A huge number of fabrics is available to the costumer. For most fursuits, though, the primary ingredient is necessarily fur. Other fabrics are still important for undersuits, lining, test patterns, clothes, and so forth.
Categorizing Fabrics
Fabrics are often sorted based on what types of fibers were used to make them (see sidebar), either natural or synthetic. This is because the fiber is one of the primary factors in determining how the finished fabric behaves. The fibers affect how a fabric is washed, how well it takes to dyes, and how durable it is.
Fabrics can also be categorized as weaves or knits. This division is based on how the material is manufactured. Woven fabrics are created on a loom, with individual fibers stretching the full width and length of a piece. Knits, on the other hand, are created as a sheet of tiny knots. Okay, perhaps "knots" is not entirely accurate, but it gets the idea across. In a knit (or double-knit), one fiber connects only to itsneighbors as it wanders in a zig-zag path across the material.
A special variety of knits include pile fabrics. Fur is in this category. The term "pile" refers to the loose fibers standing above thefabric's surface.
Finally, you can describe a fabric by how it stretches. Static fabrics have very little stretch while dynamic fabrics can change their size. Both the construction and fiber type affects the overall stretch capabilities of a fabric. One of the stretchiest materials is spandex. It is manufactured from a special type of rubber fiber to achieve this.
