sew up a variation on the coonskin hat of Daniel Boone/Davy Crocket fame. If you know any fly fishermen, gift some hair for tieing.

 

[jakunen]

How about mittens? Mocasins?

And yes, Coyote/Koyote can be a 'jovial' fellow being the Indian version of Loki...

 

[Tvividr]

Hi.......I have a pair of Atlas snow shoes which are great for Scotland ....on the odd occasions i have used them.....due to the crampons on the sole. I am hopefully going to get a more traditional pair of wooden snow shoes when i am in Norway.
Michael

You will be very lucky if you find a pair of wooden ones here in Norway ! All the shops that I've been in the past few years have had modern aluminium ones only (if they have any snowshoes at all) .... or the very simple "do truge" in rattan which is completely useless for wilderness travel (might be why it is called "do truge", as it should only be used to go to the loo outside the cabin ): ). The crampons on yours might come in usefull in march.
Wooden ones you can make yourself too
The pic below is from Telemark about a month ago.

As for the fur, you've got the right stuff (coyote). Wolf is better, and wolverine is even better, but is not commonly (or ethically) available for obvious reasons. The ruff on my parka is attached with welcro (I use the same parka - Norrøna Anojakke - year round, but do not want the fur attached in summer).

 

[mmcniven]

Hi

Thought some of you might be interested in the process of making the arctic parka so i will put together some pictures as i make it. Hopefully this will show some of the pit falls should anyone else want to attempt to make one.

First off i bought 2.5 metres of seconds ventile from point north which cost me £25.
I transfered the pattern on to some pattern paper and cut out the peices, the paper was too short for the arms so i had to remember to extend the arms past the paper pattern when cutting.

I then placed the arm piece on my arm in roughly the right position to get the length, i wanted a long arm so cut it longer than i though ( how wrong could i be) after cutting i matched it up with an arm on a similar styled jacket and discovered that it was too short if i made the folds for the cuffs so i have to add on cuffs as seperate pieces of material. Oh well i had to make one mistake ..... I then added tabs and velco at the cuffs to adjust the opening and sewed up the arms.

I then turned my attention to the front panel which i was going to fit a large central pocket. I first fitted the zip to the front panel and then added the pocket behind it. This actually turned out easier than i thought although the flap didnt turn out as good as i had hoped but it should be ok.

I could now sew all the panels together and try it on for size. I had used the largest size on the pattern, even though i normally take a medium, as i had read that you really want an arctic parka to be big, but when i tried it on it was still a bit neat under the arms and that was only with one fleece on .....

So that is as far as i have got todate, i am going to add diamonds in under the arms to make this area a bit bigger and make the parka roomier. I am still waiting on my Coyote skins which should hopefully arrive this week. I intend designing a big hood for this as the one on the pattern is fairly small.

 

[RJP]

Hi All,
For all those keen with the needle and thread, there is a good pattern for an artic parka in

The Winter Wilderness Companion by Conover and Conover

There are also patterns for tents,mitts and mukluks.
That should keep you busy!
Rob. :chill:

 

[mmcniven]

A quick update on the parka project. Well i managed to add in the diamonds under the arms and it made a big difference to the fit, alot easier to put on and now i can get my down jacket on underneath without any problem.

I then decided that i didnt like the flap over the pocket, the one on the pattern was just a rectangular piece of fabric but when i put it on it didnt look that great so i angled in the sides and changed it into something which looks alot better.
I then tackled the hood which i knew would be the hardest part of the project......and it was....... not really that hard to stitch the sections together, 3 in all to make up the hood, but it was the channel for the draw cord that proved to be hard to get right. In the end i cut out another piece of material that matched the contour of the hood front edge and used that to make the cord channel. Even so it still proved to be hard to get the material to stitch down nicely around the curve......

Even so it turned out to be a great fitting hood, plenty of room and just the fur ruff to add.....well if i get one that is as the coyote skins that were coming from the US have been stopped by customs, i later found out that an import licence is needed to get skins into this country, at least that is what i have been told. So i will have to look elsewhere for my fur ruff...

I have now finished off the rest of the parka adding in a draw cord at the waist and hem. I am going to add in another couple of pockets at the bottom of the parka, that is once i am over the dissapointment of loosing my coyote skins....

 

[Abbe Osram]

Great work mate!
I am sorry to hear about the fur and custom problems. Hope that you find something soon. I am myself trying to hunt down some fur.

all the best to you
Abbe

:chill:

 

[Moonraker]

mmcniven,

I am not sure if it will help but Fjällräven do a coyote fur for their artic anoraks called a Fjällräven Fur. There is a link here

http://www.fjallraven.se/autumn0405/en/79010.htm

As it is pre-made, if the size was about right it would save some work. Not sure where to get one, probably from a German online shop perhaps. They give a page with retailers. Unfortunately their stuff is not easy to get in the UK or France. Or try contacting them direct via email and ask the question. No idea on price I am afraid.

Simon

 

[allenko]

Looks like a decent book! but for £53.00 its a bit too rich fo my blood (Amazon)

Unles any of you guys oknow where I can get it cheaper.