Traditional Crafts
Deer Hock Skin Bags
Course Overview
Hock Hock Hooray! These unique rawhide bags celebrate a typically discarded part in most meat processing—the lower legs. We’ll dive head first into the anatomy of the leg and learn what materials we can harvest in the process of skinning out our hocks. This class is an excellent introduction towards a journey of hide tanning and the skills acquired can be applied in future hand sewing and leather making projects. Students will leave class with a completed hock bag and skins they’ve dried out, ready to go for their next bag. This sturdy design is ideal for an exceptional tool bag and is a great way to commemorate your hunt or love for the north woods. Hand strength and dexterity is required. We will be seated for much of the class.
Required Tools
- Small sharpened knife for skinning - fixed blade preferred (available for purchase at the North House school store)
Optional Tools
- Sharp small awl
- Sturdy scissors
- Thimble
Our skins might not be fully dried out by the end of class, in that case you’ll be traveling home with a 12”x6” board with nails tacked into it -just good to be mindful of this if space is at a premium.