Santa hat with real fur

I recently got a bunch of rabbit skins and I want to make a really nice santa hat using them for the fur trim. I have several questions, though, that I thought someone on here might be able to help me with:

What kind of material should I use for the body of the hat? How is this sort of hat traditionally made? Is it normally made from woven fabric? Felt? Knit? The only real-world example I can think of that's like Santa's hat is a knit night cap, but that doesn't seem like the right sort of material. I was thinking perhaps some sort of nice heavy wool might be appropriate.

I'd like to line it with some nice fabric -- perhaps something silk? Does anyone know what I should look for in lining fabric?
When planning the fur trim, which direction should I have the fur lay? I figure making it lay either up or down would be the thing, but maybe sideways would be cool too? Any suggestions?

How the heck do you make a pom-pom from real fur?
Finally, any suggestions on working with fur in general? I've checked out a book from the library that talks about sewing fur, but any additional advice would be much appreciated.

-David

Dear David,

I used red velours for mine. I lined it with china silk. The fur can go in either down direction, or around; either would look OK.

You need to determine how wide you want the fur cuff to be, and make it just a tad wider (not whole seam allowances, but enough so that the lining won't show). The skins should be joined if necessary to make the piece long enough to go around the bottom of the cap.

The cuff should be padded with a layer of quilt batting. The lining should be cut the same length as the cuff, plus seam allowances, and the width, plus seam allowances. Sew the fur into a ring. Add the padding. Sew the lining into a ring. Press in the seam allowances along both sides, and hand-sew the lining to the fur. You now have a finished piece. Whip the cuff to the cap with big stitches, so that it can be easily removed for cleaning.

The fur ball isn't really a ball. It's a tightly rolled, small piece of fur. Attach it with big stitches, again, so that it can be easily removed for cleaning.

Teri