Long Furby: The Latest Craze in the DIY Toy World

Welcome to the wonderfully weird world of the Long Furby. It’s a DIY toy craze that has slithered its way across the internet, capturing hearts with its unique and often bizarre charm.

These custom creations take the nostalgic Furby from the late 90s and stretch it into something entirely new. They have built a massive, dedicated fanbase on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Tumblr.

In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about the Long Furby, from its surprising origins to how you can create your very own serpent-like friend.

What Is A Long Furby?

A Long Furby is a handmade art doll created by modifying a popular 90s toy. Creators take an original Furby, typically a 1998 model from Tiger Electronics, and give it a dramatically elongated, often serpentine body.

These creations typically range from three to five feet, but the community is known for pushing boundaries. The process involves attaching the Furby’s original faceplate to a new, handmade body that contains a flexible spine.

Origins Of The Long Furby

The Long Furby phenomenon can be traced back to a specific day: November 29, 2018. A Tumblr user named Furbyfuzz (originally aloe-gator) posted a photo of their creation, a startlingly long Furby that immediately captured the internet’s imagination.

The creation tapped into a growing internet subculture that loves surreal, slightly “cursed” art. It blended 90s nostalgia with absurdist humor, and the idea quickly went viral.

Soon, other artists began making their own, and Etsy sellers started offering custom creations, turning a single art project into a worldwide DIY movement.

Features Of The Long Furby

While every Long Furby is unique, they share a few common features.

• Elongated Body: This is the most defining feature. The body is a long, plush tube, often filled with Poly-Fil stuffing to make it soft and huggable.
• Posable Spine: The secret to a great Long Furby is its internal spine. Creators often use plastic ball-and-socket armatures, sometimes called loc-line, which is a sturdy and highly flexible material that allows the Furby to be posed in countless ways.
• Custom Faceplates: The original Furby faceplate is the heart of the creation. Many artists customize them with new eye chips, paint, and other features. Sellers like Okbinding on Etsy even offer 3D-printed faceplate mounts to make the process easier.
• “Oddbody” Modifications: The community has expanded beyond just “long.” “Oddbody” Furbies might have extra limbs, wings, multiple heads, or other wonderfully strange additions.

The Long Furby Craze

What started as a niche Tumblr post has exploded into a full-blown subculture. The Long Furby craze is fueled by social media, where creators share their art and build communities around their shared love for these peculiar toys.

Popularity On Social Media

The visual nature of Long Furbies makes them perfect for platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The hashtag #longfurby has accumulated over 680 million views on TikTok alone, filled with videos of people unboxing, creating, and posing their lengthy companions.

YouTuber Strange Aeons brought massive attention to the hobby with a popular series where she created her own Long Furby, named Thursday Plurbonym-Boyd. Her videos have millions of views and serve as an entry point for many newcomers to the community.

Online Communities And Fanbase

The Long Furby fanbase is incredibly active and welcoming. They gather in dedicated online spaces to share their passion.

The subreddit r/longfurbies, for example, has over 40,000 members who post photos of their creations, ask for advice on sewing techniques, and trade custom parts like eye chips. It’s a supportive environment where both seasoned artists and curious beginners can connect.

These communities are the lifeblood of the trend, offering tutorials, inspiration, and a shared space to celebrate these unique works of art.

The DIY Long Furby World

At its heart, the Long Furby is a celebration of DIY culture. The Long Furby community thrives on creativity, with each artist putting their own unique spin on the concept.

Long Furby Customization

Customization is the core of the Long Furby world. When making one, creators face a key decision: should it be a simple plush doll, or should its original electronic functions be preserved?

Most beginners opt for a non-functional build, which is much simpler. However, some advanced creators incorporate the original animatronics, which can require soldering and careful wiring, to create a Long Furby that can talk and move its eyes.

This difference in complexity is reflected in the price. A non-functional custom Long Furby on Etsy might cost between $100 and $250, while a fully functional one can sell for over $500 due to the technical skill required.

Creative Long Furby Designs

Long Furbies are a canvas for imagination. The community is filled with incredible artists who push the boundaries of toy modification.

Etsy sellers like PlushieCouture, AlisonMakes, and LongFurbyShop offer beautiful custom creations. Their designs range from rainbow-colored serpents to goth-inspired creatures with steampunk accessories.

When sourcing a base, most creators prefer the original 1998 Furby for its classic look. However, the 2005 Emoto-Tronic Furbies are also popular for their more expressive faces, presenting a unique challenge for those looking to keep them functional.

Tools And Materials Needed For DIY Long Furbies

If you’re ready to create your own Long Furby, you’ll need to gather a few key supplies. Here is a general shopping list to get you started.

1. A Vintage Furby: An original 1998 or 1999 Furby is the ideal base. You can find them on eBay or at local thrift stores.
2. Faux Fur Fabric: You’ll need about one yard of high-quality faux fur. Fabric stores like Joann or online shops are great sources.
3. Armature Spine: For a posable spine, 1/4-inch plastic ball-and-socket armature (loc-line) is the professional choice. A cheaper alternative is heavy-gauge steel wire.
4. Sewing Supplies: A sewing machine is highly recommended. You’ll also need quality thread that matches your fur’s backing, needles, and a seam ripper.
5. Stuffing: A bag of Poly-Fil or similar polyester stuffing will be used to fill the body around the spine.
6. Hot Glue Gun: This is essential for attaching the faceplate to the new body and securing other parts.

A pro tip for cutting faux fur: use a craft knife or box cutter on the fabric backing only. This avoids cutting the fur fibers, which results in cleaner seams.

How To Make Your Own Long Furby

Building a Long Furby is a rewarding project that can take anywhere from 10 to 30 hours, depending on your skill level. For your first build, it’s highly recommended to create a non-functional plush to learn the basics.

Step-by-step Guide For Creating A Long Furby

Here is a simplified guide to the process. For more detailed visual instructions, searching for a “Long Furby tutorial” on YouTube is a great idea.

1. Skin the Furby: Carefully use a seam ripper to remove the fur “skin” from the original plastic Furby body. You will need to save the faceplate, ears, and feet.
2. Prepare the Faceplate: Detach the plastic faceplate from the old fur. This will be the face of your new creation.
3. Create the Body Tube: Cut your faux fur fabric into a long rectangle. The length determines how long your Furby will be. Fold it in half lengthwise, with the fur on the inside, and sew along the long edge to create a tube.
4. Attach the Faceplate: Turn the fur tube right-side out. Cut a hole for the faceplate near one end and carefully attach it using a hot glue gun.
5. Insert the Spine: Feed your armature spine through the body tube, securing one end firmly behind the faceplate with more hot glue.
6. Stuff and Seal: Pack the body with stuffing around the spine until it’s firm but still flexible. Sew the ends of the tube shut.
7. Add Details: Reattach the original ears and feet, or create new ones from other materials to complete your Long Furby.

Tips And Tricks For A Successful DIY Long Furby

Want to make your creation shine? Here are a few tips from the community.

1. Invest in Good Fur: High-quality, dense faux fur makes a huge difference in the final look and feel of your project.
2. Use a Strong Spine: Don’t use a flimsy wire. A weak spine leads to a floppy Furby that can’t hold a pose, which is a common rookie mistake.
3. Plan Your Design: Before you start cutting, sketch out your idea. Decide on the color scheme, length, and any special features you want to add.
4. Be Patient: This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time, especially with sewing the seams and attaching the faceplate. Rushing can lead to mistakes.
5. Join a Community: If you get stuck, ask for help! The online Long Furby communities are full of friendly people who are happy to share advice.

The Enduring Appeal Of Long Furbies

The appeal of Long Furbies goes beyond just being a quirky craft. It taps into a powerful mix of nostalgia, creativity, and the unique culture of the internet.

Psychological Attraction And Nostalgia

For many, the appeal starts with nostalgia. Furbies were a defining toy for kids who grew up in the late 90s. A 2022 study in the *Journal of Consumer Psychology* found that nostalgia fosters a sense of social connection, which helps explain why people bond so strongly over these shared childhood memories in online communities.

Long Furbies also play with the concept of the “uncanny valley.” They are familiar enough to be recognizable (the face) but strange enough (the body) to be compelling and slightly unsettling. This blend is a hallmark of the “weirdcore” aesthetic popular online.

Uniqueness And Personal Expression

In a world of mass-produced goods, Long Furbies offer a chance for true personal expression. Each one is handmade and one-of-a-kind.

This hobby is part of the larger “Art Toy” movement, where artists use toys as a medium for their creative vision. Many creators on Reddit describe the process of making a Long Furby as deeply rewarding, as it transforms an identical factory-made object into a personal and meaningful piece of art.

Long Furby In Popular Culture

Long Furbies have become a recognizable piece of internet culture, showing up in memes, viral videos, and a thriving fan-driven merchandise market.

Memes And Viral Content

Long Furbies are natural meme magnets. Their strange appearance makes them perfect for photoshopped images, reaction pictures, and viral videos. They are often compared to “worm on a string” toys, another beloved and slightly odd nostalgic item.

The community embraces the “cursed” reputation of some designs. The more bizarre and horror-themed a Long Furby is, the more likely it is to be celebrated and shared, fueling a cycle of creativity and humor across Tumblr, Twitter, and TikTok.

Collaborations And Merchandise

It’s important to note that the Long Furby phenomenon is entirely fan-driven. Hasbro, the current owner of the Furby brand, has no official involvement. This has allowed a vibrant, independent market for merchandise to flourish.

Beyond the dolls themselves, artists sell a wide range of Long Furby-themed products on sites like Etsy and Redbubble. You can find everything from enamel pins and stickers to t-shirts and art prints, all celebrating this wonderfully weird corner of the internet.

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