Digitigrade Legs

          So you want your character to be digitigrade, so it appears to be standing on its toes? This tutorial is an advanced tutorial and it assumes that you know a little bit on how to sew, and that you know how to carve and attach foam, and apply fur.

Materials

1. Make your body pattern using an existing standard straight-legged bodysuit pattern, except when you get to the legs, make them wider and the same width all the way to the ankle.
   

2. Sew the pieces together according to your pattern's directions.
   
3. Flatten your sewn legs halfway, so your seams touch.
   
4. Measure (or estimate) where the wearer's knees go and mark it on your sewn pattern pieces, just below there is where the bottom of your digitigrade leg will be and the start of your digitigrade foot is. Use it as a reference point to draw your leg's shape. The shape consists of a simplified knee and a heel.
   
             Tip: All of the illustrated lines have curves and do not come to points.
5. Sew along your drawn lines. You can try on the pieces inside out to make sure the wearer's legs will fit through and you are satisfied.  Pull all the fur trapped in the seams and trim away the excess material.
   
6. What makes the illusion is definitely the padding. Use cluster-type stuffing for the best results. The padding pillows' sizes are all approximate since depending on the wearer's height and body type, you may need longer or shorter pieces.
   1. "Knee Padding" Cut a rounded teardrop approximately the length from the wearer's hip bone to a little below their knee. Make two pieces from stretchy fabric, and two pieces from non-stretch fabric. Sew one stretchy to one non-stretch and stuff each.
   2. "Heel Padding" This can be a stuffed pillow, or if you prefer a more rigid shape, carved foam. If choosing to make the stuffed piece, cut two tear drop shaped pieces approximately 12 inches long from the non-stretch material. Then cut 4 angled pieces from stretchy material. Sew two of the angled stretch-fabric pieces together, along the angled edge, then sew their straight edges to the one non-stretch teardrop shape (orient the pieces so they taper at the bottom), stuff. 
   3. If you don't have much "natural" butt padding, you'll need to make some rear padding to complete the digitigrade illusion. Cut an oval shape at least 12 inches long, or longer depending on how tall the wearer is. Make two pieces from stretchy material, two from non-stretch material. Sew one stretchy to one non-stretchy piece and stuff.
7. Once you have your padding made you can leave it loose (to share between other costumes, be able to adjust as needed, or to store separately between wearings/cleanings) or you can hand stitch it in place to the inside of your costume or to an undersuit. When placing the padding, the non-stretch side is what rests against the wearer's body, while the stretchy side conforms to the costume's leg shapes as you move.
   
8. Select comfortable shoes you can slip in and out of. Cut a template by laying one shoe on a piece of scrap cardboard and trace the toe pattern around it. The shoe will become one of the middle toes. Use the same template for both feet. 
   
   (Left foot template shown, flip it over for the right foot template.)
             Tip: Make sure your foot pattern is round on the back, if not it will break the illusion and not look right. 
9. Using upholstery foam, build up the toes around and over the shoe using the cardboard template as a guide. Make the toes taper up, like illustrated, narrowing towards the top. You can use some of the leftover stretchy or non-stretch fabric to line the inside of the paw. 
   
   (Right foot shown.)                                     (Left foot shown.)                             (Left foot shown.)
             Tip: When shaping the toes its OK to cut into the sole of the shoe to help round it. It may even be necessary to cut some of it away, especially on the front and back. 
10. Once you are satisfied with the shape of your toes, make a tape pattern and apply your paw pads and fur. The direction the fur lays on the feet should be down towards the tips of the toes. Due to the shape of the feet, it is possible to have huge paw pads that cover the whole bottom of the foot if you want!
    
11. Add details to your toe-paws such as claws and trimming the fur. Attach the claws with e-6000 adhesive, and shave the fur between the toes for more definition.
     
12. Put on your costume and admire your handiwork! When putting it on the legs should overlap the toe-paws. 
    

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