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Where do I get chamois from?


Mary11

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Chamois is a soft, absorbent leather made from the skin of a mountain sheep or leather made from the flesh split of sheepskin or lambskin from with the grain (the top split) has been removed. It is used in detailing automobiles and general cleaning, among other things. Look for it at an auto supply store.

There are synthetic substitutes, such as the as-seen-on-TV ShamWow! I think the fibers in the synthetic version would tend to pull apart at some point. Best to stick to the leather version for door hinges.

In the past, chamois (pronounced and sometimes spelled as shammy) has in the past been used for

Gloves, leather jackets, small bags, and pouches

Leather jackets, small bags, and pouches

Polishing cloths for jewels or shoes

Filtering fuel

Automotive drying material that is safe on acrylic, lacquer, enamel, and polyurethane paints and clear-coats

Grips on sporting gear - Chamois grips are used extensively in field hockey and golf.

General household cleaning

Orthopedics and other medical uses

I know that's more than you wanted to know, but I can't sleep! :lol:

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Could you just use thin soft leather off of an old pair of gloves, soft leather purse or like that? I would like to know how to do this too. Could someone post a pic of what it looks like when you make hinges out of it?

I am not sure whether to put the strip all the way down or make two small short ones? anyone?

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Any kind of soft leather, tyvek, twill tape, etc. will do. Generally it is cut the full height of the door or a smidge shorter and sandwiched between the door piece and the trim o the door and the wall and door frame on the house. Not much of it will be seen once in place and what little can be seen can be painted to match the door and/or frame. If you like the look of metal hinges, they can be glued on, but separated, so they're not functional.

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Any kind of soft leather, tyvek, twill tape, etc. will do. Generally it is cut the full height of the door or a smidge shorter and sandwiched between the door piece and the trim o the door and the wall and door frame on the house. Not much of it will be seen once in place and what little can be seen can be painted to match the door and/or frame. If you like the look of metal hinges, they can be glued on, but separated, so they're not functional.

Thanks Kathie! Sounds much easier and probably stronger than trying to actually hinge these doors. I am still working on trying to wallpaper the stairwell on this Garfield lol The fabric had lots of bubbles when dry, I don't know why , I have used it before. so I made new patterns, used wonder under to attach the fabric to card stock and will glue that on. ............this has been incredibly frustrating............I learned my lesson to paper before putting it together at least stairwells anyway lol

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I have begun using muslin fabric from any fabric store & cheap. It's a natural cotton, goes back to ancient times. Just cut it thin enough not to show in back of the door frame and glue with Aileen's tacky glue or similar product. It's always so amazing to me that it's a hinge and the door opens and closes!

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I have begun using muslin fabric from any fabric store & cheap. It's a natural cotton, goes back to ancient times. Just cut it thin enough not to show in back of the door frame and glue with Aileen's tacky glue or similar product. It's always so amazing to me that it's a hinge and the door opens and closes!

Good idea! The muslin wouldn't be as bulky as chamoise or twill tape, either.

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I'm curious - Mary, what did you need the chamois for? The first thing that comes to mind, as you can see, is door hinges ... but I'm just wondering if you had something else in mind. If so, what?? We do love to hear of and learn new things!

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Once it's wet with glue it's amazing how the chamois squashes down between the pieces of wood in the door halves and the wall & doorframe. I just clamp the pieces of wood together. I have been using off the same piece of detail chamois I bought YEARS ago at an auto supply store. I personally use three pieces approximately 1/2" X 1/4" placed evenly along the door edge. Twill tape doesn't squash nearly as flat as the chamois does. I imagine that bias seam tape would work as well as muslin; I find it all the time in grab bags of sewing supplies at thrift stores.

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