Suit Pricing Piece Pricing Available Fur Specs and Techniques Home		Fursuiting Specs and Techniques Here I'll describe what sort of work I put into making my fursuits, to assure you I'm building to the best of my ability. Though I am always experimenting and learning new things! These are generally my construction methods.. unless of course you need something different. It's all about commissioning; customizing to what you want.. within my abilities, of course! Heads In the beginning... My heads are sculpted from foam on top of a balaclava. A balaclava is pretty much a ski mask made with thinner fabric. For a moving jaw, elastic is sewn onto the balaclava where it's needed (working similar to the muscles in your jaw) to allow for proper movement. Foam is then attatched to it, forming the shape of the head. The ears are shaped using plastic mesh and/or EVA foam when more support is needed, and padded with more foam. ALL of my heads are breathable through the mouth, as well as invisible ear "holes". This allows for superb ventillation, since most of your body heat escapes from your head! Adding the fur. After the final shape is reached through sculpting, it's time to add the fur. EVERY head is different, thus a new pattern is created for each head. The pattern is created over the foam shape, it's then laid flat on the fur. The fur is cut, and is then all sewn together. The fur "skin" is then fit onto the head and spot-glued down where needed. Sewing the fur together beforehand makes for exceptional durability! Lastly, a neckpiece will be sewn on, and it usually works well just wearing it on the outside of the body suit/shirt. Mouth, eyes, and Nose. The mouth is lined with fleece, defaulted black unless otherwise specified. And default red tongue. I always like to add two little teeth to the bottom jaw. For the eyes (non 3D) I start with plastic.. whether it be a cut up bucket, bowl, or anything else fairly thin and aready curved. A hole is cut from that, then the pupil and iris are painted onto a see-through layer of fabric. 3-D eyes are sunken into the head to give that 'follow you' effect. They can be made with concave plastic or two halves of concave mesh balls. Noses are shaped from foam, and fabric is then sewn together to place over it. These can be made to look so many different ways, so feel fryy to let me know what style/texture of nose you are looking for! Body Suits It starts with a LOT of fur. Every single pattern is unique and created just for you. A great deal of time goes into this part. This is where keeping in mind 'wear and (quite literally) TEAR' comes into play. The body has to be made as one of the most durable parts of the suit, because you're always moving around in it. When sewing pieces together, I only use upholstery thread. This is an extremely strong, nylon thread with a tear strength of 10-15 lbs (as opposed to regular cotton thread with a tear strength of 2-3 lbs.). The inevitable zipper! I always put them at the front of the suit because, well, it's just makes everything SO much easier. First of all, I use what's called an "invisible" zipper. The zipper pull itself is in the front, but the actual mechanics of the zipper are on the back of it...so you don't see the teeth at all! I also leave a small strip of fabric, that serves as little flap over the zipper, as an additional way to hide it. At first you may have a hard time with getting fur caught in the zipper.. just brush the fur away from it first. It takes a few times to get used to, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to zip and unzip in one motion quite easily! What's that tailhole for?!? The tail, of course! A hole is left where you pull the belt loop of the tail through, to run the belt through it and attatch it to yourself. This way, there is no pull on the back of the suit from the weight of the tail (it doesn't look pretty, trust me) and that's also one less thing that could possibly get ripped off. Now when a suit calls for a much smaller tail, say, a bobcat, rabbit, or badger.. I will attatch the tail directly to the suit. It's reccommended to wear a pair of thin shorts with belt loops to help hold the tail in its place, and be more comfortable for the wearer, instead of having that belt against your bare skin. The Rest of the Pieces Handpaws Again, upholstery thread is always used when sewing. The handpaws are custom made to fit you with a couple measurements of your hand and wrist. They come out a little fitting, not too big and bulky. The edge of the fur at the wrist opening is lined, so there are no raw edges of fabric exposed. Handpaw Extras Claws are cut from fabric, stuffed, and sewn into the fingertips of the hands. There is almost no limit to the color & type of fabric used! By default I will go to lux (or luxury) fleece; thicker and does NOT pill. If it doesn't come in the color you're looking for, we can discuss other types of fabric. Pads are also sewn onto the hands. Again, I like to pick luxury fleece. A faux suede us another great option. Stuffed pads are available upon request, to add that extra-cute thickness to them. Sleeves This is an extra piece you can get when you order paws, allowing you to wear them with a t-shirt. Again, they are custom fit using several measurements from your arm. There is elastic sewn into the upper portion to help hold them in place while wearing. Feet Paws The most time-consuming piece to make! It all starts with basic slipper. The toes are shaped from foam and glued to these, and some additional padding to the sides as well, for shaping. Then the fur is added, using as few seperate pieces as possible, with less places for the fur to tear apart. Again, the same techniques are used when furring a head- patterned & sewn! I A 1/4" thick piece of neoprene rubber is added to the bottom to finish them off. I used a heavy-duty construction grade caulk to adhere them to the bottom. Feet Paw Extras Want pads on your feet? No problem! Keep in mind, having padded foot-bottoms means they will get dirty/scuffed/worn a bit more easily. BUT, I have to admit they come out looking really cute, and are definately worthwhile if you plan on taking extra good care of them. Because these pads need to be sewn, the bottoms of the feet need to be either fur or vinyl. For the pads themselves I usually choose a faux suede. Claws are, again, sewn together and then sewn to the toes. Tails Possibly the most fun piece to wear around. The most basic tail is a 2 part pattern, where each half is sewn together; whether it be straight or in some sort of "S" shape. Then they are stuffed with soft poly-fill stuffing. For larger, more upright tails, the "innard" is sculpted out of foam and the fur attatched like on a head. All tails are made with a belt loop, using the fur on the tail itself as the loop. This way the loop is nearly invisible.