I sort of got an idea for a project when my applique skills are better. I got the idea after watching "My Neighbour Totoro". Right now, the idea in my head is to make a wallhanging of the Totoro...don't have any pictures to show you what a Totoro looks like...the best way I can describe it is its a big furry thing that's like a cross between a rabbit, a cat, and an owl and smiles like a Cheshire cat. Very cute.

Anyways, instead of doing him in regular cotton I was thinking I could do him in fur. Then I wouldn't have to try and applique the jaggedness of his fur. But then again...appliqueing fur sounds kind of hard. Fur is thick and probably not the easiest fabric to sew. If I were to do this Totoro how would I go about doing it (where I can keep the most amount of sanity)?

Maybe simply top stitch it onto the background fabric possibly using pins to hold the fur out of the line of stitching and once the pins are removed, the fur would fluff up to cover the machine sttiching. The concept sounds very interesting and I don't think it would be that difficult. You could use a glue stick, even just to hold the piece in place long enough for you to use a stright stitch on your machine to secure it permanently. I'd love to see photos as you go along if possible.

I made a lap quilt out of the fake fur for my DIL. it is fairly easy to sew with, just expect a lot of fuzzies in your machine if you machine sew, or if you hand sew, make sure you are in the material enough, it will pull out easy. I think what you are planning will look great.
Deb :mrgreen:

If the fur seems too hard to work with, you might try making it out of chenile.

I've worked with fur, not for quilting or applique, but for lots of other projects. The secret to sanity is when you cut, just cut the back, not the actual fur, otherwise you'll have shorter fur at the seams. (snip fabric back instead of taking long cuts through the fur and back with scissors) You'll spend A LOT less time picking fur from the seams if you take a second to "brush"the fur towards center of the piece before you pin it, and then sew it. Hope this was helpful, and understandable :)

I am so glad someone else has asked this question. I've been saving some fur to use to make some hedgehog blocks for an exchange I'm in. I haven't gotten as far as attempting to sew with the fur yet. I have been a bit tentative. These tips are very helpful and remind me that I will need to get started on that project soon, as the block exchange is due in June.

Well, Maybe you could use the fur on the dkr brown part, and fleece on the belly part. And you don't have to make the complete brown part of the body, just underlap it where the fleece part would be. That way he would have a furry body and a fuzzy belly, and you only have to applique one layer of each.

Good idea :)

Fur can surely be a challenge. Are you using a fake fur, or a real fur? In either case, be sure to cut the fur from the back, preferably with a scalpel, using a mirror image of your pattern, so when you turn it over to the right side, it's the way you intend it to be.

When you sew it, secure it well with pins. As you sew around it (with a machine, I assume) use a smaller zig-zag, sweeping the fur away to the side as you stitch. The fur will cover the stitches with a little coaxing after you are finished.

The worst part of the whole procedure is getting fur up your nose!

M

The little guy is sooo cute! I hope you decide to do him, its going to be really adorable :-)

I'm talkin' like 2-2.5 wide and about the same in length. It really doesn't take much to keep it attached.

M

Would like to see a picture when you are finished. Never heard of a Totoro.

I love to see your projects/dreams. You are so crative. I think what I come up with might be a tad bit dull compared to your dreams. Keep it up :!: :D I see a future in design somewhere down the road.

Here is an idea. If you were going to enlarge it enough it wouldn't be a big issue to cut out all the different shapes of fur for each seperate color. Break it down into different shapes for different colors ie:shades of browns, whites & markings on his belly as seperate pieces. I'm not suggesting that you put a layer of fur over a layer of fur, but instead for example, on the white tummy you could cut the whole shape of the tummy out of white & then mark on the back side of the tummy where the 7 spots need to be & then cut the white spots out to make room for the brown ones you'll put in there instead. You could applique them all onto a background piece that has the drawing transferred onto it. Start basting on pieces like a puzzle & then just watch it grow. Sounds like a fun project & hope you share your results with us!