Fursuit Care Guide

Please be aware that fursuits can limit your movements and can be really heavy. Additionally, they have a limited vision and some "blind spots" where you can't see.

Our heads are glasses friendly (since I wear them too), and adjustable. We try to make our suits as breathable as possible, adding some air vents on the cheeks, ears and nostrils, but they are still fursuits, and they can be claustrophobic for someone.

Functional Undergarments

To guarantee your fursuit a long life, we recommend always wearing functional clothing. This will protect the fursuit parts from sweat. It only lets liquid through, but not dirt. We suggest to use an Under Armour Heat Gear. You should use a full under-suit, this will include a shirt, leggins, gloves and a balaclava.

We recommend not to buy the cheapest goods. Functional clothing should be washed without fabric softener to guarantee the function.

We suggest to wash the functional clothing at least once before wearing it under the suit. These materials could bleed in a purple/bluish color that can ruin the backside of the fur. Functional clothing should be washed without fabric softener to guarantee its function.

Hydration & Cooling

Remember to STAY HYDRATED with water, and take regular breaks to cool down! Energy drinks, electrolytes, candies or salted snacks, can be useful to help you to replenish your energies after a time wearing a fursuit. Wearing a camel pack under your suit is a great way to stay hydrated on the go for longer performances.

Things like EZCooldown Vests and collars can really help you to stay cool. You can also install a fan inside your head, or use an external one that you can put in your suit's mouth to refresh your face.

Keep your suit stored unfolded. Keep your suit away from heat sources and out of direct sunlight. Sunlight can bleach fabrics making it fade, yellowing the white fur and burn fur fibers.

Please DO NOT hang your bodysuit on a hanger for long term storage, it can stretch out the shoulders on your fursuit. We suggest to not keep the digitigrade paws and tail attached to the body during the storage, because they will increase the weight and make the bodysuit stretch. For best keeping, remove any padding and hang on a wide shouldered hanger.

For feetpaws, we suggest to fill them with bubble wrap or air pillows to keep the shape in place, especially for digitigrade feetpaws. Keep them standing on the soles.

The head should be stored hanged on a helmet hanger, or on a shelf in your closet. Do not fold or crush it, we do not suggest to storage it in a closed container. Any removable components should be removed for storage. If your suit has a battery back, please disconnect it from the cables and remove the batteries to prevent them from rusting.

Handpaws can be stored with a jeans hanger, or resting on a shelf.

Make sure your fursuit is fully dry before putting it into storage. This prevents mould forming. Dryer sheets can keep your fursuit smelling good, however, please do not let them directly touch the fur.

Once a month, you should air out and brush your fursuit to prevent any wrinkles on fur and smells developing from storage.

Always use the largest possible suit-case that can be checked in. Check with your airline for their limits. We recommend hard shelled suitcases or pelican cases. If using a soft-shelled case, put your suit parts inside plastic bags in case of water leakage.

You may vacuum pack all parts of your suit except the head and super motion tails, for a maximum recommended time of 24 hours.

Always carry your head onto the plane as hand luggage. It will be safest under your seat or in your lap after take-off. This will prevent the head from crushing which can deform it.

We take commissions for fursuits head bags if you need one! It will maintain your head shape and it's waterproof too!

After you get to your destination, your fursuit should be unpacked and brushed to prevent any wrinkles or creases from forming on the fur.

While at a con, you may leave your padding and stuffing in your suit when hung up.

After each wear, brush your suit with a slicker brush and lightly spray the inside and outside of each part with a disinfectant spray. Be sure to let your suit air out during breaks, and let it dry before the next wearing.

We also sell fursuit sprays, but due to security restrictions, shipping is not possible to all countries. You can even make it by yourself, it's really easy! Just mix in a 100ml spray bottle 50% of water and 50% of isopropyl alcohol. You can add some drops of your favorite scent to give it a nice smell! However, be sure to test the spray with scents on a small fur area, to prevent damages on the fur. Some scents could be aggressive to plastic fibers.

If possible, place your head over top of a fan to dry. When you brush your suit, brush the short fur areas too!

In the case of major spills or stains while at con, all parts can be hand washed in cold water with regular soap in a sink or bathtub. Always hang to dry.

Some stains need to be deep cleaned to remove, and there is a chance they may not come out, particularly, this is really common on light colored furs. We always recommend to be careful when you walk around, especially if you are in an outdoor space! We also recommend not to drink a or eat without the help of a spotter while you are wearing your suit to prevent any incident.

Brushing

The fursuit should be brushed before and after use. This helps prevent the fur from becoming matted. Remember to brush short fur too. Your fursuit will lose hair, this is normal.

Your fursuit will lose hair, this is normal.

We recommend a pet hair brush with steel prongs and ball tips.

To brush your fursuit correctly, you need to brush in direction of the fur. Here's a little scheme to help you with fur directions:

After suiting, brush VERY WELL more stressed, areas like crotch and under the armpits. There the coat gets matted quickly, because the fur rubs together a lot.

Washing

All our bodysuits, feetpaws and handpaws are machine washable. Do not exceed 30°C (~80°F) and select the lowest spin setting (max 1000rpm). Use a delicate fabric detergent, like one for wools (I personally use pink Perwoll, it has a really nice smell too). You can use some drops of fabric softener, but do not exceed it much! It can ruin the fur! Follow these instructions to wash correctly your fursuit.

Bodysuit, Feetpaws & Handpaws:

Turn the bodysuit inside out and remove the stuffing inside the leg paddings. Use the dedicated zippers to do this operation. We suggest to keep separate the stuffing of the two legs, it will be easier to refill the paddings once the suit is dried.

Handpaws and feetpaws can't be turned inside out, so you need to protect the fur putting them in a laundry bag or a pillowcase with zipper. Stuffing inside the fingers and pawpads is not removable.

Remove all the electronic parts if you have them in the bodysuit!!

Close the bodysuit zipper.

Put everything in the washing machine and start the washing cycle!

Once it's done, turn the bodysuit right side out, and brush immediately following the fur direction so that there are no ripples in it when drying. You have to brush your suit every 30 minutes to an hour while it's drying. This will keep the fur soft and fluffy, and helps to accelerate the drying process.

Do the same thing for handpaws and feetpaws.

Do not hang the bodysuit!! The water weight will stretch it!

Lie it down on a drying rack, and turn it periodically to let the back dry too.

Head:

Our heads ARE NOT washing machine washable. We recommend a carpet washer. It's really useful to wash non machine washable parts.

If you don't have a carpet washer, you can wash head and feetpaws with a slightly damp washcloth. In the case of stubborn dirt, additional detergent can be used. Then wipe the detergent out well with the washcloth.

Always use 30°C (~80°F) water, and do not rub the fur!

Brush following the fur direction of the fur while the parts are drying.

You can use the carpet washer or a washcloth for the inside of the head too, but be sure to cover the electronic components and remove the battery pack! Avoid circuits as much as possible!

Our eyes are fully waterproof and alcohol resistant. So nothing will happen if they get wet!

You can use a fursuit spray or a disinfectant spray for the inside of the feetpaws.

Tails:

Usually we add a little zipper on the bottom part of our tails, to help you remove the stuffing inside it. If your tail has the zipper, you can remove all the stuffing, turn the tail inside out and wash it in the washing machine, follow the same procedure of the bodysuit!

Some tails are not washing machine washable (super motion tails, tails with feathers on the tip, etc..). In this case, you can follow the same procedure of the head.

General maintenance is very important for your costume. As your suit ages, you will need to keep good maintenance of it, so it remains in top shape and prolong its life.

Do not grab your fursuit from the eyes! This will damage the black fabric (felt) around them. We also suggest to not grab the suit from the ears, horns/antlers and nostrils. Our fursuits are very strong and resistant, but, you know, better safe than sorry!

We suggest to use a fursuit head bag, a sport bag or a big shopping bag to carry your head around. You can put the handpaws inside the head where possible!

Grab it with the hand inside the head or use a bag!

It is recommended to learn some basic hand-sewing skills to maintain your fursuit over time. Popped seams can be common depending on your amount of in-suit activity, or they can simply pop open in the wash. Your bodysuit is sewn with a stitch that will not unravel, so you do not have to worry about any loose ends around a popped seam.

When traveling with your suit, please bring a small care kit. We provide a mini repairing kit to all our clients!

Your SOS Fursuit repair kit should contain:

• Sewing needles
• Sewing clips and pins
• A sewing thread (do not use nylon thread)
• Mini hot glue and glue gun
• Small scissors
• A small tube of E6000 or your choice of super glue

To repair popped seams, a blanket stitch is recommended. If you need to sew a completely hidden seam on something such as a fleece or minky surface, it is recommended to use a ladder stitch (or Henson stitch). You can find a lot of tutorials on YouTube!

If you think the damage is too big to repair it by yourself, please CONTACT US. Please take clear photos of the damage and include these, along with a description of what happened. Depending on the repair needed, it may be subjected to a fee. You will however need to ship the fursuit back to us for the repair service. Mishaps can happen, but we are always happy to help you!

If you have drastically changed weight and your suit is unwearable because of that, you may need a new bodysuit. Please keep in mind that fursuits are made with non-stretchy fabrics, so drastic weight changes may be a problem. We can work with you to re-tailoring a bodysuit if possible, or making a new one!