For Halloween this year, I was plumb out of good ideas. Inspiration struck and I decided to be me (Kit). I searched the web for (kit) fox costumes and they were primarily what I imagine a fox hooker might look like.

Since this outfit was so cheap, I *did* order it, because I wanted to see if the tail was decent enough to be reused. It was not. Now I can say I own a sexy fox costume….

My vision of an awesome fox costume was a fitted onesie, with a glorious tail, to complement a leather fox mask I already owned (but had never worn).

In addition, it would need bling, because I’m like that. The tail would be worn like a fancy fur stole, elegantly draped over my arm.

To begin, I wandered the aisles of my local fabric store, looking for inspiration. I found a luscious white fur, the best faux fur I had ever seen in this store! I picked up a half yard, and a package or two of iDye Poly, with plans to dye it perfectly orange. I also found a nice, but too bright, orange cotton corduroy that I figured I could dye with the fur for a matching color.

Fast forward about 6 dye tests later, I ended up with a tolerable enough orange fur. It lost the glossy silkiness that was its selling point, but it was good enough for Halloween.

On dyeing: I typically machine dye, but that was insufficient, even at the sanitize setting. I tried stove top dying with the iDye Poly and it still barely took the color. I switched to Rit DyeMore (for polyester) and had much better results in color, but required temperatures resulted in the poor texture. I must have wasted about 3 yards of $20/yard fur (I used coupons, though), and about 6 bottles of dye (plus a few packets of iDye).

I had purchased a onesie pattern for adults, teens and children (Simplicity 1731) and decided to make the child’s L for my mockup. The child’s L was very similar to adult S, but shorter in height. I ended up having to make the child’s M, which I modified extensively to give it curves, cap sleeves and narrower legs.

I used snaps for the closure, and to attach all of the parts. I wanted it to be modular for cleaning, in case the dye ran onto the white parts. This way, I can also bleach the white, in case of dirt.

I covered the snaps with iron-on rhinestones, to hide them, and because, bling! I also made a jeweled collar, painted my arms with colored hairspray, and added elbow length gloves. The hairspray had all flaked off by my arrival to the party, so I’d skip this step next time.

Here’s how it looked:

I want to make a couple of improvements for next time. I would like to try dyeing the fur with ink (the same way one would dye a synthetic wig), and re-dye the bottom of the corduroy black (possibly also with ink). The cords on the mask could be replaced for a better hold, and the collar has scratchy ends that I will trim.