lining skirts

To finish the skirts the blocking leather leather is installed and they are lined with 100%Genuine Bark Tanned Shearling. The saddle strings and lace skirt hangers are installed. Then the skirts are sewn by machine. Once the sewing is done the skirts are trimmed flush, the shearling is trimmed for a nice clean look and edged round. Then the edges are slicked or rubbed with a canvas rag. The process of slicking edges can be done with many different ways. But the best way to get a nice smooth burnished edge that will stay smooth or slicked is elbow grease, if your slicking an edge and the canvas rag doesn't get hot you are not working hard enough.

A little side note on saddle strings, I drill string holes through the tree, I do not just screw the strings to the saddle with a wood screw like all factory saddles are done, even many current custom makers do this also. If the strings are only screwed to the tree and the saddle is cowboyed out of, somewheres down the road the strings will rip out. Drilling through the tree does not affect the integrity of the saddle tree if done properly, this method has been is use for over a 100 years, that is because it works.