Sewing

[Baby Jake]

So... ol' Jake Rabbit here is thinking about taking up sewing as a bit of a hobby. In all honesty, I want to get to the point where I can eventually build my own fursuits - at least a partial and the ability to do some light modifying.

Yeah that's ambitious and is a LOT of work - especially when you have absolutely zero experience like I do.

So I was wondering... where do you start? What are some good resources? Not just on fursuit construction (I know there's that LiveJournal that's really good for that in particular).

I'm asking here, where did the fursuiters on here learn how to sew, to begin working on their projects?

[talula]

Well ,I grew up learning to sew, and so did many people of the generations before me. Lots of community colleges and adult learning centres hold "hobby" classes, and sewing is a common one. The best thing you can do is phone up a couple of nearby places and see what they offer.

Another good thing to do to get you started is to look up childrens sewing crafts online, things like making a felt stocking for at xmas time etc. They all look horrendously easy, but they are quite tricky if you've never done it before, and are such good practice!

[WraithFireorca]

i can ask my daughterfur. she makes fursuits for a living

[talula]

Haha when i read that the first time through, i didn't see the fur part on the end of daughter and was like 'whoooaaaaaa'

[Baby Jake]

Originally Posted by talula

Well ,I grew up learning to sew, and so did many people of the generations before me. Lots of community colleges and adult learning centres hold "hobby" classes, and sewing is a common one. The best thing you can do is phone up a couple of nearby places and see what they offer.

Another good thing to do to get you started is to look up childrens sewing crafts online, things like making a felt stocking for at xmas time etc. They all look horrendously easy, but they are quite tricky if you've never done it before, and are such good practice!

That's a pretty good point, thanks! I am going to be starting college pretty soon and maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to sign up for one of those classes next semester or something. If they any, that is.

Originally Posted by WraithFireorca

i can ask my daughterfur. she makes fursuits for a living

That would be great, thanks.

[mm3]

I'm looking forward to buying "ADISC-discounted-99%-off" sleepers from you

[Baby Jake]

Originally Posted by mm3

I'm looking forward to buying "ADISC-discounted-99%-off" sleepers from you

Haha you know if I get good enough I'm totally making some stuff like that

[Lukie]

Bet you didn't know I used to be able to knit, did you!?


(For real, I used to do it)

[Lizzie]

I've never sewn a fur suit, but I've made footed pajamas and I've been sewing most of my life and I can give you pointers about where to start and misc tips. Most of the time beginning sewers start out making a pillow case and then move onto something slightly more complicated, such as a pair of pajama pants.

Also, to get the hang of surging, you can make a blanket. All you have to do there is get about a yard and a half to two yards (depending on how big you want your blanket to be) of fleece or flannel and surge the edges. Surging a blanket is one of the easiest projects to do.

If you think you'd benefit from taking a class, see if there are any fabric stores around. Chances are they'll have a few classes to offer

[Baby Jake]

Originally Posted by Lukie

Bet you didn't know I used to be able to knit, did you!?


(For real, I used to do it)

I didn't know that... Why didn't you tell me when I was talking about sewing when you were here!?

Originally Posted by Lizzie

I've never sewn a fur suit, but I've made footed pajamas and I've been sewing most of my life and I can give you pointers about where to start and misc tips. Most of the time beginning sewers start out making a pillow case and then move onto something slightly more complicated, such as a pair of pajama pants.

Also, to get the hang of surging, you can make a blanket. All you have to do there is get about a yard and a half to two yards (depending on how big you want your blanket to be) of fleece or flannel and surge the edges. Surging a blanket is one of the easiest projects to do.

If you think you'd benefit from taking a class, see if there are any fabric stores around. Chances are they'll have a few classes to offer

That is some good advice, thanks. Yeah I'm not even trying to jump right into fursuit making, obviously. So beginning sewing - any beginner projects - is helpful. Because I seriously have no idea where to begin. I'm hoping to get a sewing machine soon. My mom said she wanted one, so it won't be a total waste of money if I end up not liking it.