The tail was designed to hang slightly away from the body and have some swaying movement to it. In order to accomplish this, we had to use more than a simple two-piece stuffed-fur tail. We decided to use a belt brace connected to a semi-flexible spine which extended into the tail.

The tail itself is striped with light and dark fur, typical for a raccoon. In order to give the tail a good, full cross-section, the tail is sewn with three "sides"; the resultant shape is a curving fur tube with a triangular cross-section. Because it's not sewn from two halves only, it doesn't try to pinch at the top and bottom. One of the seams of the triangular tube is on the top side, which is where the support runs.

The top-left, top-right, and underside were sliced into the color stripes. The pieces are then assembled and sewn together into the tail tube. There were twenty-six pieces in the tail. The pieces for one side and the bottom are shown, laid out on the cutting board, in the top picture.

The pieces were sewn into the three side strips and compared to the original pattern shapes. Next, the two "top" sides were sewn together at the dorsal seam. The underside was then attached to one of the side pieces, with the tail inverted. The other side seam was sewn together as far as the wide point of the tail.

An inner sock was sewn from broadcloth to hold the fiber-fill stuffing. This was sewn from the same pattern, but with some slightly tighter seam allowances. This was done because I've found that fur fabric doesn't always hold fiber-fill well over time; the loose weave of the fur backing will sometimes allow stray fibers to work their way through. The inner sock is probably not fully necessary, but I think it improves the durability and life of the fursuit tail.

The support for the tail connects to a T-shaped brace and belt. The brace fits above the buttocks, with the lower portion resting against the tailbone. The brace, because the belt holds it in tight contact, moves with the natural motion of the hips. The descender of the brace is necessary to keep the brace from torquing along the axis of the belt.

The brace's frame is made from 3/8"-diameter brass wire stock. I recommend the wire fence pliers from Craftsman when working with such stock; it's got oversize handles for good leverage and a built-in cutting tool. This wire is strong enough that it will hold its shape unless serious force is applied to it. The wire form is then sandwiched between two cut pieces of closed-cell foam sheeting. This structural sandwhich is sealed with hot glue. The belt is attached to the exposed wings of the wire frame; the belt was sewn from rock-climbers' nylon webbing.

The support inside the body of the tail is made from garden hose. The natural curve of the hose matches the curves in the tail. The main hose segment connects to hooked wire ends protruding out and downwards from the brace. A second piece of hose is used to support the lower half with the upward curve; the two hose pieces join at the inflection point of the tail's dorsal curve.

In the photo you can see the finished tail. The top of the tail fits well against the body of the fursuit and hides the seam. The tail can also be detached and worn separately.