Please help me feed my new obsession-- fake fur. Does anyone here have favorite links to pass on with design and sewing technique ideas? Any links to what you've made yourself? I am drawing out some ideas now. I'll post links if there is interest once I get things constructed. And i want more! I am looking for a wholesale source of moderately priced middle of the road quality fake fur. I like natural looks, but it's the crazy stuff that has my attention right now-- blue and black swirls, red and black variegated stuff. I want to be able to wash in a cold gentle cycle without losing scads of fluff.
This is where I picked up a fabulous blue shag a couple of years ago for a rock group. Made pants, they weighed a tonne but the guys loved them. And after they could be recut into pillows...ggggggg
I don't know what you think of as reasonably priced (what most Europeans would happily pay makes American toes curl!) but there's a good selection on
formatting link
including pastel colours. Their high end furs are beautiful, but very pricey. You could ask about wholesale.
I've never sewn with fake fur, but I guess you could make lots of household things like cushion covers and throws, plus garments like coats, collar-and-cuff sets for existing coats, waistcoats, etc.
One of my fave winter coats is lime green, very high end fake fur - incredibly soft, almost ankle length. I love it to bits.
Nancy, faux fur isn't difficult to sew, but you do need to remember a couple of things to sew it successfully. Let me know if you want my chapter and verse on sewing with fake furs--I've sewn many things with it.
I'd love to read chapter and verse on sewing with fake fur. Verse-- does this mean there is a faux fur couture hymnal out there somewhere? Xena The Lady Vida
There used to be a woman with a company that sold the most gorgeous fake furs for coats and jackets - either by the yard or in kits. Her instructions were fantastic. However, I think she went out of business. A friend made quite a few of the coats and at the end, bought a lot of yardage. I don't know how you could find her instructions anymore, unless someone just happened to have them. But I'm sure that there must be other sources. Threads magazine, perhaps?
Donna Salyers is still in business; she just no longer sells the yardage or kits, except for a small amount of fur yardage. Now her business is almost exclusively selling premade coats from her catalog, Fabulous Furs. Here's a URL for the yardage part of her online catalog:
formatting link
As for sewing this stuff, the first thing is to have a lot of space to spread out. It's expensive enough that you don't want to mess up by trying to crawl around on the floor with it. It's too easy to cut it with the nap lying the wrong way.
Usually, it's easier to cut the fur from the back, using a small, sharp scissor, then by simply cutting it the usual way. That way, you reduce the amount of fur dust flying around--and there will be a lot! I found that I had to use a face mask, the type used by drywall contractors, in order to keep the dust out of my nose. And don't wear contacts when you're working with fake fur, either. It's too painful to get that stuff in your eyes.
Reducing the seam allowances to 1/4", then sewing the seams with a "hinged" seam helps reduce the bulk at the seams. A pattern with few seams works better, too, until you're comfortable using this hinged seam technique. Here's how to do it: Set your machine to a wide, loose zigzag. When stitching the seam, position the edges of the fabric under the needle so that the left side of the zigzag "falls off" the edge. This will give the seam enough elasticity that when you open the seam the two edges "butt" together, rather than overlap. This method is especially nice for long-haired furs, since you then don't have to worry about the fur itself getting caught in the seam. And if it does, it's a simple thing to run a pin down the seam, releasing the fur nap.
What else? Oh, fake fur is actually generally a stable knit fabric, so you don't have to finish the fabric edge. It's also much lighter than the real thing, but equally warm, so you wouldn't want to interface or underline, unless you live in Antartica.
Pockets can be made of velvet, just like the real thing. When I made my Donna Salyers sable coat, I had my girlfriend bring her real one over to see what details I could copy. One thing I was glad I imitated was a ruched ruffle at the neck, made of the lining fabric. It keeps the roughness of the fur (and fake sable is a million times softer than the real thing!) from rubbing your neck. Often, fur is worn with more revealing evening wear, and you wouldn't want your bare neck to be rubbed raw by real sable! I also added a security pocket of velvet, just inside the front facing, pointing back to the side seam. It's just big enough for a credit card, keys, and a hankie, but I like having that little touch.
Sorry this isn't actually in verse! If I think of some more tips I'll write more later. I wonder what I did with that article I wrote for Creative Machine about sewing with fur? If you have an old issue, you might look for it, as I wrote it shortly after having sewn my coat. I've sewn others since, and have made a couple fake fur jackets for the girls. It's not hard to sew with, but you do need to use a few new tricks.
Kewl! Thanks, Karen, that's the one I was trying to remember! That fake fur was amazing - as good looking as the real McCoy and no animals died to make it.
Another thing I remembered was: If you're using a pelted fur, be sure to pay attention to the pelt lines. Most of the time you can see them on the wrong side, but sometimes you need to mark them so you can see them better when laying out the garment. It's just like using a stripe: you don't want a pelt line to wrap around an edge, or to be off-center.
And if you mess up and cut a piece off nap, be aware that the nap is only there because of the way the fabric was rolled. It is possible to brush the dickens out of the fabric and lay the nap down the other way. But life is WAY easier if you just cut it out the right way to begin with. ;->
Remember that most faux fur is made of an acrylic fiber that is damaged by heat. Never touch it with an iron, and only wash it in cool water, and line dry. You can actually make a fur coat cold water washable, if you use washable lining. That's helpful if you're sewing for a child, especially.
Another thing to remember and you did mention to wear a mask, but the chemicals used to make the fake furs are extremely harmful if breathed in. When exposed to heat it will create a toxic vapour unlike natural fu which just shrivels up and smell like buring hair. This stuff if deadly to make with some workers developing lung disorders like miners. Joanns flyer for this week has some of the bright coloured fakes on sale for the Halloween sewing season. Sale prices are $5.22 to 7.47/yd. Oddly it is in the sections with the Ott Lights and fibre fill.
yup. Anything related to burning polymer/acrylic/whatever is bad for your lungs, and mucous membrane (eyes nose) and liver. There are two kinds of bad here, one caused by irritation and another caused by buildup of toxins.
I checked out both JoAnn's and Walmart. Walmart had some of what Joanns did but for less money. Go to both places! Walmart had some extra thick pile that I would have loved to get before I spent everything I had. lol. Joann's had some interesting crazy colors that Walmart lacked.
Lay it out upside down on my dining room table. My kid moved out and now kitchen nook table is plenty for eating purposes. This will keep rug fuzz and cat hair from the carpet out of my fake fur, and save my back.
Mark the "grain" on the back, and then use weights to secure the already-trimmed pattern. Thanks for the tip about the pile/nap not necessarily being obvious from the back.
Cut it out close to the knit fabric part with long skinny scissors like the ones sometimes used by hair stylists. I thought that'd keep me from shearing the fur. (I usually use a rotary cutter or electric scissors-- would they work??)
I plan to line it with something soft and washable. Some of the fur I got says to machine dry on cool, but I am afraid I'd gradually loose too much fuzz that way, so I'm planning to wash in cold and hang dry, using the air setting to fluff it up if I want to.
How water resistant is this stuff, as long as the nap is pointing down? Should I scotchguard it to avoid becoming a big acrylic sponge?
Thanks again.
When I am done, may I post links to pics of me and teenaged co conspirators vamping our new finery?
Before I am done, wow, it's great to know this group is here for questions and commiseration. I haven't' sewn anything other than flat cotton wovens in a very long time, so this will be different!
Be aware that the fur with fly, literally! Donna Salyers recommended vacuuming each cut piece, which does cut down on the mess considerably. Only the cut edges lose fur, by the way, so you won't end up with a bald coat if you wash it in cool water.
Rotary cutters will just make a bigger mess, IMO. You don't really need electric scissors. I cut mine out with small scissors, like the ones I keep next to the machine to clip threads and seam allowances.
I would not use Scotchguard. Fake fur isn't something you'd choose to wear in a rainstorm, although I think it would be fine if you got caught in a brief shower.
No to this and any type of scissors or rotary cutters. You will end up cutting the fur and releasing all that fuzz into the air and your body. All you want to do is cut the fabric the fur is attached to, just the same as real fur. Use a razor knife, or something similar. I have a fur knife that has an extreme point, I slice more than cut the backing wether real or fake. And do not anchor the pattern on the fabric back or hide, trace the pattern on with marker, on the dark stuff I use a gold or silver marker. Pining down the piece will give a bit of tension so it is easier to cut. I wish there was some where to post pics so I could show you all. Several years ago Donna Salyers was in Ontario. We were able to get some tips from her and she suggested trimming about 1/8 of the fur from the edges, vacuuming them and then seaming. It reduces the bulk and you have no hair caught in the seam allowances. If you look at real fur coats inside you will see the little tiny almost over cast seams used to piece the garment. This is done on a fur machine with on thread looping over the leather. Really neat to watch. The looper is on top so you can see it work. Considering how long these coats last and the weight of them makes you wonder why we need all those serger threads on stuff.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.