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Anyone have ideas for whisker material? I am doing some light colored bunnies and would like a white or clear colored whisker. Also, how would you suggest inserting it into the muzzle?
Thanks for your thoughts!
Kim T
Hi,
I generaly use linen thread for my whiskers and put a sink knot to hold it in place in the muzzle. However I have heard of people using horse hair and fishing line but I have no experince using these perhaps someone else can offer some help.
Fishing line gives you a firmer whisker, and has more of a natural feel. It's pretty much always clear though. You can also use those fiber-optic plastic bristles that come on the cheap light up novelty toys. As for insertion, I've heard of a few methods. One is to use a hot glue gun, melt the end of the fishing line/plastic bristle and stick it right onto the fur. The other is to just draw each whisker through the muzzle and use fabric glue on the inside of the head to keep them from shifting around - that way you get even whiskers as well.
I've done some bunnies and cats lately and done the whiskers with horse hair. just thread it onto a big needle and zig-zag it inside the snout to anchor it. Works like a charm! Only problem you might have is finding someone with a horse with the right colour tail to snip some from;)
Kim, Horse tail hair works great and is what I use. It looks and feels very natural....but watch out if you have any cats around as they will chew them off.
Good luck.
Hi Kim,
I use horse hair too, but no glue. I take one long strand on a long needle, push it through the muzzle to the other side, push it back to the first side through (almost) the same hole, then push it to the second side again and remove the needle.
This way I have one whisker on each side. It's time consuming, but needs no glue, and the whiskers are very firmly anchored.
As your muzzle fills up with whiskers, you need to be careful not to let them get tangled!
For mini's, I use the clear sewing thread. For larger bears, I use the fishig line as some others have states.
I use horse hair too. Also use the zig zag method for inserting.
TTFN
Amy
I just found something to use for whiskers when I couldn't get any horsehair. Michaels sells artificial sinew in white. I separated a strand into smaller pieces, just like I would for thread jointing and sewed that in for the whiskers. They looked very natural looking.
Hugs,
When I was 15 years old we moved to Alaska from ND. My friend, Bob, gave me a small bundle of horse hair as a going away present! I finally found a use for it... whiskers!! And, the funny thing is, since I save everything, I still have the horse hair!! (that was in 1967) (do the math) Thanks! Vicki
Looks like I must ask my daughter in law for some horse hair- mm hubby is allergic to horses, maybe I can be mean and evil and he will wonder why he is sneezing all the time
I have used fishing line for whiskers, but on the horse hair subject: You may want to try the hair from the mane also and see which you prefer. The mane has a different texture than the tail. Probably the only drawback is that it is also going to be a bit shorter. I will have to give it a try myself. I'm sure Duke or Buttercup won't mind donating a few hairs.
Definitely, Millie!
I've used both, and found the mane hair finer but more brittle. Tail hair is also cheaper, and fine enough on the ends for minis. Both benefit from a bit of conditioning.