Waxed dental floss is what I use. The question regarding how long it takes to dry pelts depends on the temperature at which you're drying them. You don't want to stick them in front of a lot of heat, 50-60 degrees I think is what's recommended, and ventilation helps, a fan for example.Last winter it took a couple of coyotes I put up almost two weeks to dry in my cold, unheated garage, and that was with a fan blowing on them. I turn coyotes fur side out within 24 hrs, usually overnight is enough. Hope this helped