laffin, I wasn't suggesting rawhide to tie to bodyparts... I was suggesting using it to link successive rings together for a gates of hell.
Anything that will encompass a bodypart, should be tanned (i.e., preshrunk) and should snap, buckle, or lace together. If you do use binding that employs a knot... rawhide or not, it can tighten after tying... so have something like EMT shears handy. (blunt nosed scissors)