Hide Tanning Camp
Brain Tanning Deerskin
Sewing and Tailoring
Deerskin Braintan Buckskin Tanning
28th- 31st August 2025
Optional sewing and tailoring day
1st September 2025
4 days of tanning plus an optional day of sewing your buckskin into a useful and beautiful item or clothing.
Join us for a lively camp to make buckskin from beautiful big red deer skins.
These skins are large* and high quality and you will take away a gorgeous, flowing, buttery soft golden smoked hide.
Using the age old method of brain tanning we will transform these skins into soft supple fabric that is suitable for clothing and bags.
The process of making buckskin is a special one, you can expect to form a deep relationship with your deerskin over the 4 days you spend working with it and watching it transform.
This course is designed to give you the skills to tan hides at home, so our set up is simple and easy to re create.
Buckskin is an ancient fabric, made by the hands of indigenous people from all over the world, including the UK and western Europe.
We have been teaching and tanning hides for 10 years.
The tanning course will cover
How to source, salt and store hides
Tanning infrastructure - the beam, softening equipment and tools
Scraping off hair and grain
Dressing skins (in this case with brains and oils)
Softening buckskin
Smoking, including how to set up your own smoker
Sewing and Tailoring day will cover
Pattern making for clothes or items
Sewing techniques
Making the best of your hide
Clothing making advice
Starting your own project
The camp includes
1 hearty evening meal each day
Teas and coffees available all day
1 Red deer skin each
All materials and tools provided
Mini pop up hide tanning library
Camping
This camp will take place on beautiful land on Dartmoor, next to ancient woodland and nature restoration areas.
There is a covered fire area, running water and a compost toilet.
*You can also request a smaller skin, this will give you a smaller finished buckskin but will be less work.
Cost
Buckskins tanning 4 days - £400
Sewing and tailoring day - £80
Camp life
We invite people to fully immerse in camp life - going with the rhythms of the day and the hides. We have a main fire and shelter which will be central to our time together.
There are flat places to camp amongst ancient trees. Bring a tent or tarp and enjoy sinking into nature. There is very little noise or light pollution.
We invite you to leave screens behind where possible.
We serve a hearty dinner each day using local and organic ingredients, with wild/local meat and vegetarian options.
We start at 9am on the first day and finish at 4pm on the final day.
For people travelling a long distance you are welcome to arrive the night before to set up camp.
Before booking on, please note that this is 4 days of physical activity containing some repetitive movements such as scraping.
It can be long days so if you are unsure about the limits of your body then get in touch and we can talk about whether this will be suitable for you.
Once your skin is finished there is the option to stay overnight and join us for an additional day-
Sewing and tailoring 1st September 9-4pm
Depending on the size of your finished skin, these hides will likely be big enough to make an item of clothing from, for example a skirt or t-shirt, waistcoat or shorts. Bags are also great to make out of buckskin and we have lots of examples to get your inspiration flowing.
It is scary cutting into your first buckskin and often people never do!
So join us for a day of designing, pattern cutting and sewing your buckskin into something useable for your daily life.
You are unlikely to finish your idea in the day, however you will leave with your pieces cut, seams started and a clear plan of how to continue at home.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
In their ability to transmit a subtlety and depth of technique whilst all the while feeling like nothing more formal than friends at common work in the woods, Jessie and Jane possess a rare mastery of the teacher's art; enabling each their own discovery of the craft, never simply telling us what to do. However, more important even than the expert instruction, was the experience of camp life that was created and shared. This was not really a course, but rather a remedy for amnesia; a glimpse of who we were during the forgotten majority of our history, and who we could be again, if we are to do better by each other and by the earth.
-Sam Robinson, course participant 2016
This course is a must. The setting is stunning, the food is beautiful and the atmosphere is beyond warm and welcoming. It is incredible to watch the skill and passion these ladies devote to tanning - something I was delighted to absorb and hope very much to carry on.
Would strongly recommend to anyone with any interest in tanning, or pretty much anyone!
- Mary Bowman, course participant 2018
A highly recommended course. The course was delivered very professionally by two very knowledgeable and highly skilled tutors. The depth of their experience with tanning was evident by their ability to guide the whole group through all of the processes, from raw hides to a beautiful finished buckskin to take away. Their energetic and hands-on approach meant whatever concern or question you had was resolved quickly - it was an incredible learning process. Camping so close to the hide working area meant the whole experience was immersive and holistic.
I can not praise the course enough.
~ Tony, course participant, 2017