FURSUITS
Fursuits are (animal) mascot costumes built from fake fur and foam. They differ from regular mascot costumes with their smaller size and the higher amount of details. The most important part of a fursuit is of course the head but in addition you may order other parts such as paws for hands or feet, tail or a full bodysuit. All the parts except the bodysuit are lined from inside with thin fabric like lycra or spandex.
I build my fursuit heads completely from foam and I cover them with fake fur, minky or fleece. If the head has a moveable jaw the head will be built on top of a 3d printed base. For eyes you may choose cartoony static eyes or with 3d-following effect. The nose is made from either crafting clay or from fabric like pleather, minky or fleece. Tongue and lower teeth are included.
Tails have belt loops for an easy attachment and an optional ironwire core which gives life to the tail's movement. On bigger tails I use foam.
Handpaws are like large mittens with four or five fingers. The pawpads are sewn on and stuffed. The claws are soft fabric ones or made from polymer clay.
Feetpaws are built on new canvas shoes. The soles
have rubber mat firmly glued on if they are intended for outdoor use. Indoor shoes may have fabric soles.
The legs of the suit can be padded which creates an animalistic digitigrade illusion.
Cleaning & maintenance
Here's some general quidelines to take care of your suit so it will last beautiful as long as possible. Please contact me if you have more questions.
- Do not submerge the head in water. You should also avoid heavy rain and snow.
- Do not leave the costume in a hot car or direct sunlight. Heat can damage the costume.
- Wear a cooling sportswear under your suit to
collect most of your sweat. This way you don't have to wash the suit
itself so often. You can wear a balaclava under the fursuit head for
the same reason.
- Let your fursuit head and parts cool and dry
properly after every time your wear it. Never store the suit if it's
even slightly damp. This is the easiest and most important way to
take care of your suit!
- Disinfect the inside of the head with a
small mixture of alcohol and water (wipe with a rag or use mist).
Avoid rubbing the eyes or other painted parts. There are also
recipies for "fursuit spray" around the internet.
- For spot
removal use a rag and mild soap. Use lukewarm water since hot water
will ruin the fake fur.
- The products can be washed with lukewarm water if they do NOT contain foam or wire. For example tail, handpaws and bodysuit can be washed this way either by hand or washing machine. For machine wash please use the handwash program (temperature 30 celsius). Dry the bodysuit horizontally to prevent unwanted stretching.
- Brush your suit after every wear so it
will look pretty and fluffy. Especially the crotch and arpits can get matted. Metal slicker
brush ment for pets is great for a fursuit as well. Do not brush too
strongly as the fur will not grow back.
- Before storing the suit
check that nothing is broken so that your costume is ready for the
next time.
- Store your costume in a room temperature and dry
place. Don't leave the head crushed under or between anything.
Tips & notes!
- It gets really hot inside a fursuit-costume and the wearer gets out of breath quite easily even when the muzzle of the suit is completely hollow. I don't recommend a fursuit head for a person with breathing conditions.
- You get a better ventilation with a static, open fursuit jaw.
- You can see out from a fursuit-head's eyes and mouth (with glass eyes you see through the black part next to the eyes). Note that the visibility is very limited and that is why I recommend having a handler with you while wearing the costume outside. The eyetype doesn't affect the visibility much.
- Notes on colors! White gets dirty very easily so you need to clean it more often than other colors. Black in turn is quite difficult to photograph and it absorbs the heat from the sun more than the other colors.