This is just a collection of personal notes gathered from time in #fursuit on IRC.. the fursuit mailing list is a much better source for information. This just happens to be more of a shopping list of things that I'm grabbing, as they were mentioned at a time that I needed them.. so this list is very short and specific to my own purrrsonal shopping list. If you want help making a fursuit, try some of the help available on fursuit.org.

My list of stuff:

• Coats & Clark Button & Carpet thread ... for stitching seams. Heavy duty stuff, available at fine fabric stores everywhere. (Thanks boogi.)
• Fursuit FAQ
• Fursuit FAQ (mirror site)
• Stuff ta get in short term:
  • hot glue gun and lots of glue sticks
  • vinyl/latex gloves
  • household GOOP / E6000
  • neasuring tape
  • white glue
  • scissors
  • markers
  • colored chalk
  • razor knives
  • ruler
  • pen
  • safety glasses

Aluminum spool of wire @ Home Depot - Made for fencing, I believe - is stiff enough to provide a solid understructure for the mask style I'm using, and ~70ft is available for under 10 bucks. That's enough to make a LOT of masks, and much cheaper than the hockey mask approach. It also allows much tighter clearances and a smaller / narrower head if you're *careful*.

Bend out basic shape, then use epoxy (will get actual brand name I used in a while) to connect together. A dremel may be used to 'notch' the aluminum rod in the proper place to avoid slippage, and / or kite string may be used to tie rods in place before epoxying, just epoxy over and it will add to strength by absorbing goop into its current shape. Works pretty well, but does take a little practice to get right.

Once basic frame is done, build mask with chickenwire, and add fiberglass mesh tape - very lightweight and porus.. then use the laytex-based grout stuff that Charlie found. .. Used for laying tiles, makes a good base for everything else.

Barge cement (available at many find hardware stores) does a good job of sticking fur to the plaster stuff I have, but it dries dark yellow - and can soak up through white fur, leaving an ugly spot. It's much better to use hot glue for those little edges, if you can.

Airbrushing rocks! ... Just do some practicing first, and ensure you start with a light flow. You can adjust the distance from the fur, the angle, the airflow, the paintflow, and the colors for a near-infinite variation of patterns and looks. It's what I used for all of the primary black markings, as well as some of the touchup / colorchanges on his fur. Legend is the one that put me onto airbrushing fur, so I'll have ta get the specifics on where to get all of the goodies from him.