When I was a kid, there was this old lady who went to our church who would occasionally wear a fox stole. It was made up of several small foxes with heads, feet and all, and they were arranged in a circle with tails in the mouths of the other foxes. They had glass eyes. It may just be the most fascinating garment that I have ever seen, and it was always a treat to sit behind her in church.
A couple of weeks ago, I came across this etsy seller who is selling knit scarves modeled after the kind of stole that I remember brightening up my childhood churchgoing. If she comes across this blog, I hope she does not mind me taking her idea. I just had to have one, and I thought it would be fun to make my own.
My rendition is made from wool melton on the top, and silk organza on the bottom and inside the mouth. They are held together with hooks in the mouth and eyes on the tail. I embroidered eyes and paws. I drafted the pattern, such as it is, on my own. One tip for drafting a pattern like this one: draw it on a piece of paper in a size that you can handle, then take it to the copy shop to enlarge, if necessary. It’s easier to keep the proportions under control that way.
one around the neck
two wrapped around twice
Here they are unhooked from one another. I used a different camera lens, which is why it looks like it is a different color.
hooks in the mouth
Rolling in Cloth 
3 Comments
My Mother had a “wrap” made from minks with tails, paws, etc. It fastened together by one mink’s mouth being hinged to bite the tail of another mink. I think there were probably four/five animals in the wrap. She always wore it with a suit sort of draped high on one shoulder and low on the other. Wish we still had it.
This is SO fun. My mom had a big red fox wrap that fascinated me as a kid. It spent most of its life in her cedar chest and I remember sneaking into her room, opening the chest and making its mouth work! In the 70’s she had it turned into a hat which she still has.
That is very creative, and really cute. You have a good sense of humor : ).
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