# Help with 2-layered handpaws



## Makitana (Aug 27, 2010)

Hi,

Due to the lack of people I've been able to find who can make these in Australia I think I'm gonna try myself however I seem to have a small problem which is going to make these a little more complicated to make :/

The store that sells fur here (Spotlight) only has fur with a rather rough backing, theres no way I can have that in contact with my skin so I figure the best way to fix this is to simply have some cotton sheet in between. However I'm not sure on the best way to do this. I can think of two ways, either make a glove like this http://sew-ing.com/make/gloves.html
or I could just sew the cloth material to the hand cutout of the fur material.

My idea is like the glove on the bottom left of this page
http://www.matrices.net/paws.asp
Where I would sew the cloth in the exact same shape as the outline, to the inside of the paw for both sides, then sew those two inside-out. I guess it would help to show a pic of how I think this would work http://i36.tinypic.com/2zxxe29.png

Firstly, would this idea even work lol? Anyway I havent thought too much about the first method because I think the second method will be considerably easier but thats just a guess and I've read about how a removeable glove inset is good as it can be washed etc. Any help is appreciated  (As well as anyone being able to direct me to australia makers of these lol)


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## Steel the Wolf (Aug 27, 2010)

Yea, that idea would work. However my preferred method of making hand paws is to go to the hardware store and get a pair of cotton work gloves. You can get them for about $1-$2 USD. Then just take some measurements of your hand and sew fur onto them. That way you also have good dexterity as opposed to cutting out two 4 fingered shapes. The gloves can also be easily made into 4 or even 3 finger gloves.


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## Makitana (Aug 27, 2010)

hardware store... I never would have thought of that lol thanks I'll try it


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## Makitana (Aug 28, 2010)

I may go out and buy the materials tomorrow so plz excuse the double post while I try to figure this out quickly 

Is it really that simple to just place the hand outlines together, fur sides connecting, then sew it and flip it inside-out to complete the paw? I would have thought you cant do that since the thumb is at an angle to the rest of your hand. Also, how would this make the seam on the sides look? I cant imagine how it would create rounded finger holes, it would look like two ovals pressed together >_<

I gotta find a step-by-step picture guide for paws made this way, I havent yet been able to find a vid or pic which demonstrates this method


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## Karimah (Aug 28, 2010)

Makitana said:


> I may go out and buy the materials tomorrow so plz excuse the double post while I try to figure this out quickly
> 
> Is it really that simple to just place the hand outlines together, fur sides connecting, then sew it and flip it inside-out to complete the paw? I would have thought you cant do that since the thumb is at an angle to the rest of your hand. Also, how would this make the seam on the sides look? I cant imagine how it would create rounded finger holes, it would look like two ovals pressed together >_<
> 
> I gotta find a step-by-step picture guide for paws made this way, I havent yet been able to find a vid or pic which demonstrates this method



It is just that simple :3 If it makes you feel better cut out a pattern BEFORE you draw the shape of your hand on the fur. Trace out the pattern on a swatch and then take the pattern and trace it on another swatch (make sure you know which part is the top and which part is the bottom!). Make sure you pin the material together before you sew, so that you can see how you'll have to maneuver your machine. I have a number of tutorials that you may find to be useful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYyScM3ZCVU <--I personally love the way that her paws come out :3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GkyIOs_M9A&feature=related  <--This guy makes his paws over some gloves. I find his method to be a  bit of a hassle but it may work for what you're looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUrp2JUroIs <--Cotton lining and fur with an added claw-making bit.


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## Makitana (Aug 29, 2010)

Wow thanks, the 3rd vid shows exactly what I planned to do.

I'm not going for 'paws' with the defined shape, raised pads and thickness as much as I am going for gloves which look like paws, I figure they will be far easier to make 

Anyway final question, whilst I do have access to a sewing machine it will be a hassle for me to get it, will this be overly difficult to sew by hand? Time isnt exactly an issue. I planned on sewing the cloth to the fur on both sides first, then sewing all 4 together. It might be a bit redundant but idk how hard it will be to sew through 2 layers of cloth and 2 layers of fur while trying to keep everything in place.


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## Karimah (Aug 29, 2010)

Makitana said:


> Wow thanks, the 3rd vid shows exactly what I planned to do.
> 
> I'm not going for 'paws' with the defined shape, raised pads and thickness as much as I am going for gloves which look like paws, I figure they will be far easier to make
> 
> Anyway final question, whilst I do have access to a sewing machine it will be a hassle for me to get it, will this be overly difficult to sew by hand? Time isnt exactly an issue. I planned on sewing the cloth to the fur on both sides first, then sewing all 4 together. It might be a bit redundant but idk how hard it will be to sew through 2 layers of cloth and 2 layers of fur while trying to keep everything in place.



No problem :3 I think I get what you're going for there. It shouldn't be, I'm a machine sewer myself but if you practice the right techniques the seams should hold up just as well as one created by a machine. Do you have pins to hold the fabric together? Before sewing it is a very good idea to run your pins along the desired seam so that you can replicate what the final product will be. The pins also keep the fabric in place whilst you sew, that way you won't have to worry too much about things slipping around and you can avoid unnecessary work. Regular sewing pins or safety pins would work just fine, both are cheap and easy to find.


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## Steel the Wolf (Aug 29, 2010)

Damn, if it is that simple then I'm retarded. I tried about 6 different ways of doing that with crap fabric and the best one I got gave me a half inch split between my fingers. In fact if you buy a pair of gloves from the hardware store and rip them apart you will see that they are comprised of a ton of different pieces, not just 2. Further more, to make a completely custom glove, it takes almost 20 separate measurements. Personally, I like the sewing onto a premade glove better. It takes more work, but you get a hell of a lot better dexterity and you have and excellent pattern to go off of.


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## Makitana (Aug 29, 2010)

I wouldnt have thought its that simple too, but I cant yet see a real reason why it wouldnt work when that video and the matrices website shows it does work.


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## Makitana (Aug 30, 2010)

I can see a new issue arising...

When I stitch the pad on to the thumb, should it be off-centre to the thumb? It looks to me that if the pad is in the same place as the rest of the fingers, when you close your hand, the pad will be on the side of your thumb and if you make a first, it wont even be in contact with the rest of the glove :O

Or maybe I'm paranoid lol


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## mrs.ferdo (Aug 30, 2010)

Makitana said:


> I can see a new issue arising...
> 
> When I stitch the pad on to the thumb, should it be off-centre to the thumb? It looks to me that if the pad is in the same place as the rest of the fingers, when you close your hand, the pad will be on the side of your thumb and if you make a first, it wont even be in contact with the rest of the glove :O
> 
> Or maybe I'm paranoid lol



I made that mistake, and yes it does happen. But it's not too bad.


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## Makitana (Aug 31, 2010)

lol endless issues. So I made one finger of this glove and I noticed in the seam area, the fur sticks out into the middle due to the way it is stitched. If I use a cotton lining, this wont actually cover it.

http://i54.tinypic.com/241qmgy.jpg

Where the cotton is the light grey area, fur backing is dark grey. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I could cover the sewn edges of the fur on the inside with cotton? my only idea so far is to cut out a long, thin strip and sew this to the outline after the 2 sides of the glove are sewn together, kind of like a [ bracket around the edges. IDK if that makes too much sense though :/

In good news though, I typed this out with the finger ive sewn on my index finger without a single mistake and even got the captca art on tinypic right as well  Gloves as oppose to paws make this a lot easier lol.


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## Makitana (Sep 4, 2010)

Update yay 

After much trial and error and 10+ hours im so happy now, I finally made one glove 
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4109/imgp0826m.jpg
http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/5972/imgp0824i.jpg


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## Steel the Wolf (Sep 4, 2010)

Makitana said:


> Update yay
> 
> After much trial and error and 10+ hours im so happy now, I finally made one glove
> http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4109/imgp0826m.jpg
> http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/5972/imgp0824i.jpg



Looks pretty good. Yea, I think I spent about the same amount of time and a lot more effort figuring out hand paws then I did on the entire head. Hands are the hardest part.


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## Karthegrax (Sep 7, 2010)

I feel your pain. I too live in Aus and I hate the range of fabrics we have. I made my first suit last year with that fur you're making yours with now. It's pretty tacky stuff. You can't pull it out of seams because it just tears out so you need to be careful when you sew it and it melts when it comes into contact with hot glue - so it's a pain when you try to fur your head. It's a nice cheap fur though, and it's good to start with I suppose. Here's my hand below. It looked heaps nicer when I first made it. It's been to several events and is due for a wash, but it gives you a rough idea about how the fur wears over time.







Yeah I'm in my PJ's lol

Yours are looking nice BTW. I can't wait to see the finished suit!


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## Makitana (Sep 7, 2010)

lol I dont plan on making a suit, just the gloves  I love them, makes me feel so childish, when I first put it on it felt something like when I got an N64 for christmas  I was in my pj's when i took my photo too, hence the 3:13am post coz i was sewing it all night lol

Spotlight had 2 types of fur though, the one I bought was the cheaper one, the more expesive type felt much thicker but they only had strange colours for it like tiger stripes or a rainbow etc 

Did you make yours from the same method I did by the matrices.net tutorial? If so ill ask some questions later you might be able to help with.


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## Karthegrax (Sep 7, 2010)

Yeah it's essentially the same method. I'll throw in a pic of my second pair of gloves that I made earlier this year. They're with that thicker (i'm not sure if its the fur you're talking about) $69 a meter fur. I hated making them. The fur is waaay to thick and it's so long and bushy that it kind of hides where the fingers are :\ lol nice for a bodysuit, not for gloves.
Oh btw I've never had trouble with the roughness of the fabric. I wear a shirt and pants under my suit, but my forearms and hands are always directly touching it and I never seem to notice. It's cool if you got that double-layer thing to work though. I thought about it when I was making mine and figured it would be too much hassle.


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## Makitana (Sep 7, 2010)

69 a meter wow I paid 14.95 a meter >_>

Anyway I was gonna ask, if you did it by hand, what type of stitch did you use for the edges? like theres two types, the one that looks like | / / / / / / / / | across the edge or the | - - - - - - - - | one going in and out from both sides. IDK if one is stronger than the other or if I need a bigger seam allowance for one. the one I made now is the first method.


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## Karthegrax (Sep 8, 2010)

The brown gloves were $14.95 the white ones were $69 (just to clarify). Na I was going to hand sew them but my hand sewing ability is less than desirable, so I used a machine. I did sit there and turn the nob to move the needle up and down however (as opposed to the pedal) which very tiring but allows you to go slow enough to easily control it (so it was kinda hand sewing...) I would suggest using a | - - - - - - - | stitch, but either will probably work. | / / / / / / / | will defiantly take less time though. 

If you've done it | / / / / / | and you're happy with it though, stick with that one. Why fix what's not broken?


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