Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Oh... The 4 loop bow above is a 4 loop bow...but when you add it to the 2 loop one already around  the bears neck, it now become a total of 6 loops.
And.... to add tulle. lace. flowers, etc...these are either tied on one at a time (in a stacked fashion ) with  the narrow ribbon.
Or  you can make the add ons into a separate " corsage " then tie that  on all at once....Winney

You don't have to have advanced  bow making skills to make wonderful and interesting neck bows for your bear.
I will show here something anyone can easily  make....

There are some ribbons that are easier to work with than others. Sheer , see thru organdy type and especially the wired edged ones ar by far the easiest to work with and gets some beautiful results. This ribbon also comes with a satin edge in many colors.

A single bow tied around the bears neck looks good just as it is... and you can tie the bow tight enough where it won't easily come untied.
Use Kirstins instructions above . Clip the ends if you want then fray check then ,wait til that drys then trim off almost all the fray check leaving the ends still un frayable...

To make a 4 loop bow is almost as easy; First make a bow  on the bears neck as above ...

Then using a separate piece of the same ribbon. or even different smaller ribbon ...Wrap the ribbon  around your hand or something like cardboard ... what you want is one tail, 2 wraps around for the 4 loops( 2 on each side)  then one tail to finish ( make the tails longer than you want as they will be trimmed later  and fray checked).

.Then  keeping it all together as is,,,slide it off  and tie it in the center with a narrow 3/8" or 1/4" organdy ribbon,
( you have pre cut already )  into a tight KNOT...then tie it onto the center of  neck bow .

If you leave the tails long  on the narrow ribbon you will be able to tie on  items  like flowers, scrunched up gather tulle or lace  behind your  flowers...just experimenting and have fun! .

One of the worse ribbons  for beginners to work with for bows that have more than 2 loops is ...

Double sided satin..in any width, it comes in picot edged too....it is somewhat stiff an unyielding.
Any ribbon that is springy... especially narrow ones.
Taffeta and Morae Taffeta is ok ,as long as you don't have to keep untying it as it stays wrinkled when wrinkled.
Florist ribbon ...it is very stiff for nice starchy bows but shows every wrinkle or fold if you make one where you don't want it.
The most energetic bow I ever made......
I almost died laughing at myself one year when I started to work just before Christmas at  Craft World's florist dept.....Suddenly, I was thrown into a crash course on making bows. I couldn't believe how many people were willing to stand in line  waiting for custom  bows...and pay easily as much as $15. or more  for 1 bow!
They stand there and watch you...I had an order for a 8" bow made of some very pretty but springy stuff and she wanted a "many looped full bow "...well... each pass with the ribbon is twisted  for each loop and you have to have a death grip on all these loops as they keep stacking up between 2 fingers......suddenly  BOING  ! .. there goes the whole bunch springing up into the air about 2 feet...I was amazed at the height of the boing and cracked up like everyone else...try again...try 3 times..." Lady, do have any other shopping to do "?  All the awhile I could not stop laughing.
So..need I say anymore about springy ribbon....Winney

The snail way is faster but I found the crown joint to be tighter...

I found a way to make the snail joints tighter thoif they get too splayed out ....just take vise grips and place them on the outside curls and gently squeeze...it pulls the snails closer together while at the same time it seems to push down against the disc....give it a try....Winney

WHat do you write with on the shrinky dink tags............ Winney

OHHH, That sound very interesting Kim-Bee. I bought some very silky shiny floss a few years ago at a needlecraft exposition, it has beautiful multi colors in it...have not use it yet....Winney

Yeahhh ! Lisa, let us know how your armatures come out and if you have any problems and...if you found any new good tips to share with us....Winney

Hi Judi, Could you e-mail me a knitted bear pattern too ? I think I'd like stocking knit instead of garter stitch.

Wow, that Peruvian yarn is expensive and the Angora too. I think I will try to find some neat yarn here, we have alot of sheep and alpaca growers locally ....Winney

Hi Shelli...What has not been answered for you ? Lots of good tips here.

I started making bears from real fur, I like mink the best. I first cut out all the parts from muslin and mark the nap on the pieces, it helps  later when you are busy concentrating on  many other things  that this you won't get wrong.

Providing you fur lining is out...most fur garments, collars, stoles were made so both right and left sides match in fur color, length, and texture and nap...so I cut the garment in half...cut any darts apart so now the fur piece is flat.

I look over the skin side,..use a RED perm marker and circle ANY hole, thin skin, tears, ect. and turn the fur over to check the front side for rubbed off fur , worn areas  ...you will need to carefully eyeball them  then turn the fur back over and mark that area on the skin in RED. NOw...what you have left is basically OK fur to use.
I then use a BLACK marker and mark on the skin side the naps as they often change within a garment.

Next... I lay BOTH right and left pelts on the table....I look over the fur side and decide where is the best area to lay my HEAD pieces...they should be layed in the same spot on each fur pelt so they match in color, length and texture...

you will need to next select where the lay the center head piece which must match as close as you can with the side head pieces...

I proceed to lay out all the MUSLIN parts onto the pelt backs until all are matched then I use a office stick roll up  glue and tack the muslin down..

I use a 4" pair of very sharp scissors to cut out the parts...turn them over and check all the parts to see if everything matchs up as you want.

Sometimes there is not enough fur of the same length so I usually decide to use the shorter fur on the body pieces and you can get away with using imperfect or wacky fur for the under the arm piece.

If you get a garment that has sewn pelts alternating with leather strips sometimes you can get the leg and foot to fit between those strips but if not ,,,well then its a problem .he, he... If you  buy Nancy Tilmans book she will show you what you can do...more decisions...

I overcast all the parts by hand with any thread , use a larger stitch using Guttermans thread . Use a tested pattern so you are sure where the joint holes go and I reinforce by lining the joint holes with felt, fray check...let that stuff dry !
What else....??? Post again if you have any more questions here....Winney

I like Guterman for machine and hand sewing . I use artificial sinue  ( a waxed thread) I got at Tandy's Leather for tieing the eyes in and needle sculpting . I also lately have been using a natural artificial sinue . These last 2 threads do not ever slip....Winney

I use the plastic coated wire for armatures...I had a problem at times when it popped off the ring terminal and someone told me there are two different kinds of ring terminals...???? Mine are blue I got at Lowes.

Then, later I heard that after connecting it then it can be soldered so it will not have a chance of coming off. ??? I sure am getting more ??? 'sss  than solutions, he, he....Winney

Yeahhh for us dummys out here !!! This is really gonna help me to participate in the photo arena now...Winney

Thanks Haley and Daphne, I finally got it to work for me. I think I forgot to tell you I was using emb. floss not perle cotton, as I was this real smooth satin look.
I did one nose that had 2 layers and I beveled the edges with small scissors....that was a nose I had to tear out.Later on I found out  the main problem was my edges....

The next nose I did one layer of felt and really took my time...I glued it down with Beacons Fabric tack then ....I used a needle , put a drop of glue on it then slid the needle down under the felt edges and corners one at a time and pressed to make them adhere really well to the face fabric...now all the edges are glued down tight .

I used all 6 strands of emb. thread...emb. like you said Haley, center to the outside edges...with a firm tension.....then there is the dreaded edge...not so, as the step is really very small now...I do about 3 or 4 stitches per side and start that 1st stitch in the same last hole of the stitch that was still on the template...then the last 2 stitches the same way....just have to go very slow, one stitch at a time....that's the name of the game...slow, pay attention like a fox, watch every move and see what it does....the tension all the way thru is very important..you have to develope a feel for this....practice is the key.

I will answer another thread near this one  about using emb. thread here ...then I will post there to direct readers to this post.... TANGLED EMB. THREAD ....I use 6 strands. After the needle is threaded, be sure to run your fingers down the thread while watching it to see that all the strands are smooth and not twisted around each other.

Next...start the first stitch and BEFORE you pull it thru using your left fingers pull the strands straight up for a few inchs and make all the strands lay smooth....then I lay THAT stitch down on the template where I want the stitch to lay flat ...hold it there with my left finger while I pull the needled thread slowly thru with my right hand. Takes practice but you will be amazed at how nice the thread lays now....

I had one side of the nose sort of caving in on me ( its always the right side facing me ) so I cut a very small football shape piece of felt and first slipped a drop of glue under there then slid the felt piece under there...yeahhhh ! that worked ! It made that side pop back up so now the 2 sides look the same in heighth.

THanks too for the link Daphne....Winney

Eileen, I was just going to say that but..... that is if you want the wobbliest joint ever, it can still be wobbly if you use the same size joints in the body and limb. I have not tried and compared both methods, just wanted to comment I have found both ways in books too.
Oh yes, and adding pellets for weight in the ends of the limbs increases the limbs will freely swing....Winney

So there is Pentel Micron .05  Gel  ( hard tip )felt tip pens in colors used for.....marking around bear patterns.

OK...so can you use these pens to color say...nose threads or shading the face ? or just do distinctive face details like " tears"  on a  bear clown , etc. Has anyone tried the pens in this way?....Winney

Hmmm, I always say thet when speculative...I thought it was done with 2 shades of emb. floss but I have a New (? )idea...stitch the same color twice then run a color fabric pen over the last stitch ...then do the next 2 stitches the same way.
I have another problem I am trying to overcome...I glue 2 layers of felt down for the base and scissor trim/ bevel the felt edges ...
I do fine with emb. thread , careful placement so stitches are straight and smooth....what happens when I get to the right and left edge of that base is ....there is an abrupt STEP down..

Now I try to do several layers to make up the difference as the thread wants to slide off the step...the only way I have tried to control this is to use a Elmers pen glue and place a tiny drop of glue at the top and bottom of those stitches...still, it looks kind of messy to me...anyway it is not perfect...perfect is what I want. Aghhhh !!!

Maybe I should try only 1 layer of felt ? ...but I want height in the nose too...... Winney

I double dare you to try and pronounce that word....he, he..Winney

One more question on those tootsies Jody...you hand stitch using a back stitch...is this done on the raw edge of the ukltrasuede or is there a seam turned? Sorry to be so annoying with the bearspecificities...( new bear word) ...Winney

Sue Ann. When do you add color...before the wax or after ?....Winney

I just love those fuzziest bears. ! ...I tried to crochet one but didn't like it so well, I like the knitted ones much better... I  think its gotta partly be the yarn  is what makes them so appealing. My yarn was an acrylic imitation of Mohair.
Judi, your bears are so adorable, they would probably  be adorable made out of anything. ....Winney

Hey Dilu..I bought a doll clothes pattern some time ago for a black doll's costume and I think there is an african dress in there...Winney

Oh Cindy...If Nebraska wern't so far away I'd come over and have some tea with you...and give you some big huggies...keep your chin up even if it is propped up by a teddy bear....things will change, they always do....give me or someone an e-mail if you need to talk..its free, we are here for you... Winney

Good topic Dilu...I have not a clue but  better get one because I have lots of stuff. I can't tell you how many times I have thought this over , I have lots of " stuff" besides bears stuff.
Last summer I drug a lot of craft items out to sell in a garage sale..it didn't hardly make a dent but of course not many craft type people came. I have 8 big boxs of yarn...yesterday I gave my neice a bunch to make afghans , I set aside  2 for either garage sale or Goodwill. I have found it is better to give it away to family that want it rather then try to sell it in a garage sale....I just wouold not get that much for it.

For the bears....I do not have an artist collection except for a very few...these will be tagged who they will go to. I am fishing around  NOW to find which granddaughter will get my bear stuff....then there is the doll stuff, patterns, books and trims. fabrics, laces...etc.

Better to ask around NOW than wait til later...my hubby would not want to bother with it....in fact he askes me form time to time " If...you happen to go before me, what do you want me to do with all your " stuff" ?...better get it marked or on a list NOW  or it will probably go to Goodwill ". Yikes !!!!

So...I am working on it NOW. First ,to weed out what I will probably never use or don't need ,then I will get to the other stuff .....Winney

Hi Laura ( Lori ) ..he,  he....here's good wishes for your piece , i just know its going to be wonderful because it sounds like it !and I know you. What an honor....OK, we will miss you !.... Winney

Dilu, I have used the ones wrapped in foam...what ? you say they are not reliable ? Durn...and I thought they were.

If hubby is using 14 gauge wire ...is it telephone wire ? or what ? And...what mixture/ kind of solder did he use ?

I would rather make my own..its cheaper and you can make the armature for the arms, legs or even the spine on a realistic bear as Illish Routard does......Winney

Daphne, I doubt that I will beat you, LOL... At least you have diagrams somewhere.
Posting to your own web site was what I was thinking of doing too...now, I have to learn to do that !

Oh My...My brother has the one page up for me, that's all...he is waiting for me to make some bears so he can put them up...oh, and I must learn to write the descriptions for the bears...is there anything easy ? LOL... He hates to type...how in the heck am I going to get my descriptions up ? COPY ? I must learn to do that....OH My.... See what I mean...no wonder it is taking me so long to do anything....anything ? I think I have been procrastnating.....weird word...why not just say sluffing off ?

OK...I WILL start somewhere.. finish one bear for the web site and work towards showing how to make fancy bows, I do think that would be a neat thing to put on my web site as a tutorial...unless you want to do it Daphene ? Let me know as I do have other items I can put up for tutorials on my web site.....I Winney