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Some Techniques For Working With Luxury Faux Fur
Working with luxury faux fur is easy if you know a few simple techniques. You'll need a pair of 4 1/2" to 5 1/2" scissors that are sharp to the point; 1 1/2" all-purpose pins with ball heads; a black or silver marking pen, and a 4mm or 5mm aluminum knitting needle.
If you are making stuffed animals, I find it's much easier to transfer your patterns to template plastic and then use the templates to mark your pattern on the back of the fur. I use a fine point, permanent black marker for light-coloured furs and a medium point silver metallic maker for dark furs. I trace around the template and cut on the outside of the line. Then it's really easy to stitch on the inside of the line for a perfect seam.
Correct cutting is crucial. To practice, take a fur scrap and cut through the whole piece. You'll notice a drag on your scissors and a mess on the table. You've cut the fur nap, which means you'll have a bald spot when you sew two seams together.
To cut the fur properly, work from the back. Slide the bottom blade of the scissors up under the backing and cut only the backing, not the fur nap. Cut with short, deliberate snips. If you feel a drag, you're starting to cut the fur nap. Back off and start again. It just takes a little practice on scraps to learn to cut correctly and keep the fur from flying. If you're making an article of clothing, dressmaking shears are fine for cutting because a vest or jacket has long straight lines and sloping curves. However, you still need to cut as described above.
To assemble my fur pieces, I use an aluminum knitting needle as a tuck tool Tuck the fur to the inside and pin at a right angle. Place your pins about 1/2" apart. The more you tuck and pin, the less you will see the seam when you stitch. You won't have fur stuck in the seam and you won't have to pull it out afterward. Of course, never sew over your pins. Using a pin with a ball head and placing it at a right angle means you can stitch closer to the pin before you pull it out.
I use Janome Jem Gold to do much of my construction work. Make sure you have a new Janome Blue Tip needle inserted, and select stitch #2. I run a straight stitch from 1/4" to 1/8" away from the edge in a contrasting thread. If you're using a good quality fur, the thread won't show on the other side. But if you need to take the stitch out for any reason, it is so much easier to do if the stitch length is a little longer and the thread is a contrasting colour.
You would assemble a vest or a jacket using the same pin and tuck method described above. The Jem Gold stitch #11 is perfect for
clothing. It's a zigzag stitch when opened up gives you a perfectly hinged seam. Just remember that when you are stitching, the right hand stitch of the zigzag must fall off the edge of the fur.
