How do you sew a fur covering?

[Dagger Claws]

I'm interested in building myself a puppet, out of polyfoam, with a fur covering. I have some interesting colored shag like fur that I'd like to use to make a puppet. Now, I only have limited eperience sewing on a machine and none with sewing by hand and I would really like there to be no visible seams once he's built. I'm unsure of a pattern to use, but I was thinking of using the "Blue Boy" pattern. Can anyone out there help me out with learning how to A) Sew a shag fur covering (as well as arms and hands) for a polyfoam puppet and B) Create an inside lining for the puppet as well, one that will run from the bottom of the puppet up to the neck. Buck, Fozzie, Puppet Planet, can any of you guys help me out?

Thanks and I hope to hear from someone soon,
Marc

 

[ravagefrackle]

well i suggest u learn to start sewing by hand, machine stiching fur is somethingthat can be done, but it is not really good for the machine, the fur pile can get stuck in side, and it is really only reccomened for somthing of a really large scale like a walk around. i think you should practice a simple wip stich by hand, its not difficult to do, and once you get some practice you will find that it is also really quick, youll want to keep the seams close togother, don tbe tempted to space them widly to save time it will only weaken your work and cause seam breaks and seperation.

good luck,

ps

as for cutting he fur , ii would use a double face razor blade on the fur backing in order to prevent cutting in to the fur pile, dontr press the fur done, just make a small cut and follow it along your pattern like a surgen with a scalpel.

 

[Dagger Claws]

Thank you so much Ravage. Now, what is a whip stich? And I've tried cutting fur before, and I've always ended up with the cloth backing being exposed, like there will be a little of the backing exposed. Do you think that's from cutting the fur?

 

[Show and Tell]

Dagger,
Whats the "blue boy" pattern? Where can I get it?

 

[MuppetQuilter]

I've found it quite easy to sew fake furs on a machine. You do need to use the right needle and you need a good machine, but a decent sewing machine can manage fur with no problem. I've done dozens of stuffed animals and puppets out of fur on machines-- been doing it for about twenty years.

To avoid exposing the backing, leave a decent seam allowance when you cut-- 5/8" is the standard in sewing clothing. Craft patterns often call for 1/4" but that will be too small for fur. The backing will be exposed when you cut, but not when it is sewn together. Next, trim the fur pile in the seam allowance. Often people skip that step and the pile gets caught up in the seam and draws attention to the seam line on the finished product. If you trim the fur in the seam allowance you won't have long pile to get caught up in the seam and your seam should be quite subtle. Finally, pay attention to the fur when you cut-- you want the fur lying in the same direction on either side of a seam so you have to keep that in mind when cutting your pieces.

A whip stitch is a very basic hand sewing stitch, this site may help.

Good luck!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I would caution against sewing shag furs on a machine if you're not familiar with sewing machines. It's true that most good machines (with the correct needle) can do it, but the problem is there are a lot of low-priced lousy machines on the market. I tend to hand sew everything (using a whip stitch) unless it is a lining or something inside the puppet that won't be seen. This is just because I've gotten very obsessive about seams. That and I'm a masochist. Mostly `cause I'm a masochist.

 

[ravagefrackle]

Thank you so much Ravage. Now, what is a whip stich? And I've tried cutting fur before, and I've always ended up with the cloth backing being exposed, like there will be a little of the backing exposed. Do you think that's from cutting the fur?

, it might be the fur your using or your cutting tohard and cutting hairs on the pattern edge, you need to use alight touch, it could also be that your to close to your work , try stepping back , even though you know were the seamis it should disapear, also you might need to pick the edge of the seam after it is sewn with a needle to pull any traped hairs loose

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

When I made my first attempt puppet, I probably broke all the rules by gluing the fur onto the foam rather than sewing it. I used hot glue to glue all the parts other than actual pieces of foam together ( I used foam adhesive to glue the foam). The hot glue seems very strong, I cant get the fur off the foam even by pulling it off tight so it seems strong enough. Thats an example of making a puppet by most probably breaking the rules.

 

[Show and Tell]

I've found it quite easy to sew fake furs on a machine. You do need to use the right needle and you need a good machine, but a decent sewing machine can manage fur with no problem. I've done dozens of stuffed animals and puppets out of fur on machines-- been doing it for about twenty years.

To avoid exposing the backing, leave a decent seam allowance when you cut-- 5/8" is the standard in sewing clothing. Craft patterns often call for 1/4" but that will be too small for fur. The backing will be exposed when you cut, but not when it is sewn together. Next, trim the fur pile in the seam allowance. Often people skip that step and the pile gets caught up in the seam and draws attention to the seam line on the finished product. If you trim the fur in the seam allowance you won't have long pile to get caught up in the seam and your seam should be quite subtle. Finally, pay attention to the fur when you cut-- you want the fur lying in the same direction on either side of a seam so you have to keep that in mind when cutting your pieces.

A whip stitch is a very basic hand sewing stitch, this site may help.

Good luck!

Oh thanks so much MuppetQuilter. I printed that out. I've been meaning to look for some web sites that show how to make different types of hand sewn stitches. That helped alot. About the only handsewn stitch I knew to do was the wip stitch. Oh that and the running stitch. Only I didnt know it was called that. I like the look of that backstitch.

 

[leliebel]

When I was walking past the hairdressers today, I started thinking on how to make your own fur if you want a specific multi colour. First it thought you'd have to sow it on by hand in little plucks, but you'll always end up with the sown on end being more or less visible. Then I figured I could just by white plush and die it, but since it's synthetic IO don't know if that will work very well... I guess I'll have to look into wigmaking, and I haven't got the time for that right now

That was my rambling for today, in this topic at least.