Many More Newbie Questions

I'm going to start constructing my head soon; so, it's time to ask some more questions that I didn't think to ask yet. (If you can believe it)

-Eyes:

1. Do I paint the irises before I glue them to the backs of the eyes, or after?
2. "Comb the fur away from the eye socket and prepare the inside by lining the inside with black fleece." -"Painting the Eyes and Irises", from Matrices.net.
How much fleece do I use, and what shape do I cut it? Does it need a pattern? Why do I have to line the socket in the first place?
(I am having trouble visualizing this)

-Mouth-

1. Lining the mouth and adding the teeth- I know that you have to do the following;
a. create a paper template of the inside of the mouth (tracing).
b. trace the pattern onto a thin fabric (vinyl), glue it onto the inside of the lower jaw with hot glue.
c. use a thin mouth lining, like fleece (or hairbands). Glue into place.
How do you attach the teeth without messing up the jaw? Do you mark on the fleece where the teeth will be, cut slits to poke them through, glue them into place (They will have a flat base, because I will be making them out of Sculpey), and THEN glue the "jawset" in.

-Furring-

1. Do I fur the head with the jaw open? (It will be a Balaclava-base head) I have read that doing this eliminates "fur folding" when opening and closing the jaw. Does this actually make a difference?
2. Should I line the mouth and add inner details before or after furring?

-Paws-

1. I will be making padded handpaws. Do I use a tape pattern to fur the fingers? I've heard about "cinching" the fur fabric, but I don't know if I am experienced enough to do that.
How do I go about furring BETWEEN the fingers?

My apologies for the length of this; I want to know about the specifics before I actually begin.

Thank you!