Well, I feel like I'll be picking fur out of the seams for the next several months (as well as making a few tweaks as I get used to it), but the body of my first fursuit attempt is finally...serviceable? Heh, I guess "done" might be a bit strong of a word. :P

It's far from perfect, but I'm fairly happy with it for a first suit (and learning to sew!). And good golly, the Janome 4623LE is a beast of a sewing machine (no pun intended)! If you're thinking about making a suit for yourself and are looking for a machine, I highly recommend it if you can find it.

Lessons learned thus far:

1) Creating a character design that uses 4 colors, 1 of which shows up as a thin strip that borders two others, is probably not the smartest idea for making your first suit.

2) Definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY take more time with marking out pattern pieces. It's so much easier to take a few extra minutes while marking fur than it is trying to make alterations or discovering that one side is longer than the other...or some other "fun" discovery.

3) On that note, if at all possible make your final pattern pieces on some stiff, non-flexible material AND include all seam allowances. I think my guesstimations of seam allowance changed slightly while I was doing the left side vs. the right side, and that created some issues.

4) While starting from a store-bought pattern is a good way to create a suit without outside help, I think next time I'll recruit some friends and try a duct tape dummy instead. All of the alterations (and still getting a pretty loose-fitting suit) needed to adjust the pre-made pattern can get quite tiresome.

5) Holy CRAP these things are hot! :P

6) Trying to take photos of yourself while wearing oversized paws is difficult. Stub cellphone antennas make for wonderful, paw-grabbable button mashers. Try bribing a friend to take pictures for you instead...*future update, maybe? :D *

7) Zippers and velcro on the back of the suit work great until you try to close it up while wearing a head...and realize the head is impeding your reach. Oops!

8) Make sure you have a solid vacuum cleaner handy. Faux fur sheds more than a husky taking Spring Break in the Sahara while being followed by a giant, insidious box fan set on "turbo."

9) Constructing a suit under "crunch" mode in a month or less is not so good for your health (or social life). :P

and 10) Even if you've never even *met* a fursuit outside of professional mascots, this is so totally worth it. :D

Anyway, enjoy! I'll eventually post some more active (and less "h4y im onna turnt4bl3!") photos once I can either get my camera to play nice on timer or find someone to take the pictures for me. Until then, thanks for viewing! :)