Friday, May 9, 2014

Sewing Tips: Faux Fur

My second sewing experience was using faux fur.  My first thought was, "How am I supposed to figure this out". Now many projects later I wish to share how I did it. I will be making faux fur cat ears.  I know some people prefer not to pin fabric but it is important when using this material.  I order my faux fur online from www.distinctivefabric.com but you can also get many types of shorter fur from a fabric store.  If you are not making ears ignore the blue instructions.


Supplies Needed:
- 1/2 yard of any Faux Fur 
- Exacto Knife
- Marking Chalk
- Thread
- Sewing Machine
- Fleece for inner ears (optional)

Marking the fur:
Chalk usually works better for this.  When you lay your fur down make sure it faces down, if you don't your fur won't lay right.  Starting at an edge mark two outer ear pieces. 



Cutting the fur:
Do not cut any kind of faux fur with scissors, you will loose chunks of fur.  Always use an Exacto knife.  Cut slowly along the chalk lines.  When you detach your pieces gently pull the any loose fur from the sides.  (It is messy) 
Cut two inner ear pieces from the fleece.  

Pin It:
When pinning I take it slow.  Start from the edge and push any fur sticking out towards the center.  Pin 1 outer ear to one inner ear right sides together, along 2 long sides of the triangle.  *The fleece will be smaller than the fur,  this makes the ears look more realistic,  you will need to stretch it a bit. 

Sewing:
Start sewing with a straight stitch at 1/2 inch seam allowance on both pinned sides. If a lot of fur is sticking out you can turn it inside out and use a seam ripper to gently pull it through.  (Do this now) Next sew a zigzag stitch along the edges that were sewn. Now we will close the bottom.  Turn right side out and sew shut with a 4.-4.5 size zig zag stitch. Don't worry if it is messy, it won't be visible.

Attach to Something:
Now you have to adorable kitty ears or have hopefully mastered sewing with Faux Fur.  You can now hot glue or hand sew them to a headband or alligator clip.  You can also add ribbons, bells, etc.

I hope this helps everyone,  if you have any questions comment below, I'll be happy to help. 

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