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How to Cure a Raccoon Hide Hat

Before you can make a raccoon hide hat the hide must be cured. While you will sometimes be able to get away with simply drying the raccoon hide by stretching it over a flat surface and tacking it down, the hide will become nice and soft through curing it properly. You can send the hide to a company to have this done but it is more fun to do it at home yourself. While you can buy kits that come with chemicals for curing, this process can be accomplished with chemicals you will find in your kitchen pantry.

Things You'll Need

Raccoon Hide
Large flat surface (such as a piece of plywood)
Sharp knife
Technical grade salt or non-iodized salt
Barrel (non-mental)
Baking Soda

Instructions

- 1
  Spread salt over the hide (One pound of salt for every pound of hide).
- 2
  Rub the salt into the hide. Be sure to get into all the crevasses. Any section left unsalted is a section that is unprotected.
- 3
  Hang the hide so that any moisture can drip off of it and allow the hide to dry for 10 to 14 days.
- 4
  Soak the hide in cool water several times. You will notice a shiny tight layer of tissue. This layer of tissue must be removed entirely. Alternate scraping with the knife and soaking in the water.
- 5
  Using the barrel, soak the hide in warm water with 1 ounce of baking soda per gallon and stir the mixture.
- 6
  Scud the hide. Do this by placing the hide on a flat surface and scraping away the final excess fat and tissue.
- 7
  Rinse in warm water and squeeze (but do not wring) the water out of the hide. Allow the skin to dry.

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