rabbit fur ipod cozy

[miss elizabeth]

I want to make an iPod cozy out of bright blue rabbit fur. I know fur is bad, please don't tell me. It is evil to kill bunnies and *I* never would, but someone already did and turned the fur blue and is selling it on ebay, and I need a fur ipod cozy!! Okay, so has anyone ever worked with fur? Is it really hard? I've made several iPod cozies, so I pretty much know how to do it, but I've never worked with fur. Any tips would be so appreciated.

[brittyboo]

Well....i love fur  and my moms friend makes teddy bears out of old coats from the goodwill which is a different story, but if you aren't set on blue could be cost effective

Anyway i've worked with leather making purses on a normal sewing machine
I would assume that fur is about the same idea go to a fabric store and buy upolstery thread and a leather needle set your stiches on wide.....this worked on machine i got for xmas when i was 11(not expensive)
Anyways then go at it........afterward s i would brush the fur that got stiched on so you cant see the seams

I hope this (and works) helps, Good luck

[sexylovekitten]

definately get a sturdy needle and thread! another tip is when cutting the fur, try to just cut the leather part on the bottom, what would be the skin i guess, ok that's a little unsettling. anyways try not to cut the actual pile. this will save you from having fur flying all over. or it will at least cut back on the problem. however, after you've sewn a seam you should trim the fur that's in the allowance so it will sit better.

[miss elizabeth]

Look, I stated up front that I wasn't interested in entertaining a bunch of "bunny killer" stuff, okay? I know that these are views people hold, and I respect that. I really do. But my opinion is different. I could sit here and justify myself, and explain all the reasons I think the way I do, but I don't have to, because frankly its no one's business but my own. If you want to talk about how bad I am, fine, but start your own thread, or go on PETA or something. Please do not clutter up this thread with a bunch of posts that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. I am asking for crafting tips, not a guilt trip. I honestly respect your postition, but I just disagree. Please understand, I am not trying to be controversial. I thought by stating in the header that this project involved rabbit fur that people who didn't like that sort of thing would look the other way. I'm sorry if that didn't work. Next time I'll be more explicit.

 And thank you for the help, brittyboo and sexylovekitten. When my pelt arrives I'll feel a lot more confident cutting into it. Thank you for the advice. This stuff is sorta expensive (although not nearly as much as I would have thought) (not to encourage more rabbit slaughter!) and for the color to stay even I have to use only one, uh, skin. Oh god, everyone is going to hate me. I am *so* not posting pictures.Anyway, I don't have a lot of room to experiment, so thanks for the tips.

[Carleigh]

I'm just curious....how much did this blue bunny fur cost and how much did you get? 

[miss elizabeth]

It hasn't arrived yet, but I bought a whole pelt for a little more than $10. Including shipping. Which isn't cheap, but is a far cry from the $300 iPod cozy it was inspired by. Of course that one was mink, but it was also black which is boring. And mink isn't really that awesome. Besides, this is fur from a rabbit someone ate. Okay, I know everyone hates that, but I thought it was good. I mean, look, this isn't the "fur industry", which is something I don't like. I wear leather, and I don't see how this is any different. Rabbits are cuter, but cows are pretty flippin cute! (This is part of the thinking I did before I purchased this fur. Which means I'm justifing myself; exactly what I said I wouldn't do. I'm such an approval seeker)

Anyway, check ebay. Just look for rabbit fur under crafts. Also, down here at least (Mississippi) look in the phone book. A lot of pople, sportsman types, consider fur to be essentially garbage. You could call a taxidermist or something.

[DithMer]

Two things:

1) I think a blue rabbit fur ipod cozy sounds awesome.  I heart my ipod, and I know I'd want to cushion it in something luxxxxious (which is way more fancy than luxurious). It sounds awesome.  I know when I make stuff with fake fur, fur fly-age is definitely a problem.  Maybe use a small brush or something to get the fur on either side of the cut out of the way before you cut it.  But at any rate, great idea.  Definitely post pics!

2) I cannot believe that when someone went out of their way up front in their post "please don't lecture me on fur," people still do.  Look... we all have opinions here on craftster.  I get that.  I personally don't own fur, but I do love eating meat, and if I could afford leather I'd wear it.  But I'm not about to hate on people who make vegetarian themed crafts.  This post was not a platform for an anti-fur statement.  Miss Elizabeth was asking for crafting advice - she made that very clear.  I'm so tired of seeing people's posts being kidnapped for political rants.  End of diatribe.

[colie]

I personally don't buy or work with real fur or leather, BUT I still think that you should post the pictures. Obviously, you aren't the only person who would like the look of this craft. I think you should share it. And like you said, you aren't forcing anyone's hand to look.

[stickysweetfun]

I'm with colie - please share your pictures!  While I don't support the fur industry, I do support...  I don't know what it would be called, but as miss elizabeth said, the fur is from a rabbit someone ate, which likely means that it was also raised by that person to be eaten - not "farmed" for the commercial fur/meat industry.  I knew a very sweet old lady who bred rabbits for the local (independent) pet stores; when the rabbits bred more than she could place in stores or homes, she humanely killed the "excess" and made stew.  Really yummy stew.  She also skinned and tanned the hides herself!  I always thought that was really, really neat.  (Hooray for little old ladies!)

It sounds like it will be beautiful!  And I think posting pictures and/or comments about the process could be very heplful to anyone in the future, if someone wanted to recon a fur jacket or something.

About the only advice I can offer, having done minimal work with faux fur, is to expect to sew over the fur when you seam.  You won't be able to keep it all out of there.  But go over the seams later with a crewel needle (or other large, semi-blunt needle) and pull the fur free - you can also 'fluff' it a bit to hide where the seams are. 

[ekuclaudette]

Okay, here I am throwing in my two cents....

I do think you should post pictures when you get done.  This site is about crafts, and your ipod cozy will be a craft. 

The End