faux fur flurry: tips!

the faux fur flied around these parts for 24 full hours...initially, i thought these would be the quickest part of my first project sewn ensemble.  then i went batshit crazy.

peeps on the street and in the comments really seem to dig em, so much so that i'm seriously considering getting back into my old etsy shop... but as many of you out there have the skills to DIY them, i thought i'd share a few tips i learned along the way.  

basically, they're just rectangles, tapered in slightly more at the top (calf), but sewing faux fur can be beastly. HAAAA I'M A FUNNY GAL

first thing you gotta do is get your hair comb out.  lately i've been rocking a hot pink pick.  AW YEAH. you can part the fur just as you would your own hair, so that when you cut your seams, you don't lose too much of the precious fluff.

before placing the trim (snagged at daytona trimmings) i combed the fur down so that it would lay nice and straight underneath.

to secure for stitching, i found that pins were NO BUENO. they get lost in the fluff, they get bent, they get stuck. instead, i used scotch magic tape to hold down my first layer of trim...

and as i stitched, i slowly peeled away the tape.  be sure to start your tape in the direction you're going to sew, so that when you peel it back, you get a nice long continuous pull. (you know, not like i did in that picture.)

suddenly i have a craving for pulled pork.  it's a stretch, but there it is.

the second trim was much thinner, so i just lined it up with the first and held it in place, sans tape.  

speaking of directional sewing, i took a cue from my girl carolyn and her leather trimmed skirt: to avoid waviness or bubbles, always sew the trim in the same direction on each side.  this means you might have more fabric on the right side of your needle than the left-- it gets wonky, but it totally works.  i did that on the long sides, and here, i'm stitching down the edge of each square, just for good measure. 

toldja i went ballistic.

the top of your fur will undoubtedly have a scratch factor, as the backing is not so warm and cuddly.  i cut a rectangle to match the leggies size for the "lining", and hand basted it in silk all the way round. for real, they're just legwarmers oona, but crazytown was especially inviting for those two days.  

enjoying my stay, i used self-made bias tape to enclose the top and long zipper edges.  turning under is really not an option, at least not with my fur, so bias tape worked beautifully.  and self-made kept it insane.  

but the separating zips from pacific trimmings make them easy to throw on & off!

and there they are, on!  oh how i love them.  i plan on wearing them to a super shindig tomorrow eve...here in NY most of us take our kicks off the minute we step indoors, as we tend to carry about eight trillion germs with us. this way i can still rock a shoe whilst shoeless!  do you know how happy that makes me?  I NEED TWELVE MORE PAIRS IN EVERY COLOR.

in summation: 1) i've said fur, trim and pork all in one post.  yay weird traffic.  2) you knew this part was coming... if you still haven't voted, go on over to project sewn, check out all of the fabulous ladies and pick your poison!