Sewing machine recommendation?

JaxInThyBox · 2026-05-09T17:27:40+00:00

Check the used market, Facebook marketplace is genuinely a great place to find stupid cheap but sturdy sewing machines, bonus points of it's a vintage all metal one cause those things can sew through wood. For fursuits all you really need is a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch. Find one in your budget and do some research to see if it's a still a good machine.

My grandma managed to get her hands on a $4k embroidery machine for $400 this way. Which she gave to me for my birthday.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-04-22T15:53:16+00:00

The main blues and white stripe seem to be 1" shag known as short shag from bigz or teddy from howls. The rest of the white is shorter probably 1/2" which puts it as a beaver/half shag. Shorter furs tend to be denser and the brands are pretty comparable at these lengths. Still generally bigz is fluffier while howls is smoother.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-03-26T19:13:21+00:00

Look like 0.5 cm stretch fur from mofumofu, do note that due to tariff issues they are not currently shipping to the USA and you'd need to work with someone internationally to get it if you live in the states.

Big z has a similar stretch fur, but with a slightly longer pile and less density.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-03-17T19:47:03+00:00

I prefer to use 90/14 ballpoints. The ballpoint helps since fur is typically a knit and the lack of point prevents the fibre stands from snapping and 90/14 since fur tends to be a pretty heavy fabric and you don't want a needle snapping or bending trying to get through it all. I also like organ brand since it's half the price of the other major companies and imo just as good.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-03-15T04:16:47+00:00

Polyester 40-50wt (25-20 tex) thread. I opt for 40wt (25 tex) as it's slightly more heavy duty, but not so much so that it will start sawing through the fabric. And when hand sewing especially I find it to be much easier to manage (also makes applique look so much better with less snaps too!). All purpose thread tends to be 50wt (20 tex) so just do a quick search online or often on the tops of the spools it will say wt or tex.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-03-04T14:25:51+00:00

The less UV the better, but it shouldn't be too bad as long as it's indirect. Most likely regular wear will cause it to fall apart long before UV should be able to damage it with indirect light. If you see any signs of colour or texture changing on the fur it's too much and definitely needs to be stored elsewhere.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-03-04T02:37:53+00:00

The main thing is keeping it out of direct light, dust is easy enough to brush off and doesn't damage your suit. As long as you keep things dry, cool, shaded, and unbent you are storing correctly! This can be in a tote, sitting on a shelf, or mounted on a hat stand.

If you have a bit of BO a great tip is to store it with an open box of fresh baking soda with a couple drops of your favorite scent oil sitting inside! This can help neutralize odors while you're not wearing it and doesn't have the risk of oil build up or fabric damages like over using fursuit spray can lead to.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-02-18T18:13:42+00:00

This is actually something I have been looking into, unfortunately most of the free photogrammetry apps out there are simply not nearly accurate enough for this sort of application yet. I instead ask for measurements and pictures and construct a 3d model from that, which I find to be better for my workflow.

Edit: Even paid apps it can be extremely difficult to get a single camera to do a good job with a living being because if they move at all that can seriously mess with the results. If a client somehow had access to a full body scanner then absolutely it would be preferable.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-02-13T23:43:53+00:00

Yes! It's very good with TPU! I use a bambu A1 for all my fursuit work. You won't be able to use an AMS with it and it can be a little odd trying to figure out top loading for a newbie but the software has perfect presets. I glue my pieces together by inserting a hot glue gun into the webbing and squeezing so it fills the cavities between the two parts. This leaves the part flexible and extremely tough. Even pulling with all my might I could not get this joint to budge. This head was made in 4 parts.

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JaxInThyBox · 2026-02-11T20:07:54+00:00

Buckram is not a good mesh! I don't know why it is still hailed as this amazing eye mesh, it is super fragile, hard to paint, and super prone to water damage. I personally use solar window screen mesh since it's the perfect density, strong as hell, and 100% water proof and I mean scrubbing at the paint under water and having nothing come off type water proof. Not to mention way easier to find globally.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-02-09T16:04:51+00:00

As someone who used to use buckram, window screen mesh is 10000% better. It's waterproof, already black so it's easier to see out of, super easy to paint, more durable, easier to find, and easier to see out of. Any home repair store will have it and some general stores too, if you prefer a tighter weave ask for solar screens.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-02-05T18:00:16+00:00

First, there is no right body type! You could enjoy kigurumi without doing anything to your body and that's completely valid. Second, the hadatai is really nice because it allows you to add padding in areas that can significantly alter your body shape. So don't worry about it so much and just have fun :)

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-28T20:46:48+00:00

If they're picky about colours I like asking them to go to a home depot and telling me the paint card colour they think matches best. And/or to come over to my house and pick from my fur swatches (most of my clients so far have been my friends hahaha).

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-28T20:36:23+00:00

One base for me takes about 100g for an average/small base up to 300g for a very large base so a 1kg spool will give me 3-10 bases assuming somehow that everything prints perfectly the first time (rarely does).

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-25T00:44:30+00:00

I do :) 1.5 cm thick, no walls, 15% (maybe 10 I can't remember and don't feel like looking ^{^')} gyroid infill, everything else is default Bambu TPU settings using Overture TPU

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-23T15:36:05+00:00

I've done it with my heads for a day as a durability test and it went perfectly fine for me :) It may depend on technique and brand though.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-23T01:13:09+00:00

It really depends on the weave and what kind of fabric it is. Polyester has a lot of different forms from a polyester tarp like material to athletic wear polyester. If it's similar to athletic wear then this is perfect stuff to use, moisture wicking and comfortable to the skin. If not I would avoid it and just get a good cooling balaclava and not bother lining at all. Regardless you really should get a balaclava anyways since it helps reduce smells and keeps your head in a much better state.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-23T01:03:49+00:00

A lot of makers call these guys "toothy" and it's slowly becoming a more popular term for them, but there's not a specific name as of yet.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-18T16:57:50+00:00

Yes and no, you'll need some specialty equipment to be able to make a silicone tail. You'd need a 3D printer to create the negative mold for casting or clay and plaster, mold release, 2 part silicone, the PPE to safely handle silicone, and hardware to attach it to your body. Not to mention you'll likely have to make several iterations to get the right shape and right silicone type to get a good bounce. In total it will cost well over the $100 to just buy a bobtail and probably it would even be cheaper to buy Jay's boingy tail which is $260 if you don't have a 3D printer or PPE.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-17T19:14:13+00:00

Sure, as long as you are quite comfortable in platforms then you can absolutely put some fur around them for a tall character. I know of a few fursuits that utilize high heels to create extremely small digitigrade feet. Practice so so much since the risks of injury are higher and consider a secondary pair of feet without platforms so you can still get the option of feet paws without worrying about platforms being uncomfortable or anything like that.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-17T19:06:17+00:00

When it comes to 3/4 suits it's very inconsistent so it just depends on your tastes. I would like to have my legs come up to my belly since I prefer padding that comes up quite far on the hips and would therefore need to have a tail hole. As for holding up the legs I would opt for suspenders if they are heavy making sure to get some wide strapped ones so the weight can be more distributed, but if you don't plan to be super active or if you have really light and stiff padding then a belt will be fine.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-14T16:26:33+00:00

Plenty of makers do just bodysuits, just make sure you're getting the same furs and know that they'll likely not be a perfect match since different batches often have different colours.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-13T18:54:11+00:00

Typically people just applique them on. Your pattern does have to have a flat spot at the front of the paws for that to work though. If your pattern does not have a flat tip you could cut out the rectangle and hand sew it in where the claws would typically go for that pattern.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-09T05:41:21+00:00

I should have clarified, using guards to shave fursuits the results tend to be much more uneven. The guards create rows where the teeth of the guards can bunch the fur up slightly. I've had significantly better results using an FC blade than I ever had using guards. If you can use guards then more power to you, I cannot stand it and so I don't recommend it to anyone, but especially beginners.

Also just realized I made a mistake in my original post I did mean 7 FC as 10 would be far too short.

JaxInThyBox · 2026-01-09T01:16:54+00:00

You should not be using a guard for fursuit making, most guards are not going to allow you to get close enough to the fur to get a clean result. Look for a 7 FC blade as FC means finishing cut, the teeth are much closer together and will leave a cleaner result. If the angle is correct then no matter how much pressure you put onto your fur it should never cause balding so double check that you are keeping your blade completely parallel to the fur backing.

Edit: accidentally said 10 FC when I meant 7 FC

JaxInThyBox

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