First, let’s look at the real thing, and how it works on an actual animal. The name “digitigrade” comes from the fact that these animals actually walk on their digits, or toes. Here’s an image of a wolf’s skeleton:
I’ve placed it next to the image of a human’s leg structure to illustrate the difference. While a wolf might look like I has two knees – one pointing forward and one pointing back – it actually has only one knee (pointing forward). The one pointing back is actually more like a human’s heel. The wolf actually stands on its toes.
There are many ways to reproduce this effect in a costume. I’ve found that the most inexpensive and comfortable way is by using padding. When done correctly, this can be a very convincing effect!
Here are the supplies you’ll need:
-4-5 yards of thin, stretchy fabric
-enough elastic to go around your waist
-5 yards of 2” thick foam
-5-6 yards of fur
-needles and thread
-sewing machine
-scissors
-hot glue & glue gun
Hit the jump for the tutorial! :)
This costume piece will be completed in four parts:
-Pants
-Padding
-Fur
-Details
Part 1: Pants
A pair of elastic waistband pants will be the basis of your costume. These should be somewhat form-fitting, because you’ll be building on top of them. If they’re loose, the padding won’t have the correct effect at the end. Here’s how I made my pants.
1. Lay your thin, stretchy fabric out on the floor, folded over on itself once. For best results, do this on a hard floor, not on a rug or a carpet ;) You may cut the carpet on accident!
2. Find a pair of elastic pants that you already own. I used a pair of pajama bottoms.
3. Lay the pajama bottoms out on top of your material to use as a pattern. If you’re worried about messing up, use sewing pins to pin the pants to the fabric.
4. Very carefully, cut out your fabric. I like to give myself an extra two or three inches at the ankles, and an extra three inches at the top to make sure it’s long enough!
5. Pick up your cut-out pieces, and hold them up to you. While you’re wearing them, use sewing pins to pin them up the sides and between the legs. Make sure they fit snugly, but not tight. Try not to stretch the material too much.
6. Sew the pieces together along the pinned edges – down the inside and outside of each leg. Make sure to leave the top and bottoms open so you have room to get in and put your feet through!
7. Try on your pants. They should fit snugly around your legs but very loosely around your waist. If this isn’t right, re-sew as needed.
8. Roll the top of the pants over to the inside of the pants and sew (see illustration). Leave a piece in the very front open so that you can fit the elastic in.
9. Cut your elastic. Measure it around your waist and give yourself an inch or two extra. Don’t stretch the elastic, just cut it while it’s retracted.
10. String the elastic through the top of the pants. I’ve found that the easiest way to do this is to weight the end of the elastic. I use a large safety pin. Then, you can feel the pin as it goes through, and use it to guide your elastic.
11. Try on your pants again. Pinch the elastic at the front center until the elastic around your waist feels tight enough to hold up your pants. You may want to make this a little tighter than a regular pair of pants would be, as these are about to get a lot heavier.
12. Mark that spot on the elastic with a safety pin – this is where you’ll sew. Take the pants off and use your sewing machine to sew this portion of the elastic. Sew it back and forth 7 or 8 times – you don’t want this to come loose, or your pants could fall down while you’re wearing them ;)
13. Put your pants back on. Stand in a pose of triumph, as you have completed the first segment.
Part 2: Padding
The next step on our journey will be the padding. For this, you’ll want to cover your work area, or work in an area that is easily swept. Carving foam is MESSY. I guarantee you’ll be finding little bits of foam forever.
1. Measure the distance from the back of your knee to the bottom of your heel.
2. Take this measurement and cut out a square of foam with all the sides this length.
3. Cut your foam square diagonally so that you have two triangles. These triangles will be the foam that ends up on the back of your calves. The inside of the diagonal cut will end up on the back of your leg.
4. Use your scissors to carve the foam triangles to soften the edges. You want this to look more natural than sharp, flat edges would. This is going to get messy!
5. Measure from the top of your knee to the base of your leg, and across the widest part of your leg. Use these measurements to cut out two rectangles. These will be your knees!
6. Carve the knee pieces into tapers, so the widest part is on the knee itself, and the thinnest part is at the top of your leg.
7. Add more padding to the top of the knee, to make it stand out more than the 2”. Hot glue can be used to hold the pieces together.
8. Carve a little into the inside of the knee, to give your own knee room to move around. This piece should stay in place when you bend your leg.
9. Once your foam has been carved and shaped, you may want to cover them in fabric to make them easier to sew. You’ll basically be making little pillow cases for them. These do not need to be pretty at all – they will be completely hidden. I use this opportunity to keep my seams on the outside! So much quicker and easier!!
10. Cut out two pieces of fabric for each of the foam pieces. Make them slightly larger, but approximately the same shape as the foam pieces.
11. Sew them together around the outside of the foam pieces. You can use your sewing machine, and just keep your stitches on the outside. Remember – this doesn’t have to be pretty, just functional!
12. Put on the pants you made earlier. Hold the foam pieces up to your legs and pin them on (I use safety pins so I don’t hurt myself). Walk in front of a full-length mirror, and you should already be able to see the digitigrade effect.
13. Sew the foam pieces into place on the pant legs. You can do this while they’re still on you for the best effect, but be careful not to stick yourself with the needle!
Part 3: Fur
This is, without doubt, the most difficult part of the project. It’s a lot easier with longer fur, as it’s easier to hide the seams. And there will be a lot of seams. I did almost this entire process standing up while wearing the pants, in front of a full-length mirror so I could see what I was doing.
1. Stand up straight while wearing your pants with the foam padding. Hold your fur up beside you long-ways, so that it doesn’t wrap all the way around you, but it touches the floor when it’s held to your waist.
2. Wrap the fur around one leg. It should go all the way to the top of the pants and wrap over, and all the way to the ground. When you wrap it around your leg, it may not go all the way around. That’s ok – we can always add more fur.
3. Tack the fur down snugly around your leg and the foam with sewing pins. The shape of the foam should be clearly visible through the fur.
4. Cut off excess fur and do the same thing on the other leg. Continue tacking and cutting until both legs are completely covered. Try to make your seams in logical, symmetrical places. If you have enough fur, you’ll want to try and make sure the fur comes down past your feet. This will make the legs fall properly when they’re on top of hindpaws or hooves.
5. Once the fur is all tacked down and covering the entire thing (check your mirror from all angles to be sure you’ve covered everything) you’re ready to sew the fur on. Take off the pants for this part.
6. Sew the top of the fur onto the top of the pants. This is the basis of your connection, so you’ll want to stitch this at least twice with the sewing machine. Use a zig-zag stitch for the best results.
7. Sew key parts of the fur to the foam: the top of the knee (not the tip), and the top of the calves in the back.
8. Sew the fur to itself on the seams. Fold it under, sew, and pick out the fur. Do this along all seams. This will take a while, as it has to be done by hand.
9. Be sure to remove all the pins that were used to tack the fur into place!!
10. Put on the pants. Admire your work. Amazing so far!!
Part 4: Details
Now that the hard part’s over, it’s time for the fun part: details!!
This isn’t so much a tutorial section as an “idea” section.
Think about what you want the pants to be for. Are you a satyr? A Draenai? A unicorn? Dog or cat? An original creature?
Use this to think about what kind of tail you should have. Make a tail depending on what you want to be. Maybe you don’t have a tail at all!
How about props or decorations? Do you need to add stripes or spots to your fur? If you’re a satyr, you may want a wine bottle or some grapes to decorate your legs!
You’ll also want some feet… hooves or hindpaws, most likely… that will come in a later tutorial.
These legs are warm, but easy to walk in, and very impressive! Take them to cons and enjoy all the people coming up to you asking how you did it!! :)
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