100% Natural Sheep Hides from nightfall
We raise the lambs on our pastures, and tan these hides ourselves using only bark, salt, and citric acid (no chemicals!). Our primary reason for raising lambs is meat - but tanning the hides is a way to honor the animal AND bring more beauty into our lives. Nate's worked hard over to learn to tan over the last several years through trial and error and by learning from other farmers. Now, he makes gorgeous hides!
We love to use these hides for:
Purchase a hide from our farm:
Our hides are for sale at the Bloomington Farm Stop Collective and through our order form.
Care Instructions:
Big thanks to Traditional Tanners for guidance on caring for bark tanned hides. (That's where Nate learned to bark tan!)
Brushing/Freshening: Over time, the wool might get matted. We like to comb it with a pet comb (a medium toothed dog comb does the job). Spray the wool lightly with a 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water solution as you comb, to keep the wool soft. You'll be amazed!
Washing:
A few more details:
We love to use these hides for:
- Cushions on rocking chairs, loveseats, and sofas
- Rugs for chilly toes under a desk or belly time for babies
- Pet beds
- Seat covers for road trips
Purchase a hide from our farm:
Our hides are for sale at the Bloomington Farm Stop Collective and through our order form.
Care Instructions:
Big thanks to Traditional Tanners for guidance on caring for bark tanned hides. (That's where Nate learned to bark tan!)
Brushing/Freshening: Over time, the wool might get matted. We like to comb it with a pet comb (a medium toothed dog comb does the job). Spray the wool lightly with a 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water solution as you comb, to keep the wool soft. You'll be amazed!
Washing:
- Handwashing is best: spot-clean the hair/wool side using a gentle soap like Dr. Bronner's.
- Tanning with bark means that the hides *should* be fully washable. We haven't tried putting them in the washing machine yet. If you want to machine wash, please do ALL THREE of these steps:
- Wash: Think of the caring for a wool sweater: Machine wash warm on a wool or gentle cycle using a wool friendly soap
- Condition BEFORE drying: Soaps and detergents use a higher pH in order to open up the scales on hair to get rid trapped dirt and oil. Conditioning lets you need to close the scales. Soak the skin in a container of water that has ½ cup vinegar per 4 gallons of water (scale at this ratio as needed) for 10 minutes. This makes the scales lay flat, so the wool will feel much softer to the touch.
- Dry: Dry in a dryer with no heat, or air dry. But note: air dried hides will dry like air dried clothing — a little stiff. Work out that stiffness by pulling the skin side back and forth over the back of a chair, or with some hand stretching and wringing. It won’t take much.
A few more details:
- You can cut the hide to any size or shape using a razor blade
- A few holes are natural. When we take our animals to the butcher, the butcher's primary goal is meat. We are some of the only customers who want their hides back (they are normally a "waste" product)hen they skin the carcass, they
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