I love Matrice's happy ':P' face in her eared-hoodie. x]

very helpful. Thanks for postin. :3

At the stage 4, I was always taught to wrap the thread once around your finger and roll it out? I think this is called a french knot? Is that also acceptable?

yes =3 It's what I do all the time with my orders

I don't think I've done a french knot before! I bet it'll work just fine, though :D

My mom taught it to me when I first tried learning to sew as a kid because it was much easier to do when you're working with really thin threads! It can look a little messy though.

It was so wonderful meeting you! I was the one that gave you cookies! <3

Yay! Yes, an absolute pleasure meeting you, too! I loved the cookies! I'm pretty sure I got one of the butter cookie ones if I remember correctly!! :D

You did indeed. If you ever want the recipe, I'd be happy to give it to you!

awesome tutorial :3

Very sweet of you to provide this tut. ^^ Thankses!

Great tutorial!!

This is a really nice tutorial, lady o3o
not only for making ears for hats/hoodies and alikes, but I believe this is also good to be used for plushies! :3

Gahhhh, I REALLY need to ask grandma to teach me how to sew... I wanna make a pair of those for myself >3<

Everything's there on the tutorial to teach you! Even the link to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJht13Bcw-U is in the description!
Grandma Matrices to the rescue!

Thanks A LOT for the video <3
But I really wanted to learn how to sew for real, to do other stuff besides ears, plushies and fursuits (what if I need to fix something in my clothes? you know, things like that). I might start learning that from grandma while I'm in vacations.

And OMG I'd be honored if you were my grandma... you're basically the reason why I'm a furry today >3<

Awwwwwwwwwww <3 *blushes*

Yay! Grandma Matrices :D

te amoo~♪

grat tutorial!! thanks you a lot ^^

This is so pro looking! Great job! :D

Thanks!
It looks 1,000,000 times better printed in the conbook. I had to reformat a lot of stuff to get it to fit in FA's size constraints! So some of the spacing is a little off (for my preference) but all the info's there <3

very nice simple way to make a tutorial! Some people are very disorganized/ bad at making tuts. But come one, you're Matrices! You're the best!

I think i'm gonna do this XD I love it, gotta get some fur now :D it's such a CUTE tutorial too. Not just the art, or the ears, but the *tutorial* is CUTE cx

so cool! I have to try this!

I'm making different ears than this -- bigger ones -- shaped for an African Wild Dog and wonder if you have any tips on how to attach them to an elastic headband and have them stand up? I'm having terrible trouble with that.

Give them a little bit of "cartilage" to them, you know those thin "foamies" sheets they sell in the craft departments? Well keep on the lookout there is actually thicker versions of those that work awesome for bigger ears: http://www.underlayflooring.com/upl.....4163552240.jpg
the stuff itself is called "EVA Foam" outside of a craft store. But sometimes places like Michael's and Hobby Lobby carry the thicker sheets of it. The thin stuff is really no good for what you're trying to do, but the thick stuff might be perfect for your project! (its also flexible, lightweight and waterproof) Cut the shape and slip it in between your sewn layers.

My next suggestion is make the base curve into a conical/cylindrical shape. A cone/cylindrical shape is a strong structural shape vs a flat shape, it also looks more like an animal's true-to-life ear shape! That design element is also an important structural element, so it will help them stand up and look more alert. Cut the base to match the shape of your head so they stand at the correct angle from the top/side of your head.

Physically attaching them is fairly straightforward, sew or glue them once you are happy with their curve and angle, the EVA foam will help keep their shape along with the cylindrical curving that will help them stand upright.

Hope that helps!!!

thanks for the tips! You don't happen to have a picture (or mind taking one? ><) when you talk about curving the base into the conical shape? That would be very helpful! Also I think I might have some leftover like...1/2 foam. Think that might work for the inside of the ears?

Yeah, that will work too, but will be a little thicker. The EVA foam I am talking about is maybe 1/4 inch thick and denser than upholstery foam (foamies sheets are around 1/8 inch thick), but if you don't mind thick ears the 1/2 inch foam works too! Plus using up supplies you already have is very resourceful!

Here's some examples of a conical shape made out of half inch foam.
unfurred, Top view: http://matrices.livejournal.com/pic.....og/2781/575927 ears are a cone shape, curved.
unfurred, Side view: http://matrices.livejournal.com/pic.....og/2781/576613 Same ears as above
these are on a fursuit head and not a headband, but certainly demonstrate that shape.

unfurred, rear view: http://matrices.livejournal.com/pic.....og/2781/193989
unfurred, front view: http://matrices.livejournal.com/pic.....og/2781/193149
Also on a fursuit head, but definitely cone-shaped.

Its hard to tell because of the paintjob, but I used that 1/4 inch EVA foam (I picked it up from Michael's) for the ears on this project. I also curved them so they were slightly more conical and stood up better and held their shape.
http://matrices.livejournal.com/pic.....g/12927/555654
Might not be the greatest example because it is so stylized.

Reference photo: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/afri.....og-3335813.jpg
Reference photo: http://www.awf.org/sites/default/fi.....is__Hero_3.jpg
If you imagined that you could get up close handle one of those creatures, and you began by putting your fingers along the edge of the ear, squeezing the thickness of the skin and cartilage it would be thin. As you followed the shape with your fingers to the deepest part of the ear, it would still be thin, but definitely curved. Like a cylinder or a cone. That is the shape I am trying to describe. The shape doesn't get thicker, it just gets curved, to focus and funnel sound waves to the ear canal on the real animals and to disburse heat.