Need imput on doing a Zebra rug. I have done lots of Zebra heads but never a rug. Any points on stretching, or face work to get it flat would be great ....Thanks..Ty
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on the stretching board...from the center of one end to the center of the other end. Nail out the nose then stretch and nail the sides of the head up to a line that transects the eyes. Go to the other end of the zebra and stretch the tail and rump....keeping the center of the skin down the spine. Nail out the rump....then go to the front legs....pull them outwards and forward a little......pulling any wrinkles out of the armpits...you will see how this works when you do it. Then go to the back legs and pull them tight...making sure everything is aligned with the leg on the other side. Use galvanized roofing nails..they won't rust and also stick better in the stretching table wood better. You can staple the rug down but it takes a lot of work to get them out.
My two zebra boards measure 8 feet wide and 11 feet long....and we use every bit of its size.
Before stretching the head I shave the eyes and sew them shut, as with the nostrils. I remove the cartlidge from the ears and sew the edges together....you can super glue them also. When nailing out the ears I usually pull them backwards somewhat to pull out the forehead wrinkles, then staple them..holding them flat to the body/neck skin.
I stretch all my zebra rugs without having to cut the armpits or any other relief cuts......the first one is the hardest.