Getting fur samples. I'm on my way to making my first fursuit!

[cause the rat]

Here's what i have coming.

I have 6 swatches and two different yards of fur coming from Fabric Empire. Got the two yards of fabric because they didn’t offer swatches and the price was cheap enough.
Have another 4 swatches coming from Fabric.com. However two of them are on back order.
Already have my 5 swatches from Mendels.

Not really happy with any of the gray samples received  from Mendels  The  shaggy mongolian gray is a nice color. However it's only one color. The over all shaggy look isn't what I'm looking for. Of the other three grays, Mountain Goat is to shagging and has to much white, Gray rabbit starts as a nice gray but ends up with two much white. The coyote gray is the only one that holds some interest. It's dark gray enough from a distance. When viewed up close it has enough texture to it to look good.  The fifth sample isn't gray at all and I wish i didn't order it. IM IN LOVE with it. And it's not gray. I can't use it.  Field Mouse looks just like a field mouse.  But if I was using brown this would be a contender.

Cause's main colors will be dark gray, light gray and white with dusty pink ears, nose hands and feet.

So did any of you fuss this much over a few colors?

[cause the rat]

Second set of samples and a few yards came in today. These are from Fabric Empire.

 Yes I got a bigger sample of shaggy Mongolian gray. I wanted a second look at this stuff because I liked the color. Still do not like the over the top shaggy look. I even brushed this stuff out. With a bit of roughing up it goes right back into that shaggy look. Still like the color.

Shaggy gray has a nice smooth look to it. There is slight variations of the color toward the tips as well as the over all shine giving the fur a two tone look. If I had to pick a simple gray this would be a good choice.

Tundra Wolf look exactly like 'Coyote gray' from Mendel's. Even the backing has the exact same black and white striping.

Gray Poodle Shaggy. This stuff is totally funky cool. Reminds me of really bad shag carpeting. The color is more of a dark plum to me. Really got this sample just to see what it was like.

Deluxe Silver reminds me of old teddy bears. Really thick fur. A light gray in color.

Animal White Polar Bear. Yep it's white.:3. Really dense and soft.

I got a sample of shaggy olive just because I wanted to see the color.

The two yard of material

Silver Polar Bear Long pile. This has i nice off gray white color to it. But that's all it's got going for it. Very thin.  Very easy to see the backing on this one. I held this one up between me and the living room window. I could easily see outdoor colors threw it at a good ten feet from the window.

Animal Gray Rabbit. Really nice soft light gray color. I have a thought as to why this stuff is going cheap. Very inconsistent in quality from foot to foot. Some areas have chunky lengths of hair. Others look to have jagged streaks of missing hair. Where it's good it's really good. Be easy to use in places where you would normally need to shave down.  From the looks of the piece I have I wouldn't recommend it for large areas.

Still on the hunt for a dark gray color. I'm going back and getting samples of black fur. Hoping not all black is dark black.

Having a blast looking for fur.  I know what i want but nothing is set in stone. Still don't want  to get to carried away with the fur color choices. This rat will start looking like a gerbil.

Once I get settled on the fur choices I'll start a new thread on the creation of Cause.

[bkatt500]

You can dye fur to a certain degree using watered-down acrylics.  Just be sure to really brush it out WHILE it's drying!  It's a bit time consuming, but a nice task for a day you otherwise aren't doing much.

[flatout442]

Rit Dye perhaps?

[cause the rat]

Thanks for the ideas!   I've seen vids and posts on using paint to stain fur with really nice results. They've all been for accent coloring. The dark gray will be the majority of the suit. Has anyone dyed large pieces of fur before? How did it turn out?

[SPark]

Rit Dye perhaps?

Rit doesn't work well on fur fabric.  You can sometimes get a light tint with it, but not a proper dye. 

[bkatt500]

I've dyed pretty large pieces.  My coyote and fox tail (it comes to about mid-calf in length) were both dyed using paint.  Like I said, just make sure you brush it out a lot and use multiple clumps.  Get a slicker brush and a flea-comb, if you don't already, to help you.  You'll need a slicker brush anyway, but a flea-comb is helpful for painting.  One thing to keep in mind though- the fur gets coarser with dying/painting.  It isn't terribly noticeable if you're only doing a light dyeing, but it's still there.  You'll want to test it on a scrap piece if you're not sure.  The length is also a factor, my fur is three inches long and much, much more difficult to dye than shorter fur.

Here's my fox tail, btw:

All of the red on it is dyed from mm palomino fox.

[cause the rat]

Nice looking tail bkatt500! I take it the fur was white before dying?  If I do end up having to dye fur I'd start with a gray. Then try to darken the color.

Still have more samples coming. Even ordered a few more today. I keep looking at this shaggy mongolian gray. Keep trying to justify using it. The only drawback is it's overall look. But it is close to the color I want. And i don't have to do any more work to it. I like being lazy. It's easier to justify something when it includes doing something you like. Like being lazy. :3

[bkatt500]

That fur actually started off as blonde with a grey undercoat.  I like how realistic the undercoat makes it look.  The only white was the tip.


Starting with grey to a darker grey shouldn't be too hard.  Maybe use black paint or a grey darker than you want (it will be watered down a LOT) to help reduce the amount of coats you have to use.

[cause the rat]

Again really nice looking. I bet that rocks when you move with.

My only concern about dying would be the amount of material that would need to be treated. The only light gray would be on the face and just above the hands and feet. We're talking yards of fur.

Still not giving up on finding the right mix of texture and color. Got lots more samples on the way.

 

[bkatt500]

It can work, but it'd take a lot of time to brush it out, and you'd really want to use very, very watered down paint.  I don't know what length of fur you're using, but if it's long pile (2-3+ inches), it's probably not a great idea for the whole thing.

[cause the rat]

If dying fur is the only option then it'd would be a medium length. Like the gray shag sample i have. It's around the two inch mark. Was also thinking of dying a multi tone fur. All the samples received have an overall white look to them. Having a dark undercoat with white or very light gray tips or long hairs. Would really be cool to darken the lighter tones and end up with a variant. Because it would look better than a solid color covering a large area. Most of the multi tone gray furs strongly resemble patterns seen on wolves. Really like the way they look. However if left like they are Cause would look like a rat in wolves clothing. :3

[cause the rat]

Two more fur samples came in today. These are two of the four from Fabric.com. The other two are still on back order. Hope to get them soon. These are by far the largest fur samples I've gotten from anyone. Roughly 7.5 X 7.5 each.

Electric Shag Charcoal. Great dark gray color. I got this fur sample out of curiosity. I've seen vids with fursuits made of this stuff. The videos don't do this stuff justus. Sparkle overload in person. This stuff sparkles like a Christmas tree overloaded with tinsel. Haven't found this stuff in dark green. If they make it you could cut it into a large triangle and hang it on a wall. Have your very own furry Christmas tree. :3 

Luxury Shag Gray. I'm REALLY liking this stuff!!! It's a shade lighter than the shaggy mongolian gray. But a good two shades darker than the shaggy gray. ( both from Empire fabrics ) Works really well with Deluxe Silver ( again from Empire ) in both color contrast and fur length.

The two remaining samples form fabric.com, Fox Charcoal and Desert Fox Gray are still on back order.

Getting fur samples from different outlets have proven that not all fur in the same color are the same color. Still have a lot more samples to come. Haven't even started putting Cause together and I can already give advice. "Get as many fur samples as you can from different outlets."

[cause the rat]

About twenty more samples from Mendels came in today. Some I got out of curiosity (Fuzzy eyelash Lime). Their Seal slate gray is dark enough but not thick enough to help hide seams. Punky Muppet gray is two light for what I'm going for. The rest are the rest. Great furs but not what I'm looking for.

So far the two grays I'm looking at are Luxury shag gray from fabric.com and Deluxe Silver from fabricempire.com. But have plenty of time to choose and more samples coming in. Hair beard and mustache will be white.

[cause the rat]

No new fur samples yet. Now I'm looking for material of a different sort. Looking to make a fake leather long coat. I've got some polyester lycra blends samples coming in. Hoping to find a medium to heavy weight fabric that will match what I suspect Rob Halford is wearing in these shots.

about half way down the page
http://talleesavage.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/sweden-rock-festival-2011-part-ii/

And this
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/kevinbaldes/2821942951/

Honestly these coats don't look like real leather. One they're way to smooth. And they have to much gathering or pleating of the fabric as it bends.

Not going the fake vinyl leather stuff. I want something that will work to keep me cool. Not cook me as I walk. LOL As far as the studs go not going for the spikes. When you dress like a weapon it's usually you that gets hurt. I turned a bluejean jacket into a studded vest years ago. I still have it but no longer fits. All the studs are round, faceted or square. Never seen the need for the spikes. Also if I'm going to be wearing this around other fursuits the spikes would be a really bad idea. I have friends that can help me with the harder parts of the sewing. Or hoping to con them into doing it for me. :3

Still gathering supplies for the Jimi Hendrix tribute style jacket. I bought an old suit coat that will be the base for it. Looking to loosely base it on his military marching band coat. This one will also have to be rethought to be fursuiter safe as well. His coat has large loosely hung buttons and rows of hoops Both will have to be left off the coat.

But, other than the materials, all this is kinda off topic. When I start getting Cause put together I'll start a thread detailing the different suits. I'll be in no hurry to get the head done. Be nice if it doesn't look like it's my first one.

[cause the rat]

Some of the black polyester lycra blends came in today. Really favoring one. It's a satin twill that has a nice flat sheen to it. Like leather without the grain. Also a big plus is it's machine wash and dry. The pattern for the coat also came in today. Simplicity 2517. As far as studs go there'll be a lot of em. Over 2000 of the 12mm pyramid studs alone. On the bluejean vest I did years ago the cross on the back has 216 studs in it. It takes a lot of these things to make it look good. I'll wait till my final design before I start getting studs in. Do have the gold gimp ( trim for the ribs across the front of the coat ) and brass studs for the Hendrix inspired  jacket on the way. Decided not to go with buttons or with the double row of open hoops along the opening of the coat. Figured both would catch on other fursuits. Not a cool thing.

[cause the rat]

This isn't a post on any new materials or fur. It's more of a reminder to go to local businesses if you have them. I went to both Jo Anns and Hancock fabrics today. They both had really good choices for the solid black polyester coat. In fact they had better choices than what I've been able to find on line. Unfortunately neither have fur I could use. Kind of a small selection in both stores. Jo-Ann's has a very good medium weight polyester with little to no visible weave. A sturdy fabric with little stretch. Also machine washable and tumble dry. Now I need to find out how much I need and get it. Looks like I'll be having this coat made for me. I can do simple sewing. Don't think I can pull off a collar and get it to look right.

So go local when you can.