Safety First!
You will get warm in fursuit! Take care to drink water, and take breaks as needed. Your visibility is reduced in a suit, so be aware of your surroundings. If you are prone to claustrophobia, have a low heat tolerance, or fear the lack of visibility then you should elect a friend to be your handler - someone to walk around with you in case you need some kind of assistance.
Packing for an Event
Don’t squish!
Foam structures like heads and feet can deform if smooshed, especially the longer they sit in a position. When possible pack them in a hard case. Other fursuit parts can be folded up, and packed wherever you can fit them!
Keep in mind that storing them folded for long periods of time can crease the fur fibers, so it’s best to unpack them and hang them once you’re back from a con.
Brush your suit!
Keep your suit looking classy by brushing it before wear with a slicker brush.
Keeping Clean and Smell-Free
Wear Underclothes.
You WILL sweat in a fursuit! To protect your fursuit head from sweat you should wear a fresh balaclava each time you wear your head. It will catch most of the sweat, and keep it from building up in your suit. If you get a bodysuit you will want to purchase athletic gear to wear under it to protect the suit.
Spray and Air out!
Once you’ve taken off your fursuit items for the day, you can spray the inside of any part with a fursuit spray. Sprays can be purchased from various vendors (including us!) - and contain alcohol as a disinfectant. You should hang a bodysuit and any other parts you can so they can dry out overnight.
Washing your Suit
Don’t be a stinky fur!
Wash your suit if it starts to look dirty or smell. When that happens depends on your personal sweat level in suit. Most people will need to wash their suit as soon as they are home from a weekend convention.
Don't leave that unwashed fursuit for too long!! Because there IS a point of NO RETURN!
If you don’t wash it after many uses and keep it locked away in a box, marinating in its own stench then the smell will be baked in forever! An upsetting pot roast of body odor. 🙀
If you're prepping for a big event and want to smell and look your freshest - you should clean a suit at least a week before your intended event because items with foam and padding can take days to dry. And you don't want to be a soppy wet doggo, save that for storming the dance floor at the rave.
Tools you will need for Washing
- fabric detergent
- washcloth
- bathtub or sink
- patience
Do not use Woolite - it's intended to preserve the natural oils found in wool. Which doesn't really apply to faux fur, which is made of plastic. Yes, you have your own oils . . . but the point of washing is to remove them from the suit. Also, don't use a detergent containing a brightener or bleach - that can discolor and degrade the strength of the fibers.
Washing Bodysuit, Paws, Sleeves
These can all be put into the washing machine, on a gentle cycle. Cold water only! Turn bodysuits and sleeves inside-out to protect the fibers in the wash. Hang dry, or machine dry with NO HEAT. High heat of any kind will melt the fur fibers.
Washing Head, Feet, Tails
A washcloth and a dab of detergent can scrub a spot off if needed. To fully clean we recommend hand scrubbing them in a bathtub with regular clothing detergent.
Drying your Suit
Allow your suit to air dry, but not in direct sunlight, as it can discolor the fur.
You can set items in front of a fan to speed up drying. This is great for hands, feet, and heads if you can find objects to prop them open so the air can get inside the fursuit items.
Hanging up a bodysuit is the best way to dry is
Wear, Tear, and Repair!
Your fursuit is made with strength and durability in mind. Almost every seam we sew is machine-stitched TWICE on industrial machines! And any hand sewn details are done in heavy-duty upholstery thread for extra strength! 💪🏻
But, wear and tear happens. Especially over time. You can benefit from learning some basic hand sewing and hot glue skills to fix little bits of your suit as needed.
Assemble your own Repair Kit
All you need is a little sewing kit with some sewing needles and some assorted colors of thread. If you want, you can buy spools of thread in your suit colors, but if you are in a pinch choosing the color that's closest to your fur color is a decent option - because if the stitch is good, it should be very hard to see because of the pile of the fur.
For a glue gun you want one that has a high-heat setting, that takes thin 1/4" thick glue sticks. Our personal favorite brand is SureBond.
Keep your repair kit in a little bag with your fursuit brush, and fursuit spray!
Can we help with repairs?
We offer free repairs to anyone with a Fursuit or Cozywear from us who is within the 3 month warrantee for custom commissions and Premades from us. See our TOS for further info.
If you are outside of that window then you can email and ask. We do charge for the labor involved. However, we are not always open for repairs due to time constraints. But are plenty of other great makers and sewists out there you can find to help you if we are not currently accepting repairs.
If you approach us at a convention with a SMALL (ex: an inch long tear) repair we might be able to fix it for you at the convention real quick. It really depends on how busy we get. DO NOT even bother to ask if you can have that done Friday - the answer is always nope, cause it's busy! It's more likely we could do it Sunday morning provided we have the time.
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