This costume was built using the more common technique of a sewn bodysuit. I began by getting a proper sewing machine and work area set up. I purchased a copy of the Simplicity #9983 bodysuit pattern and began to modify it. At each step, I would assemble a suit of cotton cloth to evaluate how I next needed to tailor the pattern. Eventually, I ended up with a pattern that was tailored to my body.

I then purchased the fur at a local fabric shop and assembled it according to my pattern. The padding was sewn inside the chest. A lining of batted cotton is sewn across the chest, down to the crotch; fiberfill is then stuffed between the cotton and the outer fur. This created the padded belly of the costume (although the costume is not heavily shaped, overall; this could have been developed further to get a more "bearish" shape).

The paws for Ian are simple mitten designs. To make them fuller, so that you can't feel the human hand through the fur, the paw actually has three layers of material: the outer layer of black fur, the mid-layer of batted cotton (for padding), and an inner layer of black sweatshirt material (absorbant lining).

Head Construction

The head for Ian is deceptively simple. The lower half of the head (from the bottom of the eyes down) is made from a piece of 1"-thick foam. I wrapped it around my head, trimmed it to fit, and then began carving it. It was necessary to carve away a lot from the front inside area so that it fit my face correctly. Exterior carving was done to give the indication of cheeks. To hold the foam closed in the back, a zipper was added; the zipper is sewn to two semi-circles of white broadcloth which are, in turn, epoxied to the foam. This distributes the stress of the zipper across a larger area to prevent the foam from tearing.

The top of the head is actually an inverted plastic bowl. Really! I got it at K-Mart for about three dollars. They came as a set of stacked bowls, as shown in the photo. I needed the white plastic for the eyes, but decided to make the whole head based on the bowl when I discovered that it was the perfect size. The bowl was epoxied directly to the foam circle of the lower head. The lip of the bowl was trimmed away with shears.

Below the eyes, I cut away foam where it lined up with my eyes. I then took some plastic canvas and cut it so that it exactly covered the holes. Using spray paint, I colored them a matte black. Once glued into place, they did little to obstruct my vision but were hard to detect, even up close! (The picture above required a lot of fiddling with positions to get a glare off the plastic so it was visible.) The fur around the screen also helped obscure it from casual observation.