Sewing with Faux Fur: Cutting, Seaming and Shedding Tips
Faux fur looks luxurious — and sews like nothing else in your stash Faux fur turns a plain coat into a statement, a costume into a character and a throw into the softest thing in the room. It also sheds, slips, hides your seam lines under a centimetre of pile, and swallows pins whole. Sew it the way you sew cotton and you will end up with a lumpy seam and fur all over your house — sew it the way it wants to be sewn and it is surprisingly forgiving. This guide covers cutting, seaming and shedding — the three things that make or break a faux fur project — using the long-pile shaggy faux fur sold by the yard at ValentinaTextile.com. Before you cut: know your fur Our Faux Fur Shaggy fabric is 100% polyester with an extra-long, fluffy pile, 60 inches wide and sold by the yard in one continuous cut. Check the pile direction before you do anything else — run your hand across the fur and find which way it lies flat. Every pattern piece must point the same way, with the pile running downwards on a garment, or the finished piece will look two different colours in the light. Mark the wrong side clearly. On faux fur the backing is obvious — a woven or knitted base you can write on — while the right side is all pile. Use chalk on the backing only, never on the fur. And buy a little extra: faux fur eats fabric at the seams, because the pile needs trimming back at every join, and a nap layout wastes more than a plain layout. Cutting: one layer, sharp blades, no pins in the pile Cut faux fur in a single layer, right side down, with the backing facing you. Never fold it and cut two layers at once — the layers shift, the pile direction flips, and the pieces will not match. A rotary cutter with a fresh blade is the cleanest tool; sharp dressmaking shears are the alternative. Cut through the backing only, not through the pile. Hold the shears almost flat and snip just the base fabric, letting the long fibres fall free rather than slicing them short. The cut edge should look shaggy, not chopped — those long fibres are what hide the seam later. Skip the pins. Pins disappear into the pile, and every pin hole in the backing shows. Use pattern weights to hold the paper, and binder clips to hold the pieces together at the seam — they grip the backing without vanishing into the fur. If you must pin, pin only inside the seam allowance. Seaming: short stitches, long pile out of the way Use a longer stitch than you would for woven cotton — around 3 to 3.5 mm — and a universal or stretch needle in size 90/14 or 100/16. A short stitch perforates the backing and weakens the seam. Sew slowly: the pile drags against the presser foot, so guide the fabric gently and let the feed dogs do the work. Before you sew, push the pile away from the seam line: brush the long fibres back into the body of the piece so the stitch catches backing only. After sewing, pull the trapped fibres out of the seam with a pin — this one step is the difference between a visible seam and an invisible one. Trim the pile out of the seam allowance after sewing, but never before. Cut the seam allowance down to about 6 mm and snip the long fibres inside it short, so the seam lies flat. Then press it open with your fingers — never with an iron. Our shaggy fur must not be ironed: the care instructions are spot clean or dry clean, with no bleach and no ironing, because heat flattens and melts the polyester pile. A burst of steam held above the fabric can relax a crease, but keep the iron itself well away from the fur. Choose your seam by project. A plain straight seam is enough for throws, pillows and rugs. For a coat or a fursuit, use a narrow zigzag or a stretch stitch so the seam moves with the backing, and hand-baste first to stop the layers creeping. If the pile is very long, a walking foot feeds the top and bottom layers together and stops the fur bunching under the foot. Our velboa guide covers the short-pile alternative if your project needs a flatter, easier seam. Shedding: what is normal, and how to stop it Some shedding is normal with long-pile faux fur, especially on the first cut and the first few wears. What is not normal is a garment that sheds forever — that usually means cut fibres were left in the seams, or the pile was chopped short at the edges instead of being freed. After cutting, shake each piece outside and brush it with a stiff clothes brush to drop the loose fibres before you sew. A lint roller is your best friend during the project: roll the work surface, roll your clothes, roll the chair. Vacuum the sewing area after each session rather than letting fibres build up in the machine — fur fibres in the bobbin area cause skipped stitches, so clean the bobbin case with a small brush before the next project. To keep shedding down in the finished piece, seal the raw edges that will not be enclosed in a seam — a line of fray-check or a narrow zigzag along the edge locks the fibres in. Line the garment if you can: a lining stops loose fibres reaching your clothes. Wash as little as possible — spot clean or dry clean, as the care label says, and shake gently to restore the fluff. Choosing fur for your project Long-pile shaggy fur suits coats, jackets, fursuits, cosplay and mascots, where drama and texture are the point. It also makes the softest throws, rugs and cushions. Short-pile
