# Making clawed gloves?



## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 21, 2010)

Hello! I'm new to the furry world, so I was hoping someone could help me out! I'm not going for a full suit at the moment, though I do want to make a set of gloves with some built in claws. I have an idea on how to execute this, but I'm not sure about the process. I got this idea from a guy I saw at my first furcon(which was on Labor Day). He had used a set of Mechanix Gloves and inlaid claws into each finger. Unfortunately, I didn't think about making my own set until the con was over and the opportunity to ask this fellow furry about how he made his gloves was lost. I was hoping that someone could assist me by offering up a tutorial or a link to installing claws and patterns on premade gloves? I am a complete novice at sewing, and don't have a lot of budget to work with. Or if going through the process of making your gloves from scratch would be easier than modifying premade gloves? Any help would be greatly appreciated! And thank you in advance!


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## Urbanwolf (Sep 21, 2010)

i would trace your hand onto paper.This will be your template depending on whether or not you want the wrist to be bigger or smaller make sure theres enough room for your hands to fit into them.

oh and unless you can find fuzzy gloves i would go with the from scratch idea. Unless you don't mind the non-furryness. 

claws can be made from sculpey and then inserted through the fingers and glued into place.

hope this helps


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 21, 2010)

I don't mind a lack of fuzzy-ness. I wasn't planning to have furry material on these anyway, just the tiger stripe pattern and claws really.


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## Urbanwolf (Sep 21, 2010)

Cyanide_tiger said:


> I don't mind a lack of fuzzy-ness. I wasn't planning to have furry material on these anyway, just the tiger stripe pattern and claws really.


 

yep so if you can find the tiger striped patterned gloves then just craft the sculpey into claw like shapes. but leave a little on the end so that it can stick inside the glove. 

also if you don't mind spending faux fur is definitely the way to go. but its up to you

also tutorials..anything you need should be here http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=fursuit


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 22, 2010)

I'd be willing to take a look at the faux fur. I don't want the fabric to be especially thick, but I would like it to be quality, durable stuff. Any ideas on where to find it? Soon, I'll be going to the local hobby stores to see what I can find. 

On a side note, but still related: http://www.starborneworks.com/ Has anyone used claws from this person before? And if so, how are they? I sort of doubt that I will be making my own claws, but I've managed to find how-to's on that. I'd much rather buy some to put into the gloves I'm making though, if I can help it. Happen to have any other resources on premade claws that are of decent quality? I'm not particularly picky about the material, so long as they won't chip or get stratched up easily. I'd also like a nice clicky sound when I tap them together or against hard surfaces. On that link above, those claws seem to be a little wide for my particular needs, so any option that you guys can offer me will be greatly appreciated!


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## Urbanwolf (Sep 22, 2010)

Cyanide_tiger said:


> I'd be willing to take a look at the faux fur. I don't want the fabric to be especially thick, but I would like it to be quality, durable stuff. Any ideas on where to find it? Soon, I'll be going to the local hobby stores to see what I can find.
> 
> On a side note, but still related: http://www.starborneworks.com/ Has anyone used claws from this person before? And if so, how are they? I sort of doubt that I will be making my own claws, but I've managed to find how-to's on that. I'd much rather buy some to put into the gloves I'm making though, if I can help it. Happen to have any other resources on premade claws that are of decent quality? I'm not particularly picky about the material, so long as they won't chip or get stratched up easily. I'd also like a nice clicky sound when I tap them together or against hard surfaces. On that link above, those claws seem to be a little wide for my particular needs, so any option that you guys can offer me will be greatly appreciated!



yep these sites are the best for great quality fur. I've ordered from one and i've heard great things about the other
these people also have longer fur available 
http://www.distinctivefabric.com/category.php?cat=FAUXFUR

but for buying lots of fur colors i recommend this site
http://www.mendels.com/fur2.shtml

also with claws i would buy them from a taxidermist shop for the best quality. also this is supposedly a good place for claws
http://www.greyowlcrafts.com/i_claws_arrow/index.htm

you can cut those claws down in order to make them the right size.


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## sunandshadow (Sep 22, 2010)

I got good results by using a white naugahyde for the claws.  You cut out a butterfly shape and sew along the bottom so that the claw curves downward and the only seam is on the bottom).  The first joint of the finger goes inside the claw, this makes the hands more the shape of paws, rather than long and skinny like human hands.  (This is intended for a cat or dog paw, not something which is supposed to have long skinny fingers like a monkey or bird.)  For the rest of the glove you can either stuff the individual toes to make them round and add paw pads of a different fabric or just use a mitten with no division between the fingers.


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## RayO_ElGatubelo (Sep 22, 2010)

I'd be interested in this. I have calluses on my fingers from biting them too much. It's true.


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## Fenrari (Sep 22, 2010)

You'd be surprised at how many videos are on Youtube that deal with just this topic. If you search for a bit I'm sure you'll find exactly what you're looking for.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 22, 2010)

Fenrari said:


> You'd be surprised at how many videos are on Youtube that deal with just this topic. If you search for a bit I'm sure you'll find exactly what you're looking for.



Really? Could you link me to some of the more useful ones? This will be my first attempt ever at sewing and crafting something from hand, much less anything of this nature, so I want to do it right the first time. 

Oh, and Urbanwolf, thank you for those links! I'm getting a swatch from the fabric site so I can check the quality of their tiger print, should be here in a couple of days. ^-^ I checked my local fabric stores, and the selection there is abhorrent. If anyone has other sites they've had good results from(and preferrably offer swatches), I'd love to take a look at them. 

Also, I decided to give a shot at making my own claws. I saw on some other sites that apparently Sculpey Clay and Fimo clay is really good. I stopped by a local hobby shop earlier today and found something called Kato Polyclay. If anyone has had experience with this brand, could you give me your results? If Sculpey or Fimo is better?

And again, thank you all for all your help! It is greatly appreciated! I'll post pictures somewhere or another once they're completed and you guys can let me know what you think, if you want.


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## Deo (Sep 23, 2010)

roofur.com sells the best claws you could ever buy for fursuiting.



Cyanide_tiger said:


> Really? Could you link me to some of the more useful ones? This will be my first attempt ever at sewing and crafting something from hand, much less anything of this nature, so I want to do it right the first time.


Here's a good link > [LINK]


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## Urbanwolf (Sep 23, 2010)

Cyanide_tiger said:


> Really? Could you link me to some of the more useful ones? This will be my first attempt ever at sewing and crafting something from hand, much less anything of this nature, so I want to do it right the first time.
> 
> Oh, and Urbanwolf, thank you for those links! I'm getting a swatch from the fabric site so I can check the quality of their tiger print, should be here in a couple of days. ^-^ I checked my local fabric stores, and the selection there is abhorrent. If anyone has other sites they've had good results from(and preferrably offer swatches), I'd love to take a look at them.
> 
> ...



a whole lot of people here use sculpey. So i'm assuming its very good..never really heard of Fimo being suggested though


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 23, 2010)

Well, the Fimo brand primarily came up when I was browsing through some journal entries(lost the link) by http://www.matrices.net/paws.asp the person that made this site. It was a short tutorial on how she crafts the claws for her handpaws in which she specifically suggested Fimo. 

After the youtube suggestion though, I went ahead and went poking around for another claw tutorial since the ones made in Matrices' video were too short and stubby for my purposes, and I wasn't sure if there was anything to do after baking the clay. I came up with this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8iWTeWGEZg I plan to try this person's technique tonight on some test claws with this Kato stuff, and I'll let you guys know how it works out. 

If there are other processes to create a better claw or this guy is full of crap, legit links would be awesome. And yet again, thank you guys for the help!


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## Foxfairy (Sep 23, 2010)

Hi :3 Do you have any example pix / diagrams of how to make claws like that? I'd really like to see!

(To the person who makes them out of faux leather)


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 24, 2010)

Just a quick update:

All right, so I tried sculpting some claws out of that aforementioned Kato Polyclay stuff, and it didn't work out so well. Going to go with what the majority of the tutorials I've seen have said and just give it a go with Sculpey next. I just hope these things end up looking as bad awesome as the image in my head is. We'll see! Also still looking around for good sites. Ordered a swatch from one of the links Urbanwolf put down - hopefully it will be in soon so I can check out the material. :3 And, just as the trend has been previously in this thread, because I try not to be an ungrateful prick; thank all of you for your help and consultation on this little project!


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## KarabinerCoyote (Sep 25, 2010)

Found some stretchy fuzzy gloves in the women's section. Unstitched the cuffs to make them a bit longer. Bought some natural coyote claws from a vendor on Ebay. They are sold as a craft item and sometimes threaded onto cord as American Indian adornments. Turned each finger inside out and inserted a long claw. (The root of the claw should be ground smooth with a Dremel tool.) Then glued into place once oriented properly. A paw pad of fun foam was glued to the palm.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 26, 2010)

Were those claws long and thin? I'm wanting approximately 1 1/2 inches or so in length, and I don't want them to be very thick in width.


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## Deo (Sep 26, 2010)

roofur.com sells the best fursuit claws. They have little cups on the end to hold your fingers to give you better dexterity. I would also -not- use coyote claws, as they would be very small on a hand covered in fur and can more easily scuff, scrape, break, chip, and most of all crack.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 26, 2010)

Deovacuus said:


> roofur.com sells the best fursuit claws. They have little cups on the end to hold your fingers to give you better dexterity. I would also -not- use coyote claws, as they would be very small on a hand covered in fur and can more easily scuff, scrape, break, chip, and most of all crack.



Hm.. that actually gives me an idea. I was at a furmeet just yesterday and got to talking with someone who is constructing a full suit(mine is just going to be a partial by the time it's done), and they gave me an idea for one of my bigger hurdles with the claws. I was sworn to secrecy though, but I believe that little cup on the end of those claws could improve the idea this person gave me. If this works as well as I think it will and I get permission from the original creator of the idea, I'll share it with you guys as another thanks for your help.


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## Deo (Sep 27, 2010)

Cyanide_tiger said:


> Hm.. that actually gives me an idea. I was at a furmeet just yesterday and got to talking with someone who is constructing a full suit(mine is just going to be a partial by the time it's done), and they gave me an idea for one of my bigger hurdles with the claws. I was sworn to secrecy though, but I believe that little cup on the end of those claws could improve the idea this person gave me. If this works as well as I think it will and I get permission from the original creator of the idea, I'll share it with you guys as another thanks for your help.



Why is it that you ignored that tidbit about roofur's claws the first time I posted it? Do you actually want help or just what?


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 27, 2010)

Deovacuus said:


> Why is it that you ignored that tidbit about roofur's claws the first time I posted it? Do you actually want help or just what?



I apologize for not acknowledging it the first time, though I did look at the site when you first suggested it. I'm still sifting through things when I have the time to dedicate to this project, and upon looking at the claws from that site, I didn't like their shape on the portion that would external on the handpaws. Like I said a couple of times before, I'm expirementing with making my own from Sculpey now, and didn't think about that site after making the decision. I'm sorry you felt your input was ignored. Also, before you mentioned it, I didn't think of the actual function of the cups on those claws that go over your fingertips. While this thread is going, I'm still gathering materials and seeing what I like best for it all, but my process is slow-going at the moment since I do have other projects to focus on as well. If you feel I've been ungrateful, a waste of time, or offensive in any manner, all I can do is apologize for that and offer that that was not my intention.


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## Deo (Sep 27, 2010)

Cyanide_tiger said:


> I apologize for not acknowledging it the first time, though I did look at the site when you first suggested it. I'm still sifting through things when I have the time to dedicate to this project, and upon looking at the claws from that site, I didn't like their shape on the portion that would external on the handpaws. Like I said a couple of times before, I'm expirementing with making my own from Sculpey now, and didn't think about that site after making the decision. I'm sorry you felt your input was ignored. Also, before you mentioned it, I didn't think of the actual function of the cups on those claws that go over your fingertips. While this thread is going, I'm still gathering materials and seeing what I like best for it all, but my process is slow-going at the moment since I do have other projects to focus on as well. If you feel I've been ungrateful, a waste of time, or offensive in any manner, all I can do is apologize for that and offer that that was not my intention.




I'm sorry I bitched at you. IT was completely uncalled for and you're very civil. I'm sorry. It's just that we get alot of newbie furries in here pleading for help with histrionics, and when we offer all the help we can besides driving to their homes and making it for them they ignore us and cry about not being able to make a suit. 
Here are some examples to share the facepalm: http://forums.furaffinity.net/threads/80275-Where-can-I-get-a-tail http://forums.furaffinity.net/threads/80783-i-dont-know...
I am so gad you are not that type of person. Once again, I'm sorry for snapping, I did not take into consideration that you had looked it over and already made your decision. My apologies.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Sep 28, 2010)

Deovacuus said:


> I'm sorry I bitched at you. IT was completely uncalled for and you're very civil. I'm sorry. It's just that we get alot of newbie furries in here pleading for help with histrionics, and when we offer all the help we can besides driving to their homes and making it for them they ignore us and cry about not being able to make a suit.
> Here are some examples to share the facepalm: http://forums.furaffinity.net/threads/80275-Where-can-I-get-a-tail http://forums.furaffinity.net/threads/80783-i-dont-know...
> I am so gad you are not that type of person. Once again, I'm sorry for snapping, I did not take into consideration that you had looked it over and already made your decision. My apologies.



It's quite all right. I somewhat understand where you're coming from. While I am new to the furry fandom, I wholely understand that you run into innumberable amounts of idiots that want it all done for them, and therefore have a shorter fuse than most would like. It's partially my fault for being a bit flip-floppy too. Don't worry, I read the unofficial newbie guide when I first signed up for FAF. ;D I am taking everything you guys are giving me into consideration when making my decisions too. 

In other news: I'm back on the faux fur hunt now that my swatch came in and I have my claws figured out. I had ordered the swatch from one of the sites that Urbanwolf gave me early in the thread, distinctivefabrics.com. Unfortunatley it isn't as thick as I would like it to be. The stuff that I was sent is approximately 1/8 of an inch thick, more like fuzz than fur, but the coloring is beautiful. If I can't find anything else that I'm happy with, I will likely go with that one. I'd like something at least 1/4 inch thick or better with bright orange tiger stripe pattern on it. As I mentioned before, I'm leery about ordering from a site that doesn't offer swatches that I can get ahold of first, even if I have to pay a dollar or so to them. 

In the meantime, I'll be getting to work on those claws and crafting them just right. I'll probably post pictures when I'm finished.

Any more links where I can find some quality faux fur would be appreciated - I don't mind shelling out a little bit for some quality stuff.

Thanks again, everyone!


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## Deo (Sep 28, 2010)

I think the swatch you got was the wrong fur. Distinctive fabrics long pile or extra long pile is what you're looking for. You must have ordered a different swatch than those as those are amazing furs and readily used by fursuiters. I personally really love Distinctive fabrics and I'MStuffed Furs. _As for the stripe pattern you will not find a good fur with a print on it._ Printed furs are funfurs, and they look odd on suits. If you want stripes you will have to either airbrush or dry brush them on or sew in fur fabric stripes.

*White Wolf*- is the only known source of the much sought after MM Fox, which has been discontinued, a luxurious 3 inch long pile fur that comes in three colors. http://whitewolf.denofwolves.com/fur.html




*Distinctive Fabric-* Get the "long pile" (2 inch) or "extra longpile" (3 inch) very dense and soft fur good backing on the long pile, the extra long pile can have a loose or bad backing sometimes






*Fabric.com-* it's the same stuff as Distinctive fabrics but generally free shipping, however they sometimes jam it into a box and you recieve the fur and it is crinkly and ruined.

*Mendel's=* Punky Muppet. If you want a crazy, but nice, fur look go here





*I'mStuffed Furs-* Another favorite of mine. Very high quality and very realistic fur. They have wonderful service and the fur's beauty speaks for itself





*National Fiber Technologies-* If you need something long (like up to 14 inches in length of fur) go here. I warn you though it costs an arm a leg and your firstborn child. NFT sells their furs by the square foot and they do custom orders. I recommend looking at the overstock discounted furs that you can buy for much cheaper and not have to buy a roll. It's really nice for lion manes and long tufts or if you need 4-way stretch fur or other specialty fur. Their fur is more itchy and less soft, but highly realistic and well made. They mostly only make faux fur for movies or comercials.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Oct 1, 2010)

Dropping in for a quick update for anyone that's interested in how this is turning out: Thank you for all those sites, Deo! I'm definately saving those for my next suit! Before I had a chance to look through them though, a fellow furry friend of mine that has a partial suit took me to a local fabric shop that I didn't know existed and while we were there, I found some pretty awesome tiger print fur. It's a little short compared to most of the recommended stuff that I've seen, but it's soft and fluffy and feels comfortable and I love the coloring - white fur with blue tiger stripes. My friend doing the sewing part of it is making me a prototype out of cheap fabric we picked up for like $2 a yard before we start digging into the real stuff, and when she gets that completed, I'll be making some proportionate claws off of that out of Sculpey. Everything seems to be going extremely well so far! ;D 

If you guys are curious to see it, I can take a picture of some of the fur I found and post it up here, just let me know.

Thanks again for all of you guy's help!


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## Deo (Oct 2, 2010)

Sure, post away.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Oct 5, 2010)

Grr.. for some reason it isn't letting me post the picture here. Anyone that would like a picture of the fur that I chose, feel free to drop me a PM with a valid email address that will allow you to view embedded pictures and I will be happy to send it over. The image uploader keeps giving me an error message that it is an invalid file, despite it being in the proper format.


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## Kellan Meig'h (Oct 5, 2010)

Deovacuus said:


> (snip for brevity/clarity)
> 
> *White Wolf*- is the only known source of the much sought after MM Fox, which has been discontinued, a luxurious 3 inch long pile fur that comes in three colors. http://whitewolf.denofwolves.com/fur.html
> 
> ...



You know, I just e-mailed USA Knit, the retail source for less-than-roll quantities of that MM Fox. According to Claire Miller, their rep, it is still being made and it shows as in stock on USA Knit's website.

Long / Shag Faux Fur For Sale - USA Knit

Just thought I would throw that out there. Learned about this at FC2010 from Lance.

Kellan


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## KarabinerCoyote (Oct 8, 2010)

Actually, the natural claws I have are under 3/4" in length and not over 3/16" at the thickest. A deep brown color on the exposed portion and tougher than those polypropylene fingernails sold at this time of the year in stores.


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## Willow (Oct 8, 2010)

I dunno if this helps you or not, but what you need to do is buy Sculpey.

Almost any local art or regular retail store sells the stuff for about $3-4 bucks. 

Knead the clay and break off about 10 little pieces and roll them into balls, then form them into claws. 

With a toothbrush scratch the bottom side of each one and bake them in an oven for a few minutes. 

You might need to paint over them again since Sculpey has the tendency to burn. Then glue them to the gloves. 

It's a good idea to read the instructions if you use this method because I don't work with Sculpey very often.


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## Cyanide_tiger (Oct 9, 2010)

Thanks for the advice, Willow, but I already planned on doing that. I believe I mentioned it in one of my earlier posts. Also, I have a little bit different of an idea devised for how to attach the claws to the gloves. I'll let you guys know how it works out for me.


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