# Real fur tails and ears



## Atrayu (Jun 24, 2013)

I was thinking about making and selling tails and ears made with real fur. So far I have some rabbit and mink. What are peoples' thoughts on using real animal fur and what would be a good price range?  
Don't get all huffy about animal rights and PETA and whatnot.  The furs I have are vintage coats and capelets that I bought at yard sales.


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## Drake Ukkonen (Jun 24, 2013)

Good luck with that.


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## Bladespark (Jun 24, 2013)

Well, other than having a much smaller potential customer base because a lot of furries don't want real fur, you also should be aware that real fur is less durable, more fragile, harder to work with, prone to cracking and balding and all kinds of other issues.  

Other than that, sure, no reason why you couldn't.  Go ahead.


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## arctobear (Jun 24, 2013)

I don't make tails, but I do make teddy bears.  I've heard of people taking old fur coats and making teddies out of them, and I probably would try it if I ever found a fur coat at a yard sale or something.  The only thing, though, is that I've heard it's a real pain in the butt to sew.


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## cause the rat (Jun 24, 2013)

I strongly agree with Bladespark about the condition of real hide. If your finding this stuff cheap enough to have it refurbished then go for it. However keep in mind that real hide is food for all sorts of critters.


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## DerpyTurtle (Jun 24, 2013)

If people want tails with real fur they buy real tails. :A


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## Sparklepaws (Jun 24, 2013)

Honestly there's nothing wrong with real fur per-say (recycling organic stuff is a good idea), but it's REALLY hard to take care of properly. Not to mention the fandom won't really like it. xD


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## BlackoutCat (Jun 26, 2013)

While I have no problem with up-cycling old fur from garments it's best to make it into items that are for display and not for use. Like Bladespark mentioned it's not a very durable material to work with overall. I know two local women where I live that up-cycle coats into teddy bears and they can verify that real fur is a pain to work with and the upkeep is terrible unless you don't touch the finished product.

I say do what you want with it but your market will be small due to the fact that it is in fact real fur and that the products likely won't last very long.


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## Kitsune Cross (Jul 3, 2013)

I find it a little creepy :S


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## LegitWaterfall (Jul 3, 2013)

Sorry but . . .
Nope.
Nope nope nope nope nope.


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## Kit H. Ruppell (Jul 4, 2013)

Recycled pelts? Go nuts.


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## Zenia (Jul 4, 2013)

Eh, I don't see anything wrong with using old pelts. Be careful with them though as things like rabbit/mink/small-animal are small so many are pieced together and if you cut through it may unravel so you have to tie off the threads to avoid that. Also, I find that hand stitching (use a knotted blanket stitch) the pieces together works well. It is what we do at the tailor shop I work at to repair coats that have been torn.

That being said though... I don't think that many furries would be into it. If even just because there are so many unnaturally colored characters out there, fake fur does a better job.


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## Trpdwarf (Jul 4, 2013)

The thing about taking apart old fur coats is that they are often made up of smaller pieces of fur. So by the time you've made an enormous mess pulling it apart, the available material will be very limited. You are better off just buying faux fur. Plus, as others have pointed out your market is going to be small, and the end product will not last long.


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## Teal (Jul 4, 2013)

It'd work better for display items. :/


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## PapayaShark (Jul 4, 2013)

I don't give a shit, do what you want. But faux fur lasts longer, is cheaper and will probably look a lot better.


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## Atrayu (Aug 4, 2013)

So I made a tail using a coyote pelt (it was an old scarf or something I picked up at a yard sale). I made it about two months ago and wear it almost every day. It gets sat on, squished, I ride my bike with it and it gets rubbed up against the wheel sometimes. With all that abuse it still looks as good as the day I made it.  Real fur is designed to last, that's why animals have been using it since the beginning of time.


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## Teal (Aug 5, 2013)

Atrayu said:


> So I made a tail using a coyote pelt (it was an old scarf or something I picked up at a yard sale). I made it about two months ago and wear it almost every day. It gets sat on, squished, I ride my bike with it and it gets rubbed up against the wheel sometimes. With all that abuse it still looks as good as the day I made it.  Real fur is designed to last, that's why animals have been using it since the beginning of time.


 They also shed and grow new fur. They don't keep a single coat their whole life.


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