Furring

          Today I am going to attempt to explain the wonderful complexities of "furring" something -- in this case, on a foam-constructed head. The technique of using tape to create a pattern is something I originally learned from the LiveJournal community fursuit. I have used this technique on every head I have created since I learned it. It is a very useful technique to learn! This guide will help you create your pattern which will be useful for planning your fur usage, reducing the amount of wasted fur fabric, and will help you know what shape your pieces need to be before you apply any glue to your head! It will also make it possible in an easier way to prepare your pieces to sew if you choose to sew your fabric.

Materials

  • Foam object you would like to fur (such as a costume head)
  • At least 2-inch wide Tape (packing, duct, masking, or whatever you think may work best for you. I prefer masking tape, packing shape also shown in this tutorial.)
  • Razor blade.
  • Hot Glue Gun and glue sticks
    • and/or Needle and matching-colored thread (only requires minimal or no sewing if using hot glue for a head or footpaws)
    • or Sewing machine and pins, if making a pair of hand paws.
  • Scissors (though I mostly just use a razor blade for the majority of it)
  • Fur (about a yard for a head, smaller amounts if for footpaws or handpaws, depending on size)
  • Chalk or charcoal pencil (for marking your patterns on the fabric)
  • Standard plastic hair-comb (for combing seams)
  • Optional: inexpensive Kraft or Butcher Paper (to stick your tape pieces to, if you choose)
  • Optional: Pins to pin your fur directly to your foam
 

          Start with the foam object you want to fur, such as a foam head like pictured to the left. But it could also be a hand or foot paw carved from foam.

          Begin with a few rolls of cheap wide tape. Pictured is packing tape and masking tape. The tape does not actually stick very well to the foam (that is why it is so useful to make the pattern from since it comes right off when you're done). Cut it in approximately foot-long strips or whatever is manageable for you (It helps to put the tape on a dispenser or have a helper cut the tape into sections for me as you apply them, it makes the process very quick.) Apply a few layers wrap it around the form, keep in mind you will  have to remove it from the foam later, so make sure it sticks to itself at least.
          Once the tape was applied to the whole form. You may choose not to cover the eyes or inside of mouth/ears if you plan to tape those separate from the exterior of your form. Draw directly on top of the tape with a permanent marker. For a head, include the face markings, fabric color or texture changes and the placement of the eyes and nose to give yourself a general idea of how it will look. For handpaws or footpaws draw on any paw pads if you plan on using your pattern for that.

          Next draw arrows to indicate which direction you wanted the fur to go on that particular part, so when you lay the pattern flat you can orient it on the fabric properly to get the best directional appearance of the fur. It helps to look at pictures of real animals to see how their fur patterns go. Typically fur runs from the nose to the back of the head, and from the base to the tips of the ears. Then draw places you need to cut so you can get the proper fur direction, or just simply the proper shape so you can lay the pattern flat.
          Use a razor blade and cut the pieces of tape apart. As you remove your pattern pieces, trace around the remaining edges directly onto the foam so you can replace it with the fur. An additional step recommended to keep organized: Stick your pattern pieces to a piece of kraft or butcher paper, even leftover gift wrap paper will do. This will keep the sticky side of your tape from sticking to everything, and help you keep side of which side to cut the fabric from! When you are ready to use your piece, cut it off the paper and trace it onto your fur! Otherwise find a place so you can stick your tape pattern to lay the pieces flat. Some pieces won't lay completely flat, this is OK, fur has a flexible fabric backing, some fur has a slight stretch to it, you also may not want to glue the fur into every crevice.

          The tape-pattern is primarily to acquire a pattern so you don't waste too much fur, but also to help you know what shape it should be as well. Mark each piece left or right so you know how to put it back together. You don't really need to cut the smallest pieces out (the above-eye markings in this case, or if your character has spots that are random) since you can just snip out the piece of fur once its mostly glued and replace it with your spots. If they are specific spots, you can cut them, but keep very good track of where the go back on the head!
          It is very important to figure out the direction your fur lays. Mark an arrow on the backing of your fur if necessary. Arrange your pattern pieces on the fur backing, keeping in mind the directional arrows you marked on your tape. It is also important to orient your pattern you've just created correctly. The top side of your tape (that you drew your fur direction, markings, etc on) represents the "fur side" and will be facing DOWN. The sticky side represents the "backing" (If you stuck your pattern to your kraft paper, the kraft paper represents the backing), arrange backing/sticky side UP. (PLEASE NOTE: The image to the left is incorrect, the sticky-side of the tape should be UP unless your pattern is perfectly symmetrical!! The image to the right is correct, and also demonstrates kraft paper used to stick the tape to) Trace your pattern on your fur's backing using chalk or a charcoal pencil. Add an "allowance" (the margin between the pattern and the chalk mark where you will be cutting) in case of a mistake. The margin will be something you will trim off as you work.

          If you have not worked with fabric before be aware that along two edges of your fur fabric is a manufactured edge that looks a little bit different. That is called the "selvedge" its the edge of the fabric that is woven differently during manufacturing so it won't fray, sometimes with fake fur it can also be glued or bound. You do not want to use this (sometimes inch or so wide) part of the fabric, since it will usually have a different appearance from the rest of the fur. So plan and orient your pattern so it does not include or overlap the selvedge.
          When you have your pattern traced, set aside the tape pattern (Save it until you are done with the mask in case of a mistake or you choose to redo an area) and you're ready to cut it out. Use a sharp razor blade and carefully cut along the backside of the fabric. This reduces the amount of shedding and "shearing" the fur compared to using scissors to cut it out. "Shearing" is where the fur fibers accidentally get cut also, it can get messy and the fur will have a "sheared" appearance, if using a razor blade it is just cutting the backing-only and not the hairs so they typically will stay intact.

          (sorry for skipping a picture for this part) Once you have your fur-pieces cut out lay them over your form and you are ready to start sewing or gluing! If you choose, you can pin your fur directly to the foam and trim it up beforehand, or trim it as you go. The small amount of allowance you added may need to be trimmed as pieces line up. You won't need much glue to tack down your fur, however the better job you do the more durable your finished project will be! If making handpaws using this technique you can pin together your pieces and you can either hand-sew or machine sew them together.
          For a head or footpaws, smooth the fur out over your foam form as you go along and trim up the excess with your scissors or razor blade. Once you get the next piece of the pattern laid out and partially glued you'll know how it matches up to be trimmed. As shown in the picture to the right, it is a shot of two edges coming together unevenly. In this particular case it was on a curved section of the form, where a wrinkle needed to be smoothed out. If you encounter something similar: Trim one side of the fabric so that side lays flat. For the other side that is still uneven, match it up to the first edge and trace with a chalk mark to indicate where to cut (If its a wrinkle, the piece to remove will usually end up being a triangle or a curved piece, also known as a "dart"). The yellow razor is shown cutting the uneven side to match.

          In the picture below, it shows two edges that line up but aren't yet glued or sewn. You can either use your needle and thread and hand-sew this edge (which has the smoothest, most "invisible" result), or you can glue it instead. To glue, peel the two pieces apart and run a zigzag bead of hot glue underneath the fur on to the foam, avoiding the two edges. Pull the two edges together and press them at the same time gently into the foam, avoiding getting any glue on the fur. When you comb the fur after the glue has cooled, inspect the seam, you'll notice in most cases your seam is diminished. If its not diminished, you can glue it back once again. Pull the loose fur backing away from the noticeable seam gently, trim the edge to match it up a little better and run a single narrow bead of hot glue along the smaller edge, pressing down and pulling the fur to close the gap. Use your comb to comb the fur over in the direction of the fur pattern to get it to be mostly invisible.

In summary:

  • Use wide tape (masking tape, packing tape, etc) to cover foam in tape.

  • Draw marking placement/fabric changes on tape with a permanent marker.

  • Draw arrows to represent intended fur direction.

  • Cut pieces of tape covering foam using a razor, making pieces able to be laid flat.

  • Label and Remove pieces. (Optionally stick them to paper.)

  • As you remove pieces, trace edges directly on foam with permanent marker.

  • Figure out the direction the fur goes that you are working with. (Double check before cutting!)

  • The top side of your tape (that you drew your fur direction, markings, etc on) represents the "fur side."

  • The sticky side represents the "backing" (If you stuck your pattern to your kraft paper, the kraft paper represents the backing).

  • Use your new pattern to plan your fur usage, arrange backing/sticky side UP and trace your pattern on your fur's backing using chalk marks.

  • Leave an "allowance" around the edge of your pattern, avoid using the selvedge.

  • Set pattern aside and cut your pieces with a razor blade on the backing of the fur. (Check fur direction before cutting!)

  • Lay your fur on your form (optionally pin the pieces down before gluing)

  • Trim up your edges and sew them or glue them if you choose.

  • The better job you do at furring, the more durable your final project will be!

Hiding Seams

          Ok, so how do you hide seams on an edge overlapping a smoother fabric without hand-sewing every darn seam? Here is a small visual tutorial to describe the tip!

Step 1 -- You want to hide the raw edge. Imagine this as the inside of an ear, or a fabric-covered nose, maybe even the inside edge of a mouth.



Step 2 -- Turn the edge under, the smaller the edge, the better.


Step 3 -- Apply just a thiiiin line of glue. This is just to illustrate this step, you would apply glue only where you need it of course.

Step 4 -- Apply the turned edge to the line of glue on your piece. Gently pressing the fibers into the glue.
This step is what takes practice, try it with scraps a few times before doing it on your actual final project!



Step 5 -- Fluff out your fur and shave if needed. It should be a nicely covered edge like shown.

 
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