In case you missed it, I'm on Bluesky now!
https://bsky.app/profile/sarahcatfursuits.com

I also have a personal account for goofing off if you like that sort of thing: https://bsky.app/profile/sarahcat.bsky.social

Thank you to everyone who said hi at TFF, I'll be vending at Anthrocon next! Not sure when I'll be reopening for commissions, dealing with a lot right now and trying to work on some things. I'll make a post when I have a date picked out.

Cheers! :)

Check out my website for the application, form will be closing either tonight or tomorrow!

SarahcatFursuits.com

I've pretty much abandoned FurAffinity. I upload when I finish something but that's pretty much it, haha. Check me out somewhere else!

Business (fursuit) Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahcatFursuit
Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Sarahcat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahcat_fursuits/

I also have a Telegram chat for sharing fursuits I've made! https://t.me/sarahcatfursuitschat

Commissions open on August 1st so keep an eye out for the post on that!

Last updated: March 15, 2017

Hello! If you are looking at this journal you probably have a question or two about fursuit making. Unfortunately I no longer have the time to answer questions online about fursuit building as I am usually busy doing it myself. To benefit both myself and you the reader I have created this index with questions commonly asked about how I build fursuits and where to find certain materials. I hope this helps!


When did you start building fursuits?
I began building my first fursuit back in January 2009 at age 9 and finished it around my 10th birthday in March. I saved up all of my birthday/Christmas/odd job money to build one by myself and thought it was the greatest thing ever; it's stuck around with me since.

Are you open for commissions?
Please refer to my profile for information regarding commissions, I will post a journal and/or submission on here when I do open. Understand that I do not always have time to answer quotes and a basic run-down of my prices can be found here: http://furredthingsfurst.wix.com/sa.....s#!prices/cy68
I heavily recommend reading my Terms of Service and getting a non-shaded, general-rating digital reference sheet before commissioning me.

Help, how do I clean my fursuit?
After each wear you should at least brush out your fursuit, I recommend using a comb or a slicker brush used for animals. Be very gentle, you do not want to rip out the fur from the backing, it won't grow back!
I heavily recommend washing your fursuit after each convention you go to, especially the parts you sweat the most in like your bodysuit.

This website is the holy grail to cleaning and I use it myself: http://cleanfursuits.weebly.com/

* ALWAYS ask your fursuit maker before washing your head, especially if you plan to soak it in water. Your head may not be built to do that and you may damage your fursuit beyond repair or even create mold!

Where can I buy fabric/faux fur online?
There's a wide variety of places online where you can buy faux fur online, I recommend:
https://www.fabric.com/ (free shipping in the US on orders $49+)
https://www.fabricdepot.com/ (can do cuts of 1/4, 1/2 or 3/4 a yard if wanted)
http://www.syfabrics.com/default.aspx
http://bigzfabric.com/
http://www.crscraft.com/products/vP.....ics&class= (excellent for realistic furs, I recommend the "teddy" and "fox" furs)
http://www.fabricempire.com/
http://www.mendels.com/ (wide selection of lesser common colors, shipping is more expensive for those on the East Coast of the US)
http://www.fursuitsupplies.com/ (does custom runs of colors)
http://www.imstuffedfur.com/_index.php

If you are in need of a certain fur but only need a small amount of it, Mimi of Ever After Fabrics has a wide variety of faux furs in small cuts and ships quick! https://www.etsy.com/shop/everafterfabrics

Where can I find ______ color of faux fur?
Sadly not every color is available in the form of faux fur fabric, over the years the variety of colors has gotten larger but there's still a lot missing.
FursuitSupplies (mentioned above) can do a custom run of faux fur for you in the color you need.
You can also dye white fur the color you want right at home with some acrylic paints, Beetlecat has a wonderful tutorial for this: http://beetlecat.livejournal.com/188117.html

Where do you buy your foam?
There are a few places where you can buy foam online or in-store. You are looking to buy high or medium density upholstery foam.

I like to use 1/2" foam for making the head, 1" for the cheeks/eyebrows/chin and 2" for the muzzle.

Hobby Lobby sells it at their stores for a low price by the roll. JoAnn Fabrics sells green foam and white foam squares but tends to be pretty expensive for the amount you get, I wouldn't recommend buying from them unless it's on sale or you have a coupon.
Your local fabric store or warehouse will also usually carry foam in the back very cheaply, always pick through their foam bins or ask if they have any for purchase.

There's also a few places online that sell foam too:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seat-Foam-C.....Xl3CPEQfX9nc8w
http://www.foambymail.com/seats-and-cushions.html
http://www.foamorder.com/upholstery-foam.html

What brand of sewing machine do you use? What threads do you recommend?
I actually don't use a sewing machine, I hand sew everything I make! It's very tedious but I somehow have to do it. Since I taught myself how to sew and have broken two sewing machines I can't give a proper recommendation, however it appears the Brothers brand is very well loved among the crafting community.
I use upholstery thread on my hands, tails, feet, bodies and most heads. Occasionally I'll use a 100% polyester thread for small accents or some toony heads.

How do you build your toony heads?
There are several methods for building toony heads, I like building mine onto a balaclava. The exact method I use is online as a tutorial by KrakenKritters: http://fursuit.livejournal.com/1334914.html
However you can also use a bucket method to create a toony head without the hassle of a balaclava, Matrices has provided a tutorial on this version here: http://matrices.net/foam.asp
If working with foam isn't your thing or you are afraid of messing up the symmetry, StuffedPandaStudios and DreamVisionCreations offers foam bases you can hollow out and fur yourself.

What do you use for eye plastic?
I buy my eye plastic here: http://www.dickblick.com/products/p.....e-sheet-packs/
* You want to buy it in .03 or .04 thickness, no more no less. It will either crack or be too thick for your scissors to cut through it.

What do you use for eye mesh?
On both my realistic and toony fursuits I use buckram. If it has smaller holes it will look nicer but be harder to see out of; if it has larger holes it will be easier to see out of but may look more obvious. I personally use the kind with larger holes.

Where do you get your resin masks from and who makes them?
Unless otherwise stated, most of the realistic fursuits heads I make are built on bases by  DreamVisionCreations,  PhazonAlloy,  Crystumes,  drakonicknight and  StuffedPandaStudios. They have been making resin masks for years and produce the finest quality bases to work with. There are plenty of other makers out there who cast their own bases and sell them on webstores like Etsy or even on here, feel free to browse before picking a base for your fursuit head.

What do you use to shave your fursuit heads?
I use an Andis Easyclip Versa which runs about $50-70 and use the 7FC blade.

When buying a clipper look for good brands such as Wahl, Andis and Oster. Do NOT buy clippers meant for human hair, they cannot hold up to faux fur and break quickly.

What kind of glues do you use to build a fursuit?
I use a low temp hot glue gun for gluing down foam and fabric to build heads.
For gluing claws or resin/baked clay parts I recommend using a super gel glue.
For cast foam I use E6000. Remember to use this outside as the fumes are rather stinky.

How do you make your paws?
I make my paws using patterns I create myself, but if you want to learn how to make your own or need patterns:
http://matrices.net/paws.asp (printable pattern and tutorial, easy-medium difficulty)
http://freakhoundstudios.com/free-paws-canine/ (printable pattern and tutorial, hard difficulty)

Where do you get your claws/silicone paw pads from?
I buy my claws and/or silicone parts from  DreamVisionCreations and  PhazonAlloy.

What kind of shoes do you recommend for feetpaws?
Canvas shoes are great for building feetpaws on, go to your local shoe store and look in the clearance section to find what works best for you. Sneakers are great too, as are Crocs. Moccasins or slippers are OK but not recommended, they do not have good sole support and aren't meant for rigorous activity.

How do I make a bodysuit?
A tutorial explaining how to make a bodysuit can be found here: http://matrices.net/bodysuit.asp

Matrices mentions McCall's #8953 pattern which is for the bodysuit, you can buy this at your local JoAnns, Hobby Lobby, fabric store or even on eBay.

What is a DTD and how do I make one?
A DTD is an acronym for Duct Tape Dummy. A DTD is usually required by a fursuit maker when being commissioned to make a bodysuit to fit the fursuit to fit your body.

If you plan on making one yourself or commissioning an artist who requires a DTD to be made, there are several tutorials online for how to make one:
http://www.kilcodocostumes.com/dtd.htm
http://donthugcacti.com/dtd.php
http://www.madefuryou.com/how-to-or.....ct-tape-dummy/
http://www.sunnyvalleyc.com/dtd-tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RonWr75R28Q

What is "digitigrade" padding and is it easy to wear?
Digitigrade is the name given to animals that walk on their toes, such as most mammals and birds. There is also plantigrade (those who walk with their entire foot on the floor such as humans) and ungulate (tip toe walkers, usually hoofed mammals). Here is an image demonstrating that: http://en.wikifur.com/w/images/e/e2/Digiplant.gif

Digitigrade padding is harder to wear than no padding at all, especially if you do not have any experience in wearing it. I do not recommend people who have never worn a fursuit or have little experience with them buy a fursuit with said padding as it may be hard to adjust to or you may not like it.

Matrices has another wonderful tutorial on how to create said padding and more about it here: http://matrices.net/digitigrade.asp

Where can I find other tutorials for building fursuits?
There are plenty of tutorials on the internet for building fursuits. Aside from what was mentioned above:

http://fursuit.livejournal.com/ (The mecca of all fursuit tutorials, has everything you need and more. Look at the "Memories" tab on the top or check out their profile; you do not need a LiveJournal account to post to the community)
http://matrices.net/fursuiting.asp (Matrices has many tutorials on construction and is always making new ones!)
http://fursuit.tanidareal.com/ (TaniDaReal has a few pages showing the progress and notes on her own building experiences)

If you don't enjoy text or pictures, there are countless videos up on YouTube on making fursuits. Regretfully I cannot showcase any as I never learned from them when I was starting out but many have posted their own videos since 2009.

Help! I have a question that isn't answered here.
https://www.google.com/

Anthrocon (Pittsburgh, PA)- '16, '17, '18, '19, '22, '23, '24, '25

Anthro New England (Boston, MA)- '20

Biggest Little Fur Con (Reno, NV)- '19

DenFur (Denver, CO)- '19

FurFright/Furpocalypse (Cromwell, CT)- '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '24

FurtheMore (Washington, D.C.)- '17, '19

Furrydelphia (Philadelphia, PA) - '18, '19, '24

Furry Weekend Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)- '17, '18

Megaplex (Orlando, FL)- '16, '18, '21, '22

New Years Furry Ball (Newark, DE)- '19, '20

Texas Furry Fiesta (Dallas, TX)- '23, '24, '25

Tiny Paws Con (Danbury, CT) - '18

Midwest FurFest (Rosemont, IL) - '21


Non-furry conventions:

AnimeNYC (New York, NY)- '18

ConnectiCon (Hartford, CT)- '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16

Holiday Matsuri (Orlando, FL)- '19, '22

Quinni-Con (Hamden, CT)- '14

Metrocon (Tampa, FL) - '21, '22


Concerts:

Barenaked Ladies - June 2018
Gorillaz - October 2018
They Might Be Giants - March 2023
Beck - September 2023
Weezer - October 2024