One of the most common early problems for you new guys working with a short Y-incision is that you panic when the cape fits too tightly around the neck. You just know you measured it right. It oughtta fit.
You'll never get that gap to pull closed! Well, it's all in how you do the sewing. Fact is, in most all cases, the cape has simply been pulled too far back onto the form. In effect, you're trying to fit neck hide around the upper part of the shoulders. Here's what I do to fix the problem. Pull your cape onto the form after hide paste or adhesive has been applied. Secure the hide around the burrs and down each of the two top legs of the "Y", leaving only the vertical part of the incision. After earbutts and all that stuff have been addressed, pull the hide back up the neck to give you some slack to work with. Then, starting at the junction of all three lines , start sewing. Here's the obvious trick: Each time you pull a stitch tight, pull it straight up if not toward the top of the head, rather than falling prey to our tendency to pull away horizontally toward the back of the mount. If not, each stitch tends to pull the hide a little further back just contributing to the tightness problem. Be sure not to pull each stitch too tight - just enough to bring the hide together without bunching. Otherwise, you've scrunched ten inches of seam together using six inches of cape thread.:) Trust me, if your measurements are right, when the sewing is completed, it's simply a matter of taxi-ing the hide into place. You grizzled old veterans may be thinking, "Duuuhhh! Any dilrod knows about this." But I bet there are a few guys that have fought this problem time and again who are seeing a lightbulb blinking in their mind right now. Good luck, rookies. (There! Now I can go on with my life knowing I contributed my .02. Not much, but still my .02.)
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I've had that same question a dozen times. YOU DONE GOOD
That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the insight! PatrickR
Boy I sure could have used that advice 2 weeks ago when I did my first mount. I was having all kinds of trouble when I started to sew up the incision starting at the antlers and working down. It seemed like the skin would never fit. It took some time but I realized that I was pulling the skin towards the back of the form and stretching it the wrong way. Once I realized that I pulled the skin from the brisket area as I stitched and it worked great. I did have trouble at the very end of the sewing at the base of the form. I could not get the skin to come together. I pulled it as close as I could. The hair covers up the space but I will have to work on the next one so that does not happen. Thanks for the tips All of this info is great.
Mike C