How I made my fursuit.
Hello folks! If you are interested in how I made my fursuit, you've come to the right place.
My fursuit was designed for use in a series of live role playing (LRP) events. For this reason, it was made to survive being pulled through hedges and still remain intact. Depending on what you need your fursuit for, you may not need to make it so robust.
- Constructing the fursuit which includes these subsections:
- Fish's clothing. Including:
- The prosthetics, makeup and bodypaint section which includes:
Time Tally
I don't own a sewing machine, so I had to hand-stitch my entire costume. Obviously, machine stitching would have been much faster and easier on the fingers, I highly recommend using one. I logged the amount of time it took me to make the fursuit, so I'm including a 'Time Tally' to indicate the time spent making each piece. I thought you would be interested in how long it took to make Fish.
The Fursuit
Main Body
I bought a white boiler suit from a market for £5. This was the base of my costume. (For those who aren't familiar with boiler suits, they're those coveralls that painters and mechanics wear to keep there clothes all clean.) I removed the collar and pockets, then while wearing it I pinned up any slack in the arms, legs and torso. After sewing, this produced a snug fitting boiler suit. Make sure not to make it too tight, you don't want all your stitches to rip when you sit down!
Next I purchased the funfur. I needed; 2.5m of zebra, 1m of white (for the belly) and a smallish square of black (for the tip of the tail). Then came the tricky bit.
The boiler suit was made up of many different panels. I cut my funfur in the shape of these panels and sewed the lot on top of the existing ones. You'll have to do this bit without my help, but keep in mind these points;
- Leave about 6" extra on the neck, legs and arms. You can cut these to size later. (Extending your work is a real problem, so always plan ahead.)
- Mark the belly onto the boiler suit in pen, and then treat just like a normal panel. Cut and sew it on first. Gaps in the fur down the side of the belly would be easily noticed, so work to the other panels to the belly rather than hoping the belly will fit the space left by other panels. (If that makes sense.)
- Getting in and out of the costume. I only sewed up one side of the belly panel, then used Velcro and poppers on the other side. This produced an entry/exit flap. Velcro alone would have done just as well, but poppers on their own causes folds to appear as you move.
- The tail needs to be pre-made and sewed on after being stuffed, but before the 'bum' panels are stitched on. See below.
Finishing touches
The finishing touches were to trim the ends of the arms, legs and neck. I just cut them to size using sharp scissors and didn't hem or anything. I used a large white collar to hide the end of the join between the funfur and the face make-up, but I don't really need to, so use a smaller red one now. You can find out about the collars below.
Time Tally: 26 hours- Altering boiler suit: 3 hours
- Cutting and sewing on the fur panels: 21 hours
- Construction of the tail: 1 hour
- Finishing touches: 1 hour
Dr. Stoobley says:
"As a Doctor, I so often have patients come to me with funfur related illnesses. I have noted that they are mostly caused by the inhalation of airborne funfur particles created when cutting the fur. To save your lungs I suggest that you do it outside or at least vacuum afterwards. Funfur, the silent killer."
"As a Doctor, I so often have patients come to me with funfur related illnesses. I have noted that they are mostly caused by the inhalation of airborne funfur particles created when cutting the fur. To save your lungs I suggest that you do it outside or at least vacuum afterwards. Funfur, the silent killer."
Tail
|
The tail is made as a simple tube, about 1.5 inches in diameter. Cut a rectangle and a 1.5 inch circle of funfur. Sew the tube and then sew on the circle, all inside out. Turn it all correct side out and then stuff. There's a 5 inch black section at the tip of the tail which also added to the stitching time. The tail was stuffed with teddy bear stuffing (60p from a sewing shop) and sewn on at an appropriate point in the construction of the rest of the suit. |
|
This tail design can be used as a 'stand alone' model. Just sew an extra belt loop on the top, thread it through your belt, and hey presto, your own tail. |
Time Tally: 1 hour- Sewing and cutting and stuffing: 1 hour
Dr. Stoobley says:
"How many times have the Doctors in my practice come to me after trapping their tails in doors? Well, two actually, but it's still worth warning you all about 'tail caught in door syndrome'. This often occurs when the patient is tired or intoxicated, causing a drop in attention span."
"How many times have the Doctors in my practice come to me after trapping their tails in doors? Well, two actually, but it's still worth warning you all about 'tail caught in door syndrome'. This often occurs when the patient is tired or intoxicated, causing a drop in attention span."
Paws
|
I took a pair of old skiing gloves, removed the fingers and thumbs, then sewed up the seams so that none of the innards would fall out. Next I made six claws. I cut the shape out of 6mm high density foam, and then applied 12 layers of black liquid latex latex. (You can use a hairdryer to speed drying time.) I then dusted each claw with talc, this stops them from sticking together. I covered the back of the glove with funfur leaving gaps at the knuckles to attach the claws. I poked the long bits of the claws through the holes at the knuckles, so the funfur was firmly wedged in the slot in the foam, and sewed the claws to the glove. As paws are quite padded, I stuffed the back of the paw, then sewed up any remaining gaps.
|
Time Tally: 6 hours- Removing the gloves and sewing up the seams: 1 hour
- Making and attaching the claws: 3 hours
- Backing the gloves with funfur: 2 hours
Dr. Stoobley says:
"Layers of latex over foam. What a great idea Fish. Not only do they look really good, just think of the safety aspect. These soft bendy claws could be used by nearly all age groups, even the youngest of cats."
"Layers of latex over foam. What a great idea Fish. Not only do they look really good, just think of the safety aspect. These soft bendy claws could be used by nearly all age groups, even the youngest of cats."
The Clothing
The Red Waistcoat.
|
I bought a pair of red suede jeans from a market for £1 (bargain). I then borrowed a friend's waistcoat and gratuitously copied it. Cutting the panels out of the legs of the jeans. Then I sewed the panels together with normal cotton and a very sharp leather needle. Once sewed, I punched holes along all of the seams. (Being careful not to cut through the stitching!) I then threaded leather thonging through these holes to give the impression of large stitches.
|
Time Tally: 6 hours- Removing the gloves and sewing up the seams: 1 hour
- Making and attaching the claws: 3 hours
- Backing the gloves with funfur: 2 hours
Dr. Stoobley says:
"Fish, you didn't make any pockets in that waistcoat. Where is one supposed to keep one's watch, or pipe tobacco?"
"Fish, you didn't make any pockets in that waistcoat. Where is one supposed to keep one's watch, or pipe tobacco?"
The Trousers
|
These trousers are laced up on the side, so that everyone can see my leg fur. I took an old pair of black jeans and split the outside leg stitching with a knife. I then punched eyelets along edges of these splits, and lace them up with thonging. All that was left was to cut a hole in the back for my tail to go through, which I did with a pair of scissors.
|
|
Since then I've bought a pair of PVC trousers. The only modification needed was a tail hole. I found a sharp knife was perfect for cutting the hole. I just did a cross-shaped slit, and poke my tail through that. Easy. |
Time Tally: 2 hours- Punching and threading and sewing: 2 hours
Dr. Stoobley says:
"PVC trousers? Well, they look really good, but I bet you never thought about their medical uses. No? I thought not. I didn't spend nine and a half years becoming a doctor with out learning a few things about PVC trousers. 'What gem of knowledge are you about to share with us Dr. Stoobley?' I hear you ask. Well, let's just say that their 'wipe clean' properties are particularly useful... Now, lets never talk of this again."
"PVC trousers? Well, they look really good, but I bet you never thought about their medical uses. No? I thought not. I didn't spend nine and a half years becoming a doctor with out learning a few things about PVC trousers. 'What gem of knowledge are you about to share with us Dr. Stoobley?' I hear you ask. Well, let's just say that their 'wipe clean' properties are particularly useful... Now, lets never talk of this again."
The Collars
|
The white collar
This was made to hide the line were fur turns into bodypaint. (Although, I now feel I don't need to do that.) I made it out of some white leather that I had knocking around since 1991, a belt buckle and many studs. I went to a local pet shop, and studied the dog collars. I remembered the shape and style of one I liked, and went home to play. I cut the basic shape out newspaper first, leather isn't a substance I like to waste. Once I was happy with the paper one, I took it apart and cut the pieces out of the leather. I marked the holes for the studs and cut the holes with small cross-shaped cuts. (I found a craft knife good for this bit.) With the holes cut, I just pushed the studs through. The belt buckle was fixed so that I could do it all up. |
|
The red collar
I bought this from a pet store, and I think looks a lot better than my white one. Shame really, I put a lot of effort into my other one. |
Time Tally: 3 hours- Cutting the leather parts: 1 hour
- Inserting the studs: 2 hours
Dr. Stoobley says:
"Many people assume that the fursuit is most uncomfortable thing to wear in this costume. They are incorrect. In fact, the collar is the only article that really annoys the wearer. The closeness of the leather, although exciting, causes heat to build up in the neck region causing a 'hot spot'. This 'hot spot' causes the body to perspire in order to reduce the temperature. End result? A sweaty neck."
"Many people assume that the fursuit is most uncomfortable thing to wear in this costume. They are incorrect. In fact, the collar is the only article that really annoys the wearer. The closeness of the leather, although exciting, causes heat to build up in the neck region causing a 'hot spot'. This 'hot spot' causes the body to perspire in order to reduce the temperature. End result? A sweaty neck."
The Make-Up and The Prosthetics
The Prosthetics
Ears
|
I bought a pair of latex elf ears from a horror shop, but you can get them all over the place in fancy dress shops. To make them furry, I backed them with some offcuts of zebra funfur. Then using a paintbrush, I made-up the ears with white facepaint to match my face make-up. I glued on an earcuff to simulate a piercing and that was that. I used 'Mastix Extra' Spirit Gum to attach them. It worked really well. I also made a fish shaped earring out of a necklace bead.
|
|
Things to note: Prosthetics.
• I use spirit gum to 'glue' the tips onto my ears. I've had no problem using this method, but I know of some people who have tried it spirit gum with larger 'wolf' style ears. The gum wasn't up to the job, and they became unstuck, and drooped. • Spirit gum isn't the easiest thing to remove. At the end of the day, I tend to just pull the tips off, and then I use spirit gum remover and a robust rag to scrub the sticky stuff off my ears. |
Time Tally: 30 minutes- Backing the ears with funfur: 20 minutes
- Adding the fake earring: 10 minutes
Dr. Stoobley says:
"Small children with pots on their heads... men holding bags of frozen pees onto black eyes... red nosed people with boxes of tissues... I get them all in here. Another common embarrassing situation is when one falls asleep on the bus on the way home, and wakes to find oneself stuck to the seat by the ear. If at all possible, please remove ear glue before sleep. You wouldn't want me to have to amputate now would you?"
"Small children with pots on their heads... men holding bags of frozen pees onto black eyes... red nosed people with boxes of tissues... I get them all in here. Another common embarrassing situation is when one falls asleep on the bus on the way home, and wakes to find oneself stuck to the seat by the ear. If at all possible, please remove ear glue before sleep. You wouldn't want me to have to amputate now would you?"
Teeth
|
|
||
|
Things to note: Tooth Caps.
• Don't scrimp on the cost of your tooth caps if you expect to wear them for a great deal of time in one stretch. The cheaper they are, the more likely they will be to cut and rub your gums. Not a good thing. • On the literature that comes with the caps, it specifically says never to eat or drink with them in. Now, I dry out very quickly in my fursuit, so I need water regularly. I do sip drinks with my fangs in, but urge you not to take gulps, the last thing you want is to choke to death on a pointy tooth cap. • I have been told that the pink denture adhesive you can get can stain your caps. I use Poly Grip, the pink one, and have had no staining at all... |
Time Tally: 1 hour- Mixing the paste, letting it set, and trimming off: 1 hour
Dr. Stoobley says:
"Heh heh! I remember the time when I wore some fangs one Halloween. I was raising money for the Funloving Doctors Fund at my practice. Anyway, I just smiled at all the little brats I had to see, and it shut them right up. I got through all my appointments before noon, and had a round of golf in the afternoon. Now if that's not a great endorsement for scaring children, I don't know what is."
"Heh heh! I remember the time when I wore some fangs one Halloween. I was raising money for the Funloving Doctors Fund at my practice. Anyway, I just smiled at all the little brats I had to see, and it shut them right up. I got through all my appointments before noon, and had a round of golf in the afternoon. Now if that's not a great endorsement for scaring children, I don't know what is."
Eyes
|
Anything to do with changing the shape or colour of your eyes really de-humanises you. Inparticular, the pair of cats eye ones I had for a month. You can just make out the effect it gives on the picture to the right, but they really worked well.
|
|
I now use green contact lenses. (My natural eye colour being brown) These are cheaper than the cats eye ones and are also prescription, so I can see for miles with them in. Anyway, white tigers look great with green eyes, so I thought nothing of having green ones myself.. |
|
Things to note: Contact Lenses
•I loved my cats eye contacts. They were by Wildeyes and were very easy to put in and look after. •The lenses are thicker at the bottom so that the slit stays vertical. On my left eye however, the slit kept righting to an angle not vertical. It was my eye that caused this to happen, not the lens, so I guess I'll have to stick to lenses that have no orientation. •They are very expensive. I paid £50 for a pair that would last a month. |
Time Tally: 20 minutes- Even on a good day, I have to wait 10 minutes for my eyes to stop watering: 20 minutes
Dr. Stoobley says:
"I'm being sued for malpractice."
"I'm being sued for malpractice."
The Make-up
Face
My face make-up is surprisingly straightforward to apply. You've just got to sort out the order that you are going to do things first, and you can't go wrong really. After I've stuck the ear tips on, and put the contact lenses in, I go through the following procedure.
- I start with a good moisturiser. It's very important to keep your skin in good condition, spending a whole day covered in make-up can make your skin blotchy if you aren't nice to it.
- I then put a good cover of white waterbased make-up all over. I dab the made-up on, rather than wiping in on, as it makes the effect look a lot better. (No streaky marks.) But you do need it more watered down, so a bit of both seams to work best. Just have a go and see what it looks like.
- I then fixed the white paint with some general purpose fixing powder applied with a large brush. (This makes it less likely to sweat off, and makes it more touch proof.)
- I add the stripes using black face paint and a paintbrush.
- Next is the cute pink nose. This is done with a pink lipstick and a brush. This looks really good, but comes off all to easily should you touch it with anything.
- Then black mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick finish the job.
Waterbased bodypaint.The bodypaint of choice definitely seems to be Snazaroo. It's available in all sorts of colours, washes off easily, and stays on well. What else can I say, other than I like it. For makeup tips from the people who know, get thee to the www.snazaroo.com. Just click on the ikkle furry boy on the right. :)
Grease paint.It really stays on which is both a good good and bad. It doesn't sweat off, so you don't get panda eyes etc, but as it doesn't just wash off, you need a makeup remover or lots of scrubbing to get it off. It can smear slightly, so apply thinly unless you want to rub off on people.
Time Tally: 45 minutes- Practice makes perfect: 45 minutes
Dr. Stoobley says:
"Here's a little tip. After a fantastic weekend dressing up, it is often a good idea to remove your make-up, even if you live just a short drive away. I know of one poor soul who got a flat tyre and had to pull over. He felt a bit of a fool when the recovery vehicle turned up, I can tell you."
"Here's a little tip. After a fantastic weekend dressing up, it is often a good idea to remove your make-up, even if you live just a short drive away. I know of one poor soul who got a flat tyre and had to pull over. He felt a bit of a fool when the recovery vehicle turned up, I can tell you."