Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Wow! I see that I am not alone in this! Very interesting. It's so cool to read about other people's lives. Thanks for sharing everyone. 

And Toadbriar, that was very funny about your dogs! Also, I love your bear on ebay right now!

And Christine, I have thought about self publishing and know others who have but still would like to keep going at it the regular way. I've been trying to get an agent here lately. I will definitely take a look at the lulu website though and put it with my lists of options.

Yes, you read that right. I don't own a single mini bear I've made. Maybe that's why I feel like crying each time I have to let one go to it's new owner.    Even my big sister owns one of my bears...she paid for it!

The reason why I own none is that I started making bears in the first place to help pay the bills a year ago...not that I can contribute much to the bills since my bears sell pretty cheap!
I've always been an artsy person and working in "the real world" has never worked out really well especially since I suffer from an extreme case of social anxiety disorder.
I've been trying to get my children's books published for the last 7 years, but it's extremely difficult to get my foot in the door. And since I've always had a secret desire to make stuffed animals I decided to take the plunge a year ago.

I was kinda wondering did anyone else start like that? Selling each and every bear for money or am I the only one?  And also this raises another question: How many of your own bears do you own that you never plan on selling?

-Eliza

Ok I found that old topic about the eye patches. It seems everyone has a totally different way of doing it! I will first attempt the sewn on patches. If it looks crappy I will go with the shading. I'm used to shading around my little bears' eyes anyway. I almost always shade around the eyes with Prismacolor markers.

Thanks guys!

Thanks to all who contributed to my "how tiny are your stitches" I posted. I learned from that that my stitches were too big even though I thought they were tiny! Now I've been practicing the very tiniest of stitches.

My next question is what stitch should I be using for a mini? Obviously a ladder stitch for closing up those main seams, but what about just the regular hand sewing? What is the strongest? A backstitch, a running stitch that you double over? Any others?

What kind of stitch do you guys do for your minis? I want what really holds up so when I turn those tiny pieces there won't be any little spaces and the thread isn't stretched.

Eliza

Ok in a few days I will have my newest supply of mohair. It's going to be off-white natural short mohair. I'm going to be experimenting for the first time with Rit dyes. Since I have black Rit dye already and the mohair will be white I naturally think this would be the perfect opportunity to learn how to make my first panda. It will only be 4" tall, but I figure a panda is a panda and how to make them is the same way no matter what size.

I know a panda has a white head and black ears and black limbs. That's the easy part. But how do I do the chest part white and the belly black without the seams showing? How is that sewn? And the cutting out part for that matter? And the biggest mystery of all is how is the black area around the eyes is sewn on and cut out?

I hope these aren't silly questions! But I really don't know how to get started  , and I've always loved the look of artist pandas. Anybody with a lot of panda-making experience please help. Thanks!

Eliza

That photo is wonderful! It should be in a teddy bear magazine! How cute!

Eliza

Wow! I'm going to have to print all this out! This is a lot of information and very valuable. Thanks guys!

Oh, Amelia... I do 4" minis and 3.5" minis. Little Toot pictured is 3.5" tall to the top of his head, not his ears. I never count the ears.

I'd like to hear from others about the length of their stitch in mm. I said cm at first but I meant mm.

I'm brand-new here and I've been making mini bears for 1 year now, and I never had any professional input as to what length each stitch should be. I've always been disappointed that my stitches show once the bear is finished. But should they be showing at all? Sometimes it's charming since I do distressed bears, and it can kind of add character. But I'd prefer they didn't show or barely at all. I use venus bonded nylon (don't know if that's a good idea or not, but it's so strong that I love it) for all my handsewing.

Could y'all tell me in centimeters what length of tiny stitch should I be attempting?  And any other helpful advice for me to improve the look of my minis...even though I will be heavily distressing them? haha!

thanks

Eliza

Just wondering what everyone thinks. Both about the making and the selling process.

Finishing and distressing my bears is my favorite part of the process. I even enjoy the long hours of sewing. My other favorite part of the selling process is getting nice emails and feedback from my happy buyers on ebay.

The worst part is stuffing my tiny little bears. I hate the tedious process of making little tiny balls of woodwool and I usually end up with splinters in my fingers. I used to hate the jointing process...that's when I was still using the locknut joints. Now I'm cotterpin joints all the way and it's so easy.

The worst part is not selling my bears the first time around on ebay and having to lower my prices...and also I hate the visits to the post office...which is why I sometimes have my husband do it! Ha ha!

What are everyone else's thoughts?

-Eliza

Cool! I hope to do a swap someday!

Hi
the subject line says it all. Maybe it's a silly question, but I'm new here and I was just wondering! And yes, I say "y'all". I'm a little southern gal from Tennessee who just happens to be living in Kansas for the next few months. 

Eliza Burlison