Mending fur jackets is not easy

I've been working on repairing a couple of old fur coats that were damaged, one of them by the owner's kid playing with the dog while wearing it. Trust me when I say you should never play with a dog while wearing an antique seal fur jacket. The jacket ended up extremely shredded, and while I am sure that the dog enjoyed the experience, I am not having a lot of fun as I try to get the coat sewn back together enough that it might still be able to be worn *GENTLY*.

When I got it it had already had some repairs done to it, and it STILL was not in any kind of shape to be put on my dress form. After a week of sewing I finally got the shredded one back together enough to feel safe in putting it on the dress form and am now working to repair across the back of the shoulders where the hood attaches. I'm aiming to get it good enough that if someone tries to pick the coat up by the hood it won't damage it. Not easy.

And all this sewing is not easy either. In all the sewing through leather on the two jackets, one of which just needed some age repairs from the looks of it, I am starting to need some kind of arthritis pain relief for aching fingers that are cramping from sewing. If this is how it feels to have arthritis in the hands, I really hope I never get that. It does not help that I sunk the end of a needle into my forefinger about four times today either. Poor finger hurts at the tip now and I can't say that I blame it since it has been getting sloppy amateur acupuncture all day.

I'm going to take a break from the self infliction of abuse and get a couple of hours of sleep, wake up early to finish these coats in hopes of sending them home to their owner tomorrow morning. Maybe with a note not to let the dog play tug-of-war with them anymore.