Matrices

Free Digital Download: Simple Face Mask with Head Loops

I am really proud to present a new tutorial!! 

This tutorial explains how to make a simple pleated face mask with head straps. I geared this guide with folks who perhaps do not sew very much in mind. So I have filled the guide with as many step-by-step pictures as I could muster. 

This is a free tutorial for everyone, and if you have any friends or family that need more step-by-step guidance, I encourage you to share this file with them or perhaps print it out for them.<...

I was interviewed for a podcast!

I had the excellent and super fun opportunity to be an interview guest on the furry podcast "Bearly Furcasting featuring Taebyn"!! The episode is out now! 

It was such a positive experience to participate in and be interviewed for it. 

Check out the full episode here:  http://bearlyfurcasting.buzzsprout.com/1055632/5716696

And the segment with my interview begins at ...

Matrices.net Updates

Its been a bit since I updated stuff on my main website, and today was the day!  These are just fairly small updates, but some worth noting none the less! 

The tutorials page had a few new things added to it, the 2 newest premium guides (stuff you guys have already known about for a while!),  and a minor spelling correction I kept forgetting about has finally been made. I also added 2 fun new illustrations to the page to represent the categories, I still plan on adding mo...

Fursuit Care Myths with Fursuiter's World!

Hi everyone!! 

I hope everyone is doing well! I have something super fun to share with you today!

I am incredibly proud to share that I was a guest on the awesome online web show Fursuiter's World! I worked with Kuhori and Grave to bust some pretty common fursuit care myths by doing some scientific-method style testing!  Its a fun and info-dense episode that I hope you enjoy seeing! Some of the episode topics that I handled were: laundry detergent use, using bleach, spra...

Chowder the harbor seal, for auction!

I am extremely proud to present to you all that I have a partial fursuit available for sale, in time for Further Confusion! 

 https://www.thedealersden.com/listing/chowder-the-harbor-seal-partial-fursuit-by-matrices/158501 

Its just a short auction ending Tuesday the 14th!  2020-01-11 03:10:25 +0000 UTC View Post

Matrices.net Updates!

Howdy everyone! I hope you are having a lovely November! 

This month is seeing some website and a few other updates so far! I updated numerous pages on the website today, much needed! 

Right now I really want to knuckle down on doing pattern work, with an upcoming release of my handpaw pattern I have still yet to finish (my goal was by Anthro Northwest, which is still a tentative goal), and a handful of other patterns that I have as a goal as well. To meet these goals, i...

October news: Updates and releases!

Howdy everyone! I hope your October is going well! 

I have posted an update to a 3-year old tutorial today! My favorite fruit dessert has been treated to new step-by-step photos and is now broken out of the image-based format it used to be in. 

 https://pupdates.matrices.net/post/150718517738/matrices-favorite-fruit-dessert-its-about-tim...

Making a Fursuit Body has been Updated!

 I am super proud to present to you the newly updated "Making a fursuit body"

https://pupdates.matrices.net/post/126844191210/making-a-fursuit-body 

I added 9 new images, several chunks of new step-by-step text, and many cross-links to other relevant tutorials that are useful during this process. 

I recently helped a friend start their fursuit building...

Making Toony Eyes from Upcycled Materials

This is among my oldest tutorials, one of the first that I put on my website back when I began sharing fursuit making tutorials! Its been updated a few times over the years, but this time I hope it is the most informative version!! The summer of updates continues with Making Toony Eyes getting the biggest update so far! 

 https://pupdates.matrices.net/post/151078510153/making-...

Zip-on tails! Updated and better than ever!

I have spent time updating the tutorial on Zip-on tails!!! The tutorial is 5 years old now, also due for an update.

Before it was also in the hard to read single-image collage format, but I've dug up all the original images PLUS even more that I have taken to further illustrate the ideas in the tutorial, and posted them all with expanded text and new information! Its like an all-new tutorial, more informative and better than ever! 

 2019-07-22 21:10:23 +0000 UTC View Post

Hand Sewing for Beginners! + Buying swatches & choosing fur!

I meant to make this tutorial a long time ago, and in the interim I had a short tip sheet linked to a few youtube guides that were ok, but not by me. So today when hunting through my tutorials to update I figured it was time! So I made this very beginner-friendly, if-someone-never-touched-a-sewing-kit-friendly, hand sewing tutorial! 

 https://pupdates.matrices.net/post/186317265118/...

Summer of Updates!

Howdy everyone! Hope you are doing well! 

Little updates.

I'm still working on multiple super duper big projects. Those take time until they can be released, the premium puffy handpaw pattern & tutorial is almost finished!! The tutorial is still being written and that is honestly the part the takes the longest. Photographing each step, describing each photograph and so on. I hope to have it finished by late summer or fall to have it readied for sale at my...

New Physical-item Shop!!

Hello everyone!! 

Thank you again for following along on my journey here. Today I am launching a new online store. Yes-- its separate from my Etsy, but I want to do a test run for this new shop. If all works out nicely I plan to have it be the new home to the items that I physically mail. I am going to keep my Etsy as one of my sources for patterns and premium tutorials, since they do digital downloads so well. But in an effort to reduce overhead and fees involved with maintaining ...

Battery Operated Fans -- UPDATED!

I am so excited to present to you the new-and-improved revised battery operated fans tutorial. Its now been updated with step-by-step guidance on how to put together your very own battery operated fan for your costume! 

Use  a USB cord to connect your fan to a powerbank, or use a simple 9v battery (like the tutorial showed in the past). 

 https://pup...

Big Site Update!! + Revised Claw how-to!

Hi everyone!! I am seriously proud to inform you I have finally spent time revising my blog layout for the pupdates.matrices.net posts (basically all of the tutorial posts!) and I have a revised tutorial 

Website Revisions!

• There is now a new font that both matches the rest of my website and the PDF versions of tutorials I have been creating, it is now set up for better clarity, there is better line spacing, larger font size, darker font color, and fixe...
  2019-04-16 20:49:47 +0000 UTC View Post

Tongues!

I just published a new tutorial about tongues for costumes (or really any other project that may require a tongue!) Includes step-by-step photos!! 

http://pupdates.matrices.net/post/183732168113/ 

I got excited about writing about tongues today, haha, enjoy everyone!!! 

Doggy Headbase for Auction!

I just listed up a canine headbase for auction! The auction ends 3/26 at 7pm Pacific time. 

https://www.thedealersden.com/listing/ready-to-fur-canine-dog-headbase-by-matrices/144001 

This headbase was made sometime in 2013-2014 and has never been used or finished. It is being sold as-is in the hopes someone will use it to crea...

An Adhesive Test for use on a fursuit’s head lining!

I test 4 adhesives to discover what will work best to glue a lycra liner to upholstery foam to test it before use on a fursuit costume I am refurbishing! I apply the glue to each of the samples and perform a test wash. My results and thoughts on them each are shared in this video! 

If you are unsure of what to use, do a test like this example! You might be surprised at the results you discover! 

These are examples of the 4 products tested: 

Fabri-Tac - 2019-02-23 02:30:09 +0000 UTC View Post

What pattern should I work on next?

Hi everyone!

I'm getting ready to start my next pattern digitizing project! This would create a digital version of one of my past successful patterns that I am ready to share. These patterns right now are finished but basically useful just for me, since they are just paper or cardboard at this time, so they definitely need some work put into them to trace them into a vector format and refine them a bit. 

The goal with these patterns is always to make them "ea...

January Updates!

New Year New Goals

Hi everyone! I am super excited about 2019, and have some new goals I have made for myself going forward. I want to share those with you today! 

I have tasted some pretty satisfying success with everyone's AWESOME wips and finished footpaws that they made with my pattern! I am so proud of all of you and I am honestly proud that I have succeeded in making so many of you inspired to make footpaws, hahahaha!!! Aren't footpaws great? I hope I h...

Claw Fabric Choice Visual Aid

This is also available at: http://pupdates.matrices.net/post/179699640528/i-made-a-visual-aid-for-claws-this-will 

I made a visual aid for claws! 

This will hopefully help those of you who are interested in selecting among some of the more common materials used for claws. I haven’t included everything possible of course, since I want to encou...

How to use Nylon Whiskers

A quick video to go along with my tutorial on installing whiskers! The tutorial has now been updated to include the video.

http://pupdates.matrices.net/post/51817690937/guide-adding-whiskers-to-your-fursuit 

Where to get them?

If you are interested in adding whiskers to your projects I do sell the ones shown in my etsy shop: 

<...

Troubleshooting Applique Too Close to the Edge

I just posted a quick tip on how to fix when you get too close to an edge when adding applique decoration to paw pads for example. I run into this every so often and I am sure others may encounter it as well, so I hope this helps! 

http://pupdates.matrices.net/post/178294487658/troubleshooting-applique-too-close-to-an-edge

Happy sewing! 

Simple Handpaw Pattern and Tutorial

Want a set of 5-digit paws for your critter? This pattern and tutorial could help! This tutorial shows you how to make a simple set of handpaws based on a pattern, featuring five cute stubby digits. 

Materials:

    • The printed pattern, plus one additional piece of paper
   • Tape
   • About a half-yard of...

New Patreon Tier! $5 "Enthusiast" level for Digital Downloads

Hello everyone! 

Today I added a new tier to my Patreon I am extremely excited about sharing this with you. With this new addition I will be adding and working on it as a goal as time goes by. 

I already have many printouts I have created for use at events and conventions to give as handouts and to use at teaching engagements. I felt it was a good goal to have to make many of my guides available in an offline and downloadable format so folks could print them out and not need to...

Headbase Auction now available!

https://www.thedealersden.com/listing/ready-to-fur-big-cat-headbase-kit-by-matrices/135058

The auction is now up! It ends at 5pm pacific time on Sunday! 

Thank you everyone for your support! Again, let me know if you have any questions about the headbase! (even if you don't plan to place a bid I am quite happy to answer questions about it and its constru...

Video Tutorial: Using Controlled Heat to Straighten Faux Fur

I have had several tutorials on my site about using this technique to repair wrinkled fur, but have been working hard to get this video tutorial set up for it! I hope you guys enjoy learning about this kind of stuff! 

Enjoy!! 

Preshaving

This is a technique I utilize a lot when I know I need many pattern pieces to be the same length of fur, but I only have long fur.

Start by tracing the pattern pieces onto your piece of fur and broadly cutting it out.

Make sure there is a bit of a margin all the way around the outlying edges. Avo...

Site Update: Expanded tutorial descriptions

I have been trying to figure out how to better organize the tutorials on my site, and I feel like adding short descriptions is a step in the right direction to helping steer those looking for a specific tip what section they may want to take a peek at.

I am still working on adding the descriptions, but here is a preview! As I work on them they will also become live at http://matrices.net/tutorials.htm 2018-03-03 23:09:36 +0000 UTC View Post

How To Applique Paw Pads!

This is an updated image guide to go along with my video tutorial on the same topic! I have learned a lot since 2012, when I made that video, and I am really excited to have had the opportunity to pass the knowledge on to you now, updated, in the form of a photo guide. The video tutorial is still relevant and can be a supplement to this guide, this version is the most ...