From my experience it seems to be a mixture of the type of fur and type of stitch, but I would like to know what you guys think. I'm sure I read a post a while back on creating stretchy seams, but I can't seem to find it.
I will soon be starting work on a fursuit for my actual fursona, a lemur. This is a big deal for me, and I will spare no expense or time in getting it right. It is very important to me that the bodysuit will allow me to flex at all angles while being form-fitting and realistic.
I would consider the NFT route, but the backing is so coarse/itchy and I've heard that it doesn't have a very long lifespan. I don't think I would want to use it for an entire bodysuit.
So, my plan is to use Mongolian fur for the main part of the bodysuit (the character has a scruffy, dishevelled appearance). Compared to DF shag, it has an overly thinner pile and thinner backing, which I'm hoping will work to my advantage - generally speaking, the thinner the fur, the more flexible the seams will be.
Case in point, the bodysuit for Moriko, made from DF shag and machine-sewn with a straight stitch*, fits my figure beautifully, but its so stiff that actions like crouching down are pretty much impossible. http://chikkennoodul.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d5jjls2
(*My sewing machine is a lovely old industrial Singer that glides through fur and leather like butter and once punched through the plastic head of a pin without even slowing down. However, it can only do straight stitch, which results in very stiff seams.)
However, another bodysuit I made, this one one hand-sewn with blanket stitch and made mostly from fun-fur (which has a naturally flexible backing), turned out both form-fitting and very flexible. http://chikkennoodul.deviantart.com/art/Panic-Bodysuit-264426689
So I'm pretty much decided that I want to hand-sew Pickle's bodysuit. But my question is, what stitch is best for creating stretchy seams? Blanket stitch comes easiest to me and seems to be pretty flexible, but is there anything better? I've heard that, when machine-sewing, zig-zag stitch is best for stretch - is there a hand-sewing equivalent of that? Bearing in mind that this bodysuit is for myself, so I don't mind sacrificing seam strength for stretch.
Thanks for reading!
I will soon be starting work on a fursuit for my actual fursona, a lemur. This is a big deal for me, and I will spare no expense or time in getting it right. It is very important to me that the bodysuit will allow me to flex at all angles while being form-fitting and realistic.
I would consider the NFT route, but the backing is so coarse/itchy and I've heard that it doesn't have a very long lifespan. I don't think I would want to use it for an entire bodysuit.
So, my plan is to use Mongolian fur for the main part of the bodysuit (the character has a scruffy, dishevelled appearance). Compared to DF shag, it has an overly thinner pile and thinner backing, which I'm hoping will work to my advantage - generally speaking, the thinner the fur, the more flexible the seams will be.
Case in point, the bodysuit for Moriko, made from DF shag and machine-sewn with a straight stitch*, fits my figure beautifully, but its so stiff that actions like crouching down are pretty much impossible. http://chikkennoodul.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d5jjls2
(*My sewing machine is a lovely old industrial Singer that glides through fur and leather like butter and once punched through the plastic head of a pin without even slowing down. However, it can only do straight stitch, which results in very stiff seams.)
However, another bodysuit I made, this one one hand-sewn with blanket stitch and made mostly from fun-fur (which has a naturally flexible backing), turned out both form-fitting and very flexible. http://chikkennoodul.deviantart.com/art/Panic-Bodysuit-264426689
So I'm pretty much decided that I want to hand-sew Pickle's bodysuit. But my question is, what stitch is best for creating stretchy seams? Blanket stitch comes easiest to me and seems to be pretty flexible, but is there anything better? I've heard that, when machine-sewing, zig-zag stitch is best for stretch - is there a hand-sewing equivalent of that? Bearing in mind that this bodysuit is for myself, so I don't mind sacrificing seam strength for stretch.
Thanks for reading!