| Inspiration
I started Madison right after ConFurence 7. I
FINALLY had enough inspiration to do a suit, so within days after getting back in town, I
had most of the fabric I'd need, and was already making arangements to borrow a sewing
machine. I wanted to make a fox, but I couldn't find any suitable orange/red fur, and I
hadn't heard of Monterey Mills yet. I was going to do a real gray fox (Which has orange
trim), but again, no orange fur to work with. I decided to just go for the silver fox
look.
Techniques
- Modified Suit Pattern
- Minimal padding
- Foam Head with Bowl Eyes
Patterns & Modifications
I used the Simplicity #9983 AA pattern with minor
modifications. I moved the opening to the back and used velcro instead of a zipper. I made
a bigger chest patch, made my own tail pattern, and modified the arms and legs to add more
colours. I also made the forearms and calves trimmer than the rest of the limbs, to
simulate the way a fox's limbs look in the winter time.
Materials
The fur was bought from a Minnesota Fabrics store
in Bloomington, MN. Idealy, I would have liked to have made a red fox, but being my first
suit, I didn't want to spend too much time and money finding the materials, especially
since I figured I could lose interest in the suit at any moment. Other matierials
included: Sculpy, felt, hot glue, tennis shoes, white plastic bowls, speaker mesh, and a
velcro.
Head Construction
A foam block construction, using a 18" x
12" x 12" block of upholstry foam shaved down to form a general fox head shape.
Special Thanks To...
Jimmy Chin, for all the little tricks and tips on
how to do a foam head.
Stash, for letting me use his sewing machine.
Tim Susman, for not complaining so much when the
living room was a mess.
Shawn Keller, for indirectly providing me with
the inspiration to make the suit.
Accolades & Appearances
Madison Appeared at Duckon in 1996 and at
Confurence 8 in 1997 |