Furs

Cutting fur without losing the pile

Faux fur is a pile fabric, with the fibres standing off a knitted backing. Cut it from the back with a craft knife or the points of your scissors through the backing only — not straight through with full blades — so you part the pile rather than shearing it and leaving a bald seam line.

Like velvet it has a direction: stroke it to find the smooth way and cut every piece with the pile running the same direction, downwards on a garment. Use a longer stitch, and after sewing pick the trapped fibres out of the seam with a pin so the pile closes over and the seam disappears.