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3 ways to sew a faux fur seam
Your #1 goal with sewing faux fur is to cut down the bulk. It’s already fluffy!
So here’s 3 different options for keeping the bulk out of the seams which will make faux fur much easier to sew.
Whichever way you pick, gently comb a finished seam to ease out any hairs that might be stuck in the seam.
1. Cut down the seam allowance
The deeper the seam allowance, the more bulk you’re going to have to wrestle with.
At all costs, avoid trimming the hairs out of the seam allowance. It’s really really tempting to trim because the lint is almost unbelievable, but don’t do it!
Instead, if you keep the seam allowance right at about 1/4″, there’s going to be a whole lot less fluff to wrestle with.
Adjust your pattern by first marking the seam allowance on the pattern. After that, cut down the seam allowance to 1/4″.
Most faux fur backings will not fray, so simply sew the pieces together with that 1/4″ seam allowance.
Lengthen the stitch to 3.0mm-3.5mm. A universal needle should work well for your faux fur.
2. Serge your seams
A serged seam is going to do double duty on faux fur.
It’ll keep the inside looking pretty and it’ll keep the fluffy nonsense out of your way.
Practice on a scrap so that you know exactly how wide your serger’s default seam allowance is. Mine is 1/4″ wide. Adjust the pattern to account for this.
Your serger might not get a good start at the beginning of a seam with faux fur. If this happens, use a scrap of fabric folded to the same thickness. Serge on the scrap and then start serging on the faux fur.
3. Cut off all the seam allowances
This is probably the toughest way to sew faux fur, but it’s also going to make for the least amount of bulk.
First adjust your pattern by cutting off all the seam allowances.
Instead of seam allowances, we’re going to butt the pieces right up against each other and zigzag them together.
You can do this without anything to bridge the gap, but you’ll get a stronger seam with a little bit of twill tape.
First cover the edge of the faux fur by half the width of a piece of twill tape. Hand baste it in place.
Next butt the second piece of faux fur right up against the edge of the first piece. Baste it to the other side of the twill tape.
To finish up, stitch right down the middle of the tape with a wide zigzag.
This technique is easier to see on the video:
Dealing with shifting on faux fur
The taller the pile on the faux fur, the more it’s going to want to shift around on you while you’re sewing it.
You can also use wonder clips or binder clips to hold pieces together. Slow slowly using taut sewing.
Learn more about taut sewing
Shifty fabrics need some extra help. Here’s how to sew without pins when you’re working with crabby fabrics.
If you find a seam shifting on you while you’re sewing it, sew the seam halfway in one direction. Then flip the seam over and sew from the other direction, overlapping the stitches where you stopped. You’ll ease any of that shifted edge back into place this way.
I know a lot of people love their walking foot for faux fur, but I think it’s overkill. Between your hands, flipping the seams, and clips, you should be able to handle the faux fur under the machine with your regular machine foot.
How to finish edges on faux fur
Lining faux fur
If you can, projects that you make with faux fur are going to be extra luxurious with a lining. Bonus: a lining will cut down on bulk!
Line it right up to the edge and enjoy the feel on both sides!
Bias tape for faux fur
If you don’t line faux fur, you can finish edges with bias tape. That’s how I recommend finishing these DIY boot covers. It’s quick and clean and an alternative to a full lining.
Sew the tape to the edge, then flip it completely to the inside. Hand sew the bias tape to the inside, grabbing 1-2 threads of the backing only with your needle at a time.
So that’s how to sew faux fur with a little less hassle. When you’re done with your faux fur sewing project, give your machine a nice little clean out and vacuum your sewing room. But after a quick clean, you can enjoy your nice warm fluffy faux fur in all its glory!
More tricky fabric guides:
How to sew sequin fabric
Sequins infect everything! Keep your sewing clean
Sewing with leather
Leather can be intimidating to sew. Here’s how to sew leather like a boss.
Sewing laminated fabrics
7 tips for sewing laminated fabrics to make cool waterproof bags
Elizabeth Farr is the writer behind the Elizabeth Made This blog where she shares helpful sewing tips, step by step sewing tutorials and videos to help you explore your creativity through sewing. She has written sewing Eguides and patterns, been a featured teacher at Rebecca Page’s Sewing Summit and Jennifer Maker’s Holiday Maker Fest and her work has appeared in Seamwork and Altered Couture magazines. She also created a line of refashioned garments for SEWN Denver. When her sewing machine isn’t humming, she’s playing and teaching violin, and hanging around a good strategic board game with her husband and 4 kids.