Welcome! I am Matrices: Dog-person extraordinaire. I enjoy drawing, building costumes, making props, and generally being crafty. I live on the North End of Whidbey Island, in Washington State.
I am extremely proud to present my trusted handpaw pattern that I developed over the years -- which now you can make too!!Â
This has spent a long time in development and has been a major goal of mine to write and share the content in this guide. 40 pages & 90+ pictures! PLUS a companion tutorial on applique is included too! Its a big milestone for me to have accomplished such a detailed tutorial and share a cherished design of mine with all the crafters out there.
This guide has been carefully written with a ton of step-by-step photos so everyone can learn how to make a detailed, comfortably fitted, cute, and dexterous set of 5-digit handpaws with shaped fingers.
For more tutorials on crafting fursuits, check out my website, Matrices.net!
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I had someone message me on Instagram politely asking why fursuits cost what they do. I had a little time tonight to delve into specifics to help enlighten them and others who have asked this same question.
EXAMPLE SCENARIO: A full fursuit that costs $4500 from a professional maker. This isnât even considered all that high a price today but itâs a fairly average price for us currently, so weâll use that as an example.
- MATERIALS:
6 yds fur: $125 - 230
half roll 1/2â foam: $15
half roll 1â foam: $15
half roll blue foam: $6
spray glue: $12
plasti-dip: $14
minky/vinyl/fleece fat quarters: $15
glue sticks: $7
2 spools thread: $7
pens, pencils, pins, chalk, etc: $5
2 rolls masking tape: $4
tagboard for drafting patterns: $2
thrift store sheets for testing patterns: $10
polyfil: $10
eye plastic, buckram, paints, zippers, misc: 30
spandex and other lining fabrics: 17
shipping box, tape, packing materials: $8
__________
MATERIALS -$300 - $405
-Payment Fees
Every electronic payment service will charge fees for using them- the fees are fairly comparable between Paypal, Square, and Stripe. Mailed payments are possible for less or no fees, but you canât beat the convenience of electronic payments.
PP FEES ON 4500: -$130
- TAXES:
Self employed people have to set aside around 20% of all their earnings for taxes. So 20% of 4500 is $900. Tax refund?? Donât know her!
- ACTUAL PAY?
So $4500 fursuit minus cost of materials, taxes, and fees actually equals around $3100 in pay. And this is assuming no mistakes are made during fursuit construction that require more materials to be purchased, your equipment doesnât need maintenance, and you donât need any special materials not listed above. Also, I estimated the fur price based on a $21-35/yd, but faux fur can cost $65 a yard and higher depending on what it is.
OTHER PRICING FACTORS:
- SUPPLY/DEMAND:
Anyone in the market for a fursuit has undoubtedly noticed that virtually every full time maker usually has a full queue and opens for commissions infrequently. When a popular maker opens, they usually get to pick and choose what projects they want to take on and inevitably have to turn down some applicants. Despite there being more and more professional fursuit builders out there taking commissions, demand for fursuits continues to rise, and thereâs still not enough makers to fill the demand. It is a sellerâs market- we are able to raise prices yearly and demand does not waver. Itâs anyoneâs guess when/where weâll find the ceiling on this market.
- NICHE GOODS:
Fursuits are super niche market and only a relative few of us can
1. produce professional quality costumes
2. successfully run a home business and stay on top of deadlines, finances, customer service, etc
So if professional fursuit builders are a rare breed, those who are reliable and timely are basically a unicorn. Niche markets for luxury items equals luxury prices.
- TIME TAKEN TO CREATE:
Fursuits are a lot of work! Thereâs no getting around it. Even those of us who have been doing this a long time can take between 75-150 hours to create a typical fullsuit on average, and this doesnât include all the other work like research, brainstorming, emails, social media, web shop maintenance, and packing + shipping.
- EXPERTISE:
If youâve been working at the same job for years, you can expect to make more money than someone just starting. The same is true for fursuit builders! We deserve raises as cost of living increases yearly and as we get better at our jobs. So it is not uncommon at all to see fursuit builders gradually increasing their prices year by year.
- NO JOB BENEFITS:
Working for yourself is rewarding but also expensive. If youâre doing this full time and donât have anyone else supporting you, you have to provide your own healthcare and make sure you have extra money saved for sick time, vacation days, all the stuff traditionally employed people donât have to think about.
It is easy to be dazzled by the prices professional fursuit builders are charging and imagine we must be loaded, but all in all it is quite a modest lifestyle. Those makers who havenât gotten fast/confident at building and donât have a huge fan following may really genuinely struggle in the beginning (which is why I wouldnât recommend just diving on into professional fursuit building without a plan or fallback). The most successful of us are still definitely not rich. We budget for the things we want and we need and have to weigh carefully any trips or luxuries, just like anyone.
Professionally made fursuits are not affordable to all, itâs true- thatâs actually why I started making fursuits, I wanted one but couldnât afford it. I still canât justify spending the money to have someone custom create something for me, my lifestyle just doesnât support that kind of luxury spending.
I was actually really reluctant to DIY my first fursuit it in the beginning, I had no experience with sewing or fabrics at all and had to learn everything from basics. I strongly recommend anyone interested in fursuits try making their own at least once- worst case scenario you waste a few materials and figure out you donât enjoy it, best case scenario it ignites a hidden artistic passion within you like it did me! DIY can be a wonderful solution for those who want a fursuit but canât afford a commission.
Its about time I share my favorite fruit dessert recipe with you all. Super duper simple, you can do a lot of variations to make it with different fruit or even add bonus flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg for apples, or change its texture by swapping out the flour for bisquick. If you want more sticking power for your crumbs, you can also try a 2nd egg in the recipe.Â
I make this all the time with whateverâs fresh in proportions that I have on hand (sometimes in cartoonishly small portions, its very easy to make this recipe small for one, or make it big for many people â or to last one person a few days⌠>_>) my all time favorite combo is with fresh picked blackberries or raspberries, but for the above version I used apples, and in the step-by-step photos below, I used a mix of blackberries I picked myself and frozen store-bought blueberries.
The Recipe
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 large egg
2-4 cups of berries, or 2-3 large apples sliced (you can even try other fruits!)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
around 4-6 tablespoons of butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.Â
The sugar and flour is stirred together, then combined with the egg to make the crumb mixture. It will be fairly dry.
Butter your pan that you plan to cook in, and lay the fruit of your choice in the pan so it covers the bottom. Sprinkle the lemon juice on top.
Pile the crumb mixture on the top of your fruit. If there is extra, spread it to the sides of your pan but do not mix it in.
Drizzle the melted butter fairly evenly all over the top, this will help it brown!Â
Bake it at 375 ÂşF for around 35 minutes. The shallower and thinner spread your fruit, the less cook time, closer to 35 minutes. The deeper and thicker the fruit and the pan you use, the more cook time will be needed.
It is ready when the crumb mixture gets toasty brown and the fruit filling starts to bubble up the edges and through the top.
Serve warm or cold! Try it on its own, or with ice cream or fresh whipped cream!
Photo Steps
Stir together 1 cup sugar 1 cup flour.
Add 1 large egg.
Stir it together until it resembles crumbs. It will be fairly dry like this.
Butter the sides and bottom of your pan. Then add the fruit of your choosing so it covers the bottom. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon lemon juice over the fruit.
Pile the crumb mixture on top of your fruit.Â
Spread any excess to the sides of the pan (but do not mix it in).
Drizzle the melted butter on the top fairly evenly. Its ok if it doesnât cover everything. This helps your crumb mixture brown (and lends yummy buttery taste of course)!Â
Place it in the center of the preheated oven for around 35 minutes. The shallower and thinner spread your fruit, the less cook time, closer to 35 minutes. The deeper and thicker the fruit and the pan you use, the more cook time will be needed.
This is about the look you are after!
Hereâs the finished dessert! Allow it to cool a bit before digging in, but it is super delicious served warm! And just as good served cooled completely, too!Â
It is slightly messy, so serve it in a bowl. Add ice cream or whipped cream if you like!!Â
This is a tutorial designed to show how to make use of a cheap styrofoam wig head and transform it into something truly useful by using inexpensive materials.Â
The goal is to create a head mannequin that better matches measurements of your (or a clientâs) head. It is highly useful for creating a halloween costume, cosplay, or even fursuit heads!
Styrofoam wig heads themselves are much too small to use for creating a costume head alone. They often match only the smallest wearer as-is. The majority of people will absolutely need to pad out the styrofoam wig head to accurately match their own headâs dimensions. Due to how cheap and common wig heads are, theyâre a fine place to begin for creating a head that DOES fit!
Be resourceful in finding your supplies to make this, it can be done very cheaply. Many materials I used in the creation of this tutorial are scraps or things purchased from a thrift store, including the wig head itself. I have provided link URLs to show simply as examples.
Materials
  ⢠Styrofoam wig headÂ
  ⢠Weight (such as polyester pellets for dolls, BBs, wood board, etc)
  ⢠Scissors and/or Razor knife
  ⢠Measuring tape
  ⢠Hot glue
  ⢠Tape (duct tape or masking tape)
  ⢠Padding (scrap foam, quilt batting, newspaper, fabric etc)
Optional
  ⢠Needle & thread or sewing machine to sew a cover.
  ⢠Scrap stretchy fabric for a cover.
Weighting the Wig Head
These styrofoam wig heads start out looking like this:Â https://amzn.to/30VHMmS
They are incredibly light but that means they are tippy, take some time to make it weighted on the bottom! This step really helps you have a sturdier base.
You can get resourceful with this aspect and use a range of items that might help. I demonstrate with polyester pellets, the kind used to weight plush dolls and toys. This will give me a comfortable base that I can work on while it is set in my lap, on my couch, or on a table.
However, some additional ideas of things you can use for weight include:
  ⢠Plastic pellets https://amzn.to/2SyYWmu
  ⢠BB Shot https://amzn.to/2PvRy9p
  ⢠Fishing weights
  ⢠Small clean stones
  ⢠A board or small scrap of lumber
Whatever weight you decide to use in this project, if it is loose material, tie it up in a bag of scrap fabric to contain it. You can also mount this head dummy to a piece of wood, good for if you prefer to work on your project on a table or desk.
Glue your weight to the bottom of the head dummy using hot glue or similar adhesive.
Taking Measurements
I found it was easiest to take measurements AS I worked, that way I continually could layer up areas using my own head as a reference point to relate one part to another. Take all of your measurements with a soft measuring tape.
Here is a list of some measurements to check as you build up your head dummy to make sure it measures up to the true size of a personâs head. Take measurements often as you work, you may wish to compare additional measurements besides these suggestions:
  ⢠Around the crown of the head
  ⢠Around the neck
  ⢠From neck to tip of chin
  ⢠Width of the chin/jaw measured from underneath
  ⢠How far the nose sticks out from the bottom and the side
  ⢠Around the head starting below the chin to the top of the head
  ⢠From ear to ear around the top of the head (so you know where to pad out for ears)
  ⢠Around the head from the forehead to the back of the neck.
Padding the Wig Head
Refer to measurements as often as possible throughout this process. Wrap your measuring tape around areas to see how deeply they need padded and fleshed out.Â
The neck measurement compared to the wig dummy is shown above and then below with it padded to the proper measurement using foam. The neck is a good place to start.
Plan to pad out almost every aspect of the wig head, they just arenât made to true-to-life human proportions. But you can use some aspects of it as helpful hallmarks to guide you through the process.Â
Note: If you feel you can work without the human-shaped hallmarks of the wig head to guide you, you donât actually have to use one! You can use a bottle or other weighted object as a base. This is all about building up something to match your measurements, so anything can be used as the base for this -- but that can be a bit more advanced of a task.Â
This tutorial demonstrates using scrap upholstery foam to pad out the head, but you can use anything. The goal is only to bulk it out to measurements, how you get it bulked out is up to you! So foam, newspaper that is crumpled and wrapped around, scrap strips of fabric, quilt batting, plastic grocery bags, and so on. All good (and inexpensive!) stuff useful to just bulk out the base.
When applying pieces, just tape them on and layer one right over the top of the other. If its not thick enough, add another layer or two. I used duct tape, but I also used masking tape when I ran out!
Focus on the chin, jaw, and nose next. These areas are fairly critical for knowing where to add ventilation on costume and fursuit heads, and also making sure your nose isnât squished!
If your wig headâs nose is too low, donât be scared to cut into it to shape it! Making sure this area is good to match measurements sets up a solid foundation for you.
Continue adding padding to the other areas of the head.
If anything is lumpy or lopsided, try to correct it. Stretching the tape tightly over some areas can help even things out. (Keep referring to measurements on your own real head to compare with the dummy head!)
Once your measurements are closely matching your goal, cover everything in one more layer of tape to secure everything down well. You can even compare this head to your own in the mirror to make sure it is similar in shape distribution. If it is a little tiny bit bigger than yours, that is OK! But make sure it is not smaller or you may run into fit issues.
You can use your head without any more embellishment once you are happy with it. Optionally, you can cover it in fabric to prevent the tape from peeling up or getting messy fibers stuck in it. Sew stretchy fabric into a U shape, take advantage of that stretch so you can make it tightly fit over the shape with minimal seams.
Conclusion
I hope this helps you make an inexpensive mannequin head based on a cheap styrofoam wig head! Having a good base to work from is important, now you can make one to fit your measurements. Happy crafting!!
This guide was originally created for my Patreon! Without your support there, the creation of this guide may not have been possible!
For more tutorials visit my website, Matrices.net!Â
Making a fursuit body isnât as hard as it might seem! With these tips you will be able to make a perfectly fitted fursuit body! When it comes to bodysuits it really helps to have a sewing machine as part of this process, while it is possible to entirely hand-sew a body â using a sewing machine will save you an immense amount of time! Faux fur is very forgiving, and some traditional sewing techniques you may have in your background just donât work on things like fursuit zippers. Letâs get started and learn about the wonderful craft of making a fursuit body!
Materials:
Sewing machine
Regular Polyester Thread
Muslin fabric or flat sheets up-cycled from a thrift store.
Long Pins and/or clips
Safety-pins
Soft measuring tape
Straight edge
Seam ripper
Chalk (or something to mark your fur fabric with) and a Permanent Marker
Scissors
Snap-off extendable razor blade
Faux fur in the colors and lengths of your choice.
This tutorial got an update!!! With 9 new step-by-step images and a bunch more text to help you learn how to start building your fursuit body and fit it to yourself using a jumpsuit pattern and fabric to test fit it!Â
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Upcycling is also known as âcreative re-useâ and it is a concept I like to incorporate a lot in my costumes and a concept worth sharing with others! This tutorial will cover how to make eyes for a fursuit by being resourceful with available materials to create cartoony eyes for your mask. This technique yields eyes with good visibility that also help with ventilation.
Materials
One large plastic bowl.
If you canât find bowls, you can substitute empty detergent bottles (such as bleach or laundry soap), cutting boards, plastic bins, etc. If it is plastic and the right size, you can use it!!Â
Look for HDPE recyclable label, it can help you narrow things down!
Scissors.
Razor knife.
Mesh for your eyes
Acrylic paint and sponge to apply the iris color. (And/or paint pens, brushes, etc.)
Fabric or stiff felt for eyelids.
Hot glue and glue gun.Â
PencilÂ
Paper for templates.
Optional:
Drawing compass or circle templates.
Sandpaper
Hair dryer. (to make plastic easier to cut)
Sealer spray
e6000 adhesive
Pins or masking tape
Fleece fabric to prepare the eye socket area.
Here are some examples of upcycled materials, like the plastic bowls used. Vinyl for dimensional eyelids, and an example of cartoony eyes that will be shown in this tutorial alongside other works in progress.
What Plastics to Look For
This tutorial is all about being resourceful! Upcycling objects that could work takes a bit of guessing, but you can narrow it down by searching for the recyclable logo for HDPE. It is often labeled with the above logo in North America. HDPE stands for âHigh Density Polyethyleneâ
In this guide I recommend seeking out plastic bowls. They are perfect for the gradual convex shape that cartoony character eyes have. If you canât find bowls, you can substitute empty detergent bottles (such as bleach or laundry soap), flexible cutting boards, plastic bins, etc. If it is plastic and the right size, you can use it!!
Try to avoid plastics that are too thick or are brittle. If you can flex the plastic with your hands and it doesnât crack, then its useful for this task. Most HDPE can be cut with scissors!
If want to buy new rather than upcycling, you have a Tap Plastics store around, they sell HDPE in many colors! Including white, yellow, light blue, black, etc! They come in large plastic sheets for under $10. This will last many many projects if you buy an entire sheet of it. Some locations have scraps you can purchase, or they may have cutting services available as well. If you just want a small piece, re-sellers are listed on my Fursuit & Crafting Resources page.Â
HDPE is used in so many common household plastic products that I definitely recommend trying to upcycle first before buying new.Â
Updated and almost completely re-written, the tutorial on Making Toony Eyes now has a focus on using upcycled materials, and has DOZENS of new photos and an absolute ton of new text on everything I know on the topic!Â
This guide has been updated a few times over the years, but this time I hope it is the most informative version!! The summer of updates continues with Making Toony Eyes getting the biggest update so far!
A tutorial for skilled tailors. This guide teaches you how to create a zip-on tail so you can have a beautiful smooth transition between bodysuit and tail that is still removable for washing or storage!Â
Thereâs a few requirements to make this addition to your project easier to construct: This should be done before you make your tail, so your tail can be made to the size of the zipper. The zipper slider planned and oriented to match the body so your tail aligns correct. Also this should be done before you sew the front half of your body to the back half!
The summer of updates continues -- This 5-year-old tutorial got a HUGE update!Â
It now features individual images, with expanded text descriptions below each image and even more tips and informative text to help you through making your own zip-on tail step-by-step!Â
Do you ever want to know where to start with learning how to sew? Iâve got you covered! I have tried to break it down into easy steps for you to accomplish the task! After that its just repetition and practice! This simple guide shows step-by-step the following foundations to hand sewing:
How to thread a needle.
Tying an overhand knot.
Knotting your beginning stitch.
And tying off a knot after your ending stitch.
Iâll cover hand stitches in another guide that I will link within this tutorial when it is ready. For now, if you find this in a reblog, find the newest version of the tutorial at this link:
You want a nice fresh edge on your thread. Take sharp scissors and cut off any frayed edge.Â
The âeyeâ of the needle is the hole in the top of it where thread passes through. You want sewing needles with a fairly big eye, this just make life easier for you if they are like that. Use what you have if they donât have that feature.
Hold the thread between your fingers, and then pull any excess down into your fingertips. Squeeze your fingertips together to allow just the very tip of the thread to poke out between your fingers,
Rotate the eye of your needle so it can land directly on the thread. You are making a valley with your fingertips that will align your needle and eye right on top of the thread.Â
Then rock your fingers upwards to push the thread through the eye of the needle!Â
Now that your needle is threaded, you need to pull an amount of thread through. Pull out only as much thread as your arm is long. This will make more sense later as you get practiced at hand-sewing. But it is a good rule of thumb is to make the thread only as long as your arm is, otherwise if its longer than your arm youâll have too much excess at a time to deal with and it could get tangled easily.Â
Double over the thread. Doubled over it can also be maximally as long as your arm is as well.Â
Unless you are using a temporary basting technique, any hand-sewing you wish to become a permanent feature that is relatively strong and reliable, using two threads is the way to go.
Tying a knot to start
This will show you how to make a simple overhand knot. Treat any doubled-over threads as one.
Make a loop in the thread, with the short tail overlapping the longer side.
You are making a loop that you can grab the shorter thread tail through.Â
Pull the tail through the loop and pull tightly. With practice, you can make your thread tails shorter so less thread is wasted, but donât sweat it in the beginning while you practice, just use scissors to trim off the excess.
You can leave a small tail of a mm or two past the knot. This will ensure the knot doesnât unravel if you have slippery thread.Â
Starting the first stitch with the knot
Insert your needle through your fabric.Â
Pull the thread almost all the way through. Just before the overhand knot you tied.Â
Use your needle to separate the two threads apart.Â
Pass your needle and all the length of your thread through the opening.Â
Tighten the thread against the knot.Â
Once you have this tied, your thread is secure to your project and you can start hand-sewing!Â
Hand sewing techniques will be linked here in the future. It takes me a bit to write these and edit all the pictures, so check back for that edit!
Tying the ending knot
When you run out of a length of thread, you need to tie it off before you start the next length of thread. Hereâs how to do it!
Make 2 loops of thread sewn directly on top of each other. This shows the 1st loop
This is the 2nd loop, done directly on top of the first loop.Â
You can optionally pass the needle through each loops as you make them.
Tip: This makes these 2 loops similar to a blanket stitch loop, each done one top of the other.Â
Optional tip. Sometimes you can get into a tight spot with low thread, but thankfully you can pass the needle eye-first or point first through those loops you make.Â
To finish your ending knot, take the needle and slide it under those two thread loops you just made. Pull the remaining thread tail that might be left and pass the needle through that loop one final time and pull it tightly! Â
This ending knot is essentially 3 total loops, 2 in the fabric 1 across the thread to become the knot and prevent it from coming undone.Â
Trim your thread tails, leaving a few mm in case your thread is slippery. You can now continue sewing if your project still needs it, otherwise youâre done!
I hope these techniques help you!! Sewing takes practice, and the more you do it the easier and more confident at it that you get! Happy crafting!!Â
What to look for when buying swatches and choosing fur.
There are lots of great resources to buy fur available online! It can be difficult to hunt fabric stores for faux fur, especially outside of fall/halloween/winter seasons. So online shopping is a way to build fursuit and costumes with fur any time of the year!Â
The trick to it is buying a swatch first so you know what you are getting! A swatch is a small sample of the fur fabric that the company selling the fabric will mail to you for a small fee. Swatches are usually around $1 - $5 each, donât skimp on the swatches! For each color you plan, its smart to get a few swatches to compare. They are invaluable in terms of knowing what the color looks like in different lighting conditions, how it feels, how it moves, and how it shaves. Asking other artists opinions just isnât the same!
Where do I get swatches?
About ½ of the way down this page there is a list of fabric suppliers: https://pupdates.matrices.net/post/163394770088/fursuit-and-crafting-resources
I keep this supplier list updated as I find more!Â
Most Online fabric stores make it obvious how to get their samples, but some less-so. You may need to use their search, or simply ask!Â
Some sites have swatch collections you can purchase as well, such as Big Z, it offers âcolor cardsâ which includes all the colors that type of fabric comes in!
If you are collecting samples offline (from a physical fabric store) the store might not allow swatches to be cut and you may need to buy an entire strip of the minimum cut of that fabric. Ask what the smallest amount to be cut is, it might be a few inches! Your swatch will be a strip instead, but you can cut it to a manageable size later and share the extra swatches with friends.
How do I examine a swatch?
When you buy fur, its not about âthe softestâ â it is literally what works best with the project you are creating. And everyoneâs projects are different with different goals!
Some furs are sparse and flowy with mesh backings and those are incredibly awesome for all over a body/chest to help the wearer stay cool, while they are totally terrible for shaving. Others may be extremely thick and plush, but awful for wearing because of how heavy they are. Some feel âcrispyâ in your hand, but have a realistic look and are extremely durable and will look good for a long time. Some are different textures, but they are the colors you need.
Its all a careful balance of the search for the texture you want, or the color match you are after. For sure the fursuit makerâs struggle.
I like to mix textures and fur lengths because it adds interest to a costumeâs design. Once I receive an order of swatches in, I examine them, take them into the sunlight and indoors light. I also match them up with existing swatches in my collection. As well as see how stretchy they are or arenât. Then I break out my electric shaver, and see how it shaves. Sometimes it reveals a different colored undercoat, a spotted or patterned backing, or a sparse arrangement of fur, those arenât ideal for shaving unless it works with your particular project. Definitely use a slicker brush on the shaved and unshaved portions to make sure the fur stays in the backing under normal maintenance.
Determine how much stretch the fabric swatch has. This will tell you if you need to make a dart or if it will fill out on its own just by being stuffed or stretched into shape over foam. Hold a swatch of fabric you plan to use like on the Left, it can be at any angle that would match your project you are patterning. Make sure the fabric is relaxed.
Now pinch it between your fingers and stretch it apart, like on the Right. That measurement between your two fingers is the amount of stretch your fabric does or doesnât have.
The distance you can measure is how much leeway you have to stretch your pattern to fit. If your swatch doesnât stretch at all, or doesnât have a stretch from the angle you are planning to put it at, you can then add a dart to your pattern.
Regarding backings, some are stretchy, some are not. Some have a smooth texture, some are different than others, and that is all completely OK. You are going to want to be wearing underarmor or athletic underclothes while wearing fullbody fur costumes like fursuits anyways, so if a backing is âscratchyâ that doesnât make that fur un-useful in any given project.
You will find a lot of the common furs made by a manufacturer called âShannon Fabricsâ they distribute it to all of the resellers. A lot of those furs are the same colors and textures, but sold under different color and texture names. Its up to the individual website on how they brand and sell them. For example âLuxury Shagâ and âPunky Muppetâ are the same thing.
When you are ready to buy, measure your patterns so you know how much you need. It is very easy to be tempted to overbuy, and I try to discourage it because it can be difficult to store and re-sell fur remnants. (Photographing, measuring, pricing and listing. Taking payment, then boxing and mailing. Its a very involved process) You may still end up with a bit extra (for repairs or mistakes) because online fabric stores often sell in whole or half yard increments only. More information on âHow much fur do I need?â here!
Here is a summary of what you can do with a swatch of faux fur:
Think about your project goals. Is your project based in natural colors or fantasy colors? What works best for the project you are creating?
Take it into the sun and indoors to see it in different lighting conditions.
Match them against other swatches you have to compare texture, density, or length.
Check stretch (this can immensely help you when plan darts in your pattern)
Check what it looks like trimmed or shaved.
Use a slicker brush and brush it to see if it stays under normal maintenance.
See if it unravels or runs easily when you pick at the edges.Â
Shake it! See how that fur moves and lays.
Test it! Cut that swatch in half and use one part of it for a washing test or other test! Keep half as a âcontrolâ and test the other half!
How should I label my swatches?
When your samples arrive, they often come with the invoice that tells you what you ordered. But it is extremely easy for this invoice to get tossed or separated and the swatches kept instead, that info now lost. So labeling your swatches clearly and as soon as you get them becomes more important than ever. Here are ways you can label your swatches and information to include.
Label the month and the year you acquired it âJuly 2019âł -- this is important!! As dye lots can and will change over time, knowing what time period your fabricâs dye lot was created from can help. If your swatch is more than a year old, you want to know so you can get a new swatch in case the color changed!
Label the color and type that it was named where you ordered it. Examples âMint Rabbitâ âWhite Arctic foxâ âEmerald Long Ecoshagâ
Label the website name it came from. Examples âImstuffedfurâ âMendelsâ âBig Zâ
Label the project or characterâs name you plan to use it with or have used it on in the past. This is optional, but can help sometimes itâs easier to remember âMatrices Greyâ or âBonk Mint.â Naming by project sticks more strongly in memory, especially when you come back to use that fur, or think about that swatch again!
When it comes to actually sticking a label on your swatches, you can do so by writing on the swatch in pen, stapling a small paper label to your swatch with this info, or writing it on a label sticker and sticking it to the backing!
How should I store or organize my swatches?
Storing swatches can sometimes be an afterthought. But if you plan on making lots of projects with fur, storing and organizing swatches becomes more important as more of them are collected.Â
Hereâs some creative ideas and solutions that are useful, especially if you are low on space but want to stay organized.Â
Attach them to cardstock with staples or double-sided tape.Â
Use a binder with plastic sleeve inserts to tuck them in so they can be put away on a shelf.
Use a cork board and pin them up on the board so they can be stored hanging up.
Put a small hole in each swatch, and use a metal ring or carabiner to string them together so they can be stored in a drawer or hanging up.
Clip them together with clothespins to hang them up.Â
Have fun with collecting, examining, and organizing swatches for your projects! Hope this helps! Happy crafting!
For some curved seams basting instead of pinning can really speed up the machine sewing process!
Pinning along curves tends to be easy to fumble, poke you, or be so closely spaced there are a tons of pins to hold everything down. And it can simply add an extra layer of challenge to sewing with a sewing machine. Basting is a pretty good alternative solution for paw pads, fingertips, curves, or anything with a tight angle to it where pins are clunky and get in the way!
Start with your curved opening.Â
The above is an opening for a paw pad on a shaped set of handpaws. It is a curve that goes around where the pad gets sewn in, but also up along the pawâs digit.
Cut out the part of your pattern that will be basted in. This can be any other material, including fur. If your pattern has darts (the wedge-shaped triangles on the right of the pattern) sew those together before you baste your pieces.
Prepare your needle as a single thread â donât tie it off!
Begin basting by using wide looping stitches. Space them like you would pins!
It doesnât have to look pretty, its just temporary to hold the complex shape in place! Temporarily, just like pins!Â
You donât even have to stitch closely at all, or even spend time tying off that thread (it will be easier to remove if you do not tie anything off when doing this)
Sew your basted pattern pieces with a sewing machine. No pins to get in the way! You can use your favorite stitch to sew your fabric pieces together.
You can go quickly without having to pause to remove anything! Basting makes your project easier to handle and manipulate without getting poked.
Here is the sewn paw pad. It does not hurt to leave the basting in place. (This will save you time! Especially if it is going to be hidden by stuffing). But you can easily remove the temporary basting stitching by pulling on the thread or snipping it away.Â
Hope this saves you some time sewing! Happy crafting!Â
This four-year-old tutorial got a much needed update. Larger photos, expanded text explaining the concept, and it was broken out of the hard to read single-image format. Enjoy!!
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Hereâs a quick how-to to answer that question on how much fabric you need to actually purchase (or pretty much any âhow much do I need" question!).
Short answer
Build your patterns and then measure them!
Long answer
Make your pattern and decide where all of the markings and color breaks are located.
Make the base of your prototype or other project out of your chosen materials, such as foam. This can be anything! A head, footpaws, a tail, and so on. Here is my tape pattern tutorial. Tape it up, and then remove your tape pattern from it. Trace your hand pattern (or scale up the handpaw pattern from my site to fit your handâs size). Make your body pattern out of sheets from the thrift store or cheap muslin fabric. Make your object and then tape it to get the pattern, Or make a mock-up with grocery bags, etc!
Figure out how all of your markings will align on your pattern and clearly mark how they go back together. Separate your pattern pieces by color needed.
On the floor or in a large space, mark out a 60inch wide by 3foot long space (with tape or string or whatever) â this is one yard of imaginary fur.
Lay out your patterns on your marked out area, like shown above.
For each color you wish to purchase, lay out your pattern pieces of that color and measure, keep in mind that the fur direction will go down along that 3 foot long side.
Also pay attention to how far apart the pieces are from each other, there will need to be at least Âź inch clearance (sometimes more depending on your skill level or sewing technique) to accommodate a seam allowance. (Seam allowance is the amount of space you need the seam to take up when sewing)
Photograph it so you can remember how you positioned your pieces later, for once your fabric arrives.
Take a tape measure along that 3 foot side of your mocked-up area, and measure out how exactly much you need. Write it down somewhere, and you can always error on the side of âa little more" especially if the site or store you get your fur from requires a minimum cut. (Usually a half yard if buying online)
When your fur order comes in, refer to your photos on how to arrange your pieces efficiently and then trace, cut, and sew your project with your pattern pieces!
What if I have a scrap or remnant?
Want to know if your pattern will fit in a remnant or a scrap before you buy from the #fur4sale hashtag on twitter? Measure out the space on the floor from the dimensions given (in a similar fashion as above) and arrange your pieces (as detailed below) within your best guess of the shape to see if itâll work for you!
Again, keep the fur direction in mind â ask the person selling the fabric scraps which direction the fur goes, if it is not clear.
Where do I find fur to buy?
I have a large list I keep updated on my website here:
Fursuit and Crafting Resources
Fur suppliers start about the middle of that resource list!
Conclusion
I hope this helps! âHow much fur" is a very very individualized question and depends on many factors including your size and markings on your character, how long you want sleeves or cuffs, and so on.
The above information will work for anyone of any size for any project!
What is safe for marking on faux fur when fursuit making?
I did a test with surprising result! You are looking at a bleed test on faux fur using alcohol, a very common fursuit maintenance product.
Image caption:
(Left) Results after a few seconds. (Right) Control/Before
â Sharpie red
â Sharpie green
â Sharpie black
â Paint pen black
â Highlighter yellow
â Prismacolor Blue
â Crayola Brown
â Charcoal black
â Pencil #2
â Quilterâs washout silver
â Quilterâs washout blue
â Ballpoint pen black
Share these results with your friends or maker so they can see, and encourage them to test it for themselves on scraps before they start a project.Â
Not shown in the test is a lot of other marking things, this serves as an example of what you can do to see for yourself. So if youâre worried about it, test it!Â
This has been updated! More stuff has been added under the âkeep readingâ and the caption has been written out separate from the image so it is easier to read.
How to sew bias tape in faux fur so the edge is hidden!Â
Use single fold bias tape. It is relatively thin in width and has two ironed folds in the fabric strip.
Pin or clip the bias tape to the fur side. Line up the unfolded bias tape facing UP, with the edge of the fur fabric lined up with the edge.
Sew, using the fold of the bias tape as a guide for a straight sewn line.Â
Fold over the sewn edge.
Clip or pin in place, allow the other side of the bias tapeâs fold to be tucked under.Â
Comb the fur away from the predicted sewing path. This can be skipped if you are confident in your brushing-out-fur skill, but brushing fur out on an edge can sometimes be a time commitment, so its simply easier to comb it aside before sewing in this case since it is right on the edge.
Sew it a second time. Use a wide stitch length this time (4 mm or so) to make combing any remaining trapped fur easier.
Comb any remaining fur that might have gotten trapped during the sewing step.
Enjoy your finished and HIDDEN bias tape edge! This technique is great for necklines, hemming cuff edges, handpaw cuff edges, or other area where you wish to finish the edge off, but do not actually want the bias tape to become a visible decoration seen on the outside of the costume piece.
Most faux fur fabric you will encounter simply does not tend to unravel, but there are a very very small handful of faux furs that do (you will know if you have it, if you test a swatch and stretch it at the edge it will run like nylon leg stockings do) so this technique was developed to counteract that issue.
This 3-year old tutorial has had its photos broken out from the single image format, and instead is more like my other tutorials with the WIP photos with descriptive text written below. Extra descriptive text has been added as well!
In hindsight, this is a much better format, especially in the case of those reading on that use an online translator to translate the tutorial text into a different language.
Did you know you can soften a ârawâ edge on faux fur by brushing it a little with a slicker brush? This is done by using a slicker brush on the backing of the faux fur.Â
Some furs work better than others with this techniqueâ so like with all the tips I share â test on scraps first!Â
Where could this possibly be useful? Maybe along a zipper edge to soften it up, maybe on cuffs that have a really hard-looking edge. Perhaps on faux fur hair tufts, the edge of a neckflap that lifts, anywhere you think up!Â
Donât go overboard, this is a one-way technique, once it gets pulled through it has to be shaved off to be removed, then you simply have less fur in that spot, oops!
Fur does not tend to unravel, but there are some spots where some little white fibers will come loose. They also only tend to unravel so far. You should discover this in testing, but if you find it happening on a finished project, carefully snip them off, its not the end of the world. :D
This is a process I utilize in all of my padded costumes. It is uncommon that I utilize duct tape dummies for this task (unless I am working for a client). This is a useful technique to try if you are creating a costume for yourself since you can accomplish this padding style solo, without needing that body double. I hope that helps!
If you need help or additional reading, this tutorial is a continuation of this guide:
Since the tailoring should happen primarily in the bodysuit fabric, this tutorial assumes you already have your bodysuit made, or are adding new pillows to an existing costume.
What to Expect When Using Pillows for Body Padding
Pillow pads look best when they fill the entire loose areas of a padded bodysuit. They are intended to be held in place primarily by friction against the body of the wearer and the tailored exterior of the costume's fur.Â
While this style of body padding looks best if you utilize friction to hold well-stuffed pads into place, also think about how your shape will work with gravity and other forces (like dancing, running, or jumping). I always want my padding to still look its best fitted lowest in the body. So if I jump, run and move while wearing the costume, it still looks correct with the pillow fitted and settled at the bottom of that extremity. (You can hold pads in place with buttons & loops to counteract forces, which will be discussed further in this tutorial.)
This patterning process utilizes prototyping to create the pillow pattern. It is a close guess, and then it is tested. If it does not work, the steps can be repeated in a different way and tried again, or the pillow can be edited to be different! Experimenting this way can be very rewarding as it allows a person to learn what works and what doesn't, and how to improve on it.
Materials:
Your bodysuit that needs padding
Saftey pins
Large sheet of paper (roll of gift wrap or brown paper works well!)
Pen to mark your pattern
Scissors
Lycra or athletic mesh (or other fabric of your choosing)
Chalk for marking your fabric
Sewing machine
Polyfil stuffing (premium brands like Morning Glory cluster fluff are ideal for pads like this)
Optional
Masking tape
Clips or Pins
Prototype fabric if you choose to make test shapes
Closures (like press-on snaps or a zipper)
Which Fabric is Best for the Pillows?
Should you want rounded cartoonier shapes, use fabrics such as lycra, athletic mesh, or spacer mesh to construct your padding pillows. These make soft and rounded shapes. These fabrics are stretchy and fill areas very easily with the techniques I share in this tutorial. My costume-making style is very cartoony so I use these fabrics more often in my work.
Should you want more chiseled or realistic-looking shapes, use fabrics such as quilted broadcloth, headliner foam, or less stretchy fabrics. These can hold points and sharp shapes better, but may need additional tailoring or darting techniques to fill areas. I do not demonstrate those additional tailoring or darting techniques in this guide (since i do no not really work in a chiseled/realistic-looking style), so if you are new to creating body padding use the lycra or athletic mesh like I show. Do not stop experimenting though! Try new fabrics when you have the chance!!Â
What to avoid? âFluffyâ faced fabrics like minky, flannel, or fleece of any variety. Costumes with padding are HOT enough to begin with, do not make it worse with a fabric face designed to retain heat. Smooth faced fabrics are better!
Getting the Pattern
Try on your costume. Feel around where the costume is fitted and where it is loose and baggy. Make note of those locations where the pattern starts to get loose. This try-on step is important, and will be what will help guide you for the shape of your padding. If you need to, utilize safety pins to help you mark and indicate the extremities where you want your padding to fill.
Lay your bodysuit out on the floor or a big workspace area, flat.
Take gift wrap or a roll of brown paper and lay it over your bodysuit. Make sure you have good coverage.
Mark out the extremities of the pattern (that you made note of or marked with saftey pins in the first step) as points on your paper. The extremities can be the edges of the sewn shapes, or where you made note of the loose areas when the bodysuit was tried on. You can also simply feel around for the saftey pins you placed, if you utilized those.
Do a rough "dot-to-dot" and connect your shapes. Sketch between the points to get this shape. You can see where I sketched, but then rounded out the bottom of the knee and the butt. Pillow pads are easier to sew and use as rounded shapes. If your pattern is intended as one piece to wrap around the body, consider where and how it will connect to the other side by following your loose points (or again, those start-of-loose-areas you marked when trying it on in the first step).
Grab your scissors and cut out your shape a little bigger than what you sketched. This is a shape you can trim down further once you begin to visualize it on top of your empty bodysuit part. Usually I make note where I plan to trim it. Trim after you sew up the prototype and it is tested, in case you need that extra area and volume in the pillows.Â
Cut away too much on your paper pattern? You can use masking tape to bring back anything you cut too much away from.
Take your paper pattern and sew up the protoype in fabric. I often utilize flat sheets purchased from the thrift store to test my patterns. If you choose to test on your final fabric (such as more pricy fabric like Lycra/Spandex), it helps if you start bigger so you can gradually edit the pillow smaller if it is needed.Â
Shown is the pattern now being traced on the stretchy lycra fabric that will become the pad.
Now sew your pad! In this example I utilize a serger, which is a type of machine that cuts and sews at once. It is capable of quickly putting pads together. A regular sewing machine using a "stretch stitch" is useful as well. (You do not need a serger to make pads.) If you want to add a special closure, like a zipper, do so before sewing it up (see further below in the guide for adding a zipper).
Leave an opening to stuff your pad, and fill it up with polyfil. or the cluster fluff premium stuffing! Use a moderate quantity at first, don't seal up the stuffing hole yet -- try on with your bodysuit. Check the fit and then add additional stuffing if needed.
I have had the most success with just leaving a small opening behind to maintain my stuffing. But snaps, buttons, zippers, or other closure methods can be planned into your padding pillows to make them easier to maintain the stuffing. (More on zippers below!)
The beauty of this style of padding is that you can get some really smooth transitions between wearer and costume by having the pillow a little bigger than the space required. The tailoring defines the shape and everything loose is filled. If you have wrinkling, add more polyfil or draft a bigger padding shape to fill the space.
Troubleshooting your padding
The shape of the pillow is often a "hypothesis" where an educated guess is made based on the shape of the extremities that need padded, and the pillow is tested by filling it with polyfil and trying it on. First go bigger than you think you need, since you can scale it back easily with another pass of the sewing machine and less stuffing. If you need less padding from tightness or less mobility, stuff the pillow less, or tailor the pillow smaller.Â
Remember it is OK to prototype and test different shapes. Learning what works and what doesn't, and how to improve on it is a very good skill to practice.
If you need to re-assess your pillow pattern shape due to an awkward fit, or too large of pillow that is spilling too easily into other areas too far, unstuff, mark and edit your pillow smaller.
If you are experiencing the pillow not filling the whole space, or having an abrupt beginning to your shape -- and you already have it well-stuffed -- instead experiment with bigger, wider, or taller pads.Â
A bigger pad is able to take advantage of more gradual transitions since stuffing is easily compressed, you can utilize of that compress-able property of the stuffing with a bigger pillow.
Note: Pillow pads look best when they fill the entire loose area of a padded bodysuit. They are intended to be held in place primarily by friction against the body of the wearer and the tailored exterior of the costume's fur.Â
If a bodysuit is still loose in areas that you do not wish to be filled with padding, the bodysuitâs fur will need additional tailoring to fit it to your (the wearerâs) body.Â
If the outward appearance of the body is now âtoo bigâ because of the padding, tailor the bodysuitâs fur to be slimmer rather than making smaller pads, since small pads will be too loose in that space.
Counteracting Forces
If you have a place you would like to add padding, but need to fight gravity, here's how I do it! I use a style of attachment that allows the pillows to remain separate during times like storage and washing, but stay put when being put on and moving around. Quite simply this technique shows how to use a button & a loop as the attachment method.
Areas like ankle padding are especially susceptible to the forces of gravity and even each stomp of a paw. Sometimes you also just want the start of your pad to begin in a specific place so your polyfil can compress smoothly along the tailored shaping, or just ease in getting the costume on & off when you slide the wearer's leg past the pads.Â
Other uses can include keeping chest padding high on the body, or even a way to attach it in so you can zip up a costume over top.
Materials
Medium-sized Buttons
Paracord or similar strong cord
Needle & Thread
Lighter
Chalk, to mark the inside
Cut and sew a loops of paracord just big enough to slip over your buttons. You want a moderately close fit, similar to buttoning up a new t-shirt. Use your needle and thread to sew through the cord and tighten it down more if you need to. If able, melt the ends where you cut the cord with a lighter to prevent fraying.
Once you've prepared several loops decide where you will add your buttons to your padding. I usually pinch the top of the padding with a bit of stuffing inside and sew it directly through all of the layers including that little clump of stuffing. It will ensure some stuffing remains around your button even over time and shifting of the polyfil.
In most cases I put two buttons on each pad. One on the top and one the bottom. Friction and tailoring is what is supposed to hold the pad in place the rest of the way.
Fit your pads in place, and mark out where the buttons rest with chalk. This is where you will sew in your prepared loop. You can place the loops along a seam, which is my preferred location, or even in the middle of a panel (like shown here).Â
If you are unsure the location you want to put your pad. Test your loop by safety pinning it on, then you can button it together and make sure it hangs and is placed correctly before committing to the sewing.
What about pockets? Pockets can be great and are convenient! But know they arenât the solution for everything and can be much more additional labor in some cases, for not much different result. Especially versus using a simple loop and button to attach. Personally, I am sparing with my use of pockets to contain the padding pillows or even loose stuffing. The reason? I time myself on all of my projects to learn what techniques are more efficient over another. Since the end result of containing-a-pillow-in-place looks the same on the exterior weather you use a button & loop OR a pocket. The decision to avoid pockets is in order to save time on my projects, pockets can be much more labor-intensive to install by the tune of several hours additional labor. Donât let me discourage you from adding pockets! You may have a different experience! But time yourself to make sure you are not overspending your time on something that looks the same from the exterior in the end. For more information on timing yourself read this article on the topic that I have written!
Adding in a Zipper
This is totally optional, but still a useful addition to any set of body padding. Especially if you are using standard Polyfil, since it needs maintenance and re-fluffing on occasion throughout the life of the costume. If you have shapes like rump or tummy pads that don't have a convenient "top" to leave open to stuff, a zipper might be a nice solution.Â
I try not to overthink something that is not visible to the audience, so the zippers I add to body padding are often very simple. They work best on fabrics that do not tend to unravel, such as Lycra and Spandex.
Sew your zipper in before you sew the two halves of your pattern together.
Use the technique of sewing your zipper down on an uncut section
Here is what it looks like on the other side. Use scissors to carefully cut it open.
This is what the finished maintenance zipper looks like. Not the prettiest, but absolutely quick to sew in, and useful to stuff/de-stuff, which is all you need for something only the wearer will see but never the audience.
Conclusion
I hope these techniques will help you in your quest to make pillow padding inserts for your own costumes! This guide was written and posted as early access to my Patreon.  Even $1 is appreciated if you find these techniques and tutorials useful! Thank you so much for your support, enjoy and happy crafting!!
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This tutorial teaches you via pattern and step-by-step photos how to make your very own BIG collar! These are working over-sized collars intended for a fursuit or cosplay costume accessory or can even be made for a pet! You make it yourself!
This tutorial can be found in my etsy shop:Â
https://www.etsy.com/listing/691812612
I will also have physical copies of the pattern & tutorial available at my BLFC table next weekend! Table 132!
I have worked hard to create and test this pattern and write up its tutorial! These collars were designed to be worn by people as a costume accent, but are also a cute feature on larger breed dogs as well! If you are making for an actual animal, I make note within the tutorial where to take special care for a strong collar if yours is going to a pet dog.
It is highly appreciated if you use or adapt these techniques on projects, that you share credit that you learned it right here from Matrices.net using my patterns and guides. That way others can discover my tutorials and make their own collar, too!!
I am sure many of you get the question all the time while fursuiting, âisnât it hot in there?â .. well, it can be if you donât have a fan! Not all fursuit heads have the luxury of good ventilation, so getting a fan in there is something that can help airflow.Â
A lot of people arenât mechanically inclined, so hopefully this tutorial can break down the steps easily enough to allow someone who has never done this before to make their own simple fan setup.
This tutorial covers the technique for putting a simple switch on a small fan, and how to hook it up to a USB cord to use with a power bank or one 9v battery, with a toggle switch to turn it on and off.
Materials:
Computer fan of your choosing (I used these:Â https://amzn.to/2It3cTp)
Switch (I used these:Â https://amzn.to/2Uwe1pC)
USB cord (old phone cords work) & Power bank (I tested & used the fans I made with https://amzn.to/2Dmkwpb, others work too!)
Scissors and/or razor knife
Shrink tubing (1/16" and 1/8âł to 3/16" if you are using the linked fans & switches)
Lighter
Wire cutter
Optional but extremely helpful
Soldering iron, Solder, & flux
Ruler, Measuring tape, or string (to judge wire lengths and distances for where to mount your fan in your head)
Wire stripper
Clamps/clips to hold your wires as you solder
Totally optional
Electrical tape (instead of shrink tubing)
9v connector + battery (instead of usb cord + power bank)
Plastic mesh to mount your fan parts to
Velcro or snaps for installing a removable fan
Start by having all of your materials ready. Most of the electronic bits (the fans, the toggle switches, battery connectors, and even the soldering gun) can be purchased online. If you are lucky enough to have an electronics store nearby you can pick up the parts there too.
Wire Assembly
Begin by planning out how much wiring you want and where you might put your fan, your switch, and battery. Measure out distances of your wires, but also still leave yourself a bit of wiggle room, you just donât want excess dangling wires inside of your costume/mouth/face/etc or hindering you from putting your costume on and off!Â
This tutorial has received a BIG super needed update! Now there is photographed step-by-step guidance!! Also instead of just showing you how to connect a 9volt battery terminal I also show how you can re-purpose a USB cord to make a fan that runs off a power bank. Enjoy!!Â