Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Gail,

I'm assuming you may have already been googling for tutorials, but this is one I found that may be useful.  It's not on a fabric doll, but the basic principles are the same.
http://www.cdhm.org/tutorials/painting- … -eyes.html

I've not ever painted eyes onto fabric, but I have painted them digitally.  You basically start with the whites of the eyes, and draw them as circles.  Then I elongate the circles into more pointed oval shapes at the sides.  From here on in, you basically start with your dark circle (eg. dark blue), then do concentric circles within this getting lighter each time.  Dragging a toothpick from the centre of your eye to the edge of the iris will create the patterns you see in real eyes.  A few little flecks of lighter or darker shades here and there will also make the eyes look quite good.  Then you just add your black pupil in the centre, and a couple of tiny white dots at the edge of the pupil to add some life to the eyes and they're all done!

Don't know if that helps at all - I know pictures are better and I'm really bad at giving instructions!

Excellent!  Thanks so much for your reply :)

Shall be ordering some white fur and off to the shops for some dark purple dye now.  Woohoo!  :dance:

Hi guys,

Have any of you had experience dying loubear mohair? www.loubear.com  I've been looking for a dark grape coloured fur and figure that my cheapest option will be to dye some white fur to the right colour.   I know the composition of the loubear mohair is slightly different though (some of it is 30% viscose and the backing almost feels rubbery, like the back of a non slip bath mat) and if I dye it, I want ALL of it to dye, including the backing. 

I haven't decided what kind of dye I would be using yet.  Probably RIT dye, as apparently some have had trouble dying purple with Kool Aid in that it comes out a mauve colour instead of the rich dark colour I'm after.  For any of you that are interested, however, here is a colour chart of wool dyed with kool aid for reference. http://www.thepiper.com/fiberart/koolai … t-high.jpg

Thanks to anyone who can give me some pointers! 

Can you not iron a non-stretch backing onto the back of the velvet?  Like the stuff from Sassys...dont remember what its called!

I was going to say Blossom too

Thank you so much everyone!!

I actually didn't measure him before I gave him to her (I literally finished him and then drove straight over there) but at a guess, I'd say almost 6 inches standing.

Hi all!

This is my first show and tell - I'm much better at looking at everyone else's work rather than showing my own!  Makes me feel very amateur!!

I made this one for my mum's 50th birthday, which was in February and I finished it 2 days ago.   Whoops...  :redface:   She didn't mind though!

Don't mind my bad photography - I really should do a course!

Gemma, there's some here!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? … EL:GB:1123

Aww he is so sweet!!  Why can't I pull off big eyes like that?!  Just adoooorable 

Hi Matilda!  I remember at High School we had Elna sewing machines, and they had a speed control.  Tortoise for slow, rabbit for fast.  It was really good because you didn't have to control the speed with the pedal.  It was handy for getting used to it before you went really fast.

Does your machine have that setting?  They were quite old, but wouldn't be surprised if you managed to find one cheap as chips to practise with...

Krista she is beautiful!!  And I think she looks just fine in the nude 

You could just hang a little charm or something around her neck if you really wanted something, but she does herself justice without anything at all.

I love her!!

Hi Kay,

I'm not sure what the insurance would be for, but when I was 15 I had a few bears in the local art gallery gift shop, and they were sold on commission.  I didn't have any kind of insurance, I just took them in, the lady said yes, and I went in to collect my cut when a bear had sold.
Maybe it depends if they are buying them from you?  Not sure, and don't know if I've helped, but good luck!

lol

I have no doubt it will melt in the boiling water.  I'd set it on fire too if I wasn't so worried that the fumes would give me brain damage!  I'll hopefully be able to make a start on the massacre tomorrow in between making a very girly kitchen apron for my friend's birthday.

Yippee!

Hehe - you guys are funny 

YES - it DOES feel like a loofah! Exactly!  The fur itself isn't particularly offensive, quite soft in fact.  Its just the backing that completely ruins it.
I wont complain or ask for a refund - it was cheap as chips and I bought it with low expectations.  Granted that I was hoping for a pleasant surprise...but no.  Perhaps I could cut it into small pieces and give them out as Christmas gifts.  "Body exfoliation cloth" anyone?

Since I have no plans to waste my efforts on it, I might have a play with it.  Boiling water, hot water, bleach... really just torment the hell out of it to see what happens!  Will get some pics when I do.

So here's your warning: Don't buy mock mohair.  Not even worth loading the page!   

Well I didn't want to defame any businesses by naming names, but I suppose it must have been fairly obvious 

My camera doesn't seem to be agreeing with the computer so I can't get the photos to load.  Will keep trying though!

Hi guys!

I was just wondering if any of you had had a great deal of experience with this so called "mock mohair".  I have been curious for a while and it got the better of me.  I found some on sale so I ordered a couple of pieces (it was only like $7 for a fat quarter so it was fine) and it arrived this morning.

I have to say that I'm hating it at this stage!  The backing is BRIGHT orange, on both pieces and feels like what I can only liken to those plastic type string bags that nanna used to carry her shopping in when I was little.  Not sure if they have them anywhere else, so for you non australians, it's a scratchy plasticy loose weave that I doubt I could ever pluck or even trim down short on the muzzle.

I'll try and take some closer up photos sometime today so anyone else who's curious can have a look, but have you all found the same thing?  Or am I judging it too early?

Hope you are all well!

__________

Edit:  Ok, so here are the photos in case anyone else has been curious about what this stuff is like.  The backing on both of these is quite open - ie if you trimmed the pile you would see the stuffing through the holes.  It seems as though I might be the only person who's ordered this before - am I right?  I can't really truly have expected anything spectacular for $6, and I could use it for pattern testing I guess.  Just scared to go to all of the effort and then have the bear look nasty when he's finished :(

I agree with Patsy on the fishing line - good thinking! 

There is also surely something used for beading that would be suitable too.  Do you have any beading shops locally?  Or even a good craft shop might have rolls of something in the beading section.

Shelli, your posts are always the ones I most look forward to reading.  Always so insightful and informative!  I'm really really glad you're not leaving TT, but totally understand your decision! 
I have been in a similar position in the past, and obligations can sometimes outstay their welcome.  It is tiring!

Thank you for all the help you've offered to everyone!

Thanks for the quick answers guys!  If I could achieve a Shelli or Paula nose I would be extreeeeemely pleased with myself! 

I wouldn't say that I've ever really "struggled" with noses, because I always get there in the end.  Ears are worse for me (is that weird?!) - getting them even and getting them both curved the same. 

I'll probably try the micron pen thing that you do Shelli.  I used to use no guide at all, but I'm more fussy now and wasn't satisfied with the felt template so it seemed to be the next step.  Suspect that my fine point Sharpie wont be much good though!

Thanks again!!

I'm a little slow on the uptake here, I know!  But I was wondering - those of you who draw your nose shape on rather than using a template underneath - do you have to take your stitches slightly larger than the shape you draw?  I find when I use a template underneath, if I insert my needle exactly on the template edge I end up with a nose much skinner than I had intended (think sausage!).

I'm thinking of trying the drawn on method for my latest bear but I want to start off on the right foot instead of having to do layer after layer to get it bigger!

Thank you!! 

Hi Catherine!

Sadly I don't have anything valuable to add now that your decision has been made, but my mum has a Janome that she's had for yeeeeears.  My dad bought it for her when they were dating, and I'm 24 now.  It's still the best machine I've used!  I want to trade her :p

I have a cheap Brother from Kmart that I assumed would be ok (can't afford a huge outlay at the moment) and was happy with it and made quite a few dresses and things up until the other day when it started doing silly huge tangly wobbly messy groups of loops on the back of my stitching every now and then when sewing a bear.  The machine all sounds normal so I never know when it's happening.  Don't get a brother!  Thinking of starting a thread to find out why it could be happening - I wont hijack yours!

Hopefully someone else can give you some USEFUL information.   

Wow, they're SO cute!!  You're definitely a natural!

Absolutely!  Adobe Illustrator is what I use, but it's expensive and hard to learn without instruction.  It creates very crisp lines (because it's not pixel based, it's vector based.  Vectors are constructed by means of mathematical equations - therefore being infinitely scalable).

There is a free program called Inkscape that can do the same thing, but if you can't be bothered just let me know and I'll convert it for you.  (it's my day job!)  Wont take long at all - most things can be done with a one-click trace feature depending on the kind of look you're after.

EDIT:  I forgot to mention you need to scan it or take a digital photo of it first...in case it wasn't obvious

We do?!  Where?! 

I have the same problem on minis with short short fur.  I know you're supposed to poke the needle back through and give it a little tug to sink the knot, but it never goes in for me!  I suppose I'm making it too big, but I'm worried it will just slip out otherwise. 

I'm no help, but at least you know it's not just you!  Perhaps someone else will have a suggestion for the both of us!