Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

In order to prevent your felting needles from breaking my advice is putting in the needle under a straight angle and especially try to avoid moving / twisting the needle whilst it is still in your bear's head (or other body part). The metal of felting needles is 'hardened' which - and I know this may sound silly - causes the metal to break when moving/twisting the needle as described before. I hope this helps; it most certainly will help reducing costs and preventing frustration and bad mood

I don't think there are a lot of non-jointed bear patterns , but if you can get hold of the 'Premier Issue' of the US magazine TEDDY TODAY (Volume One, Number One, winter 1997) you will find the pattern of a 5" non-jointed Travelling Bear. The pattern is simple and handy. The bear is called Travelling Bear because you can 'take the pieces with you when you travel or cut them out on the way', according to the designer of this bear, Denis R. Shaw.

Hi Kirstie,
I don't know what kind of sewing machine you are using that causes you this problem. I used to have a Huskystar and my current sewing machine is a Bernina. Neither one had / has any problem transporting mohair fabrics. I mainly use the machine for bigger bears (over 50cm) which in my case are usually made of dense mohairs with >0.75 inch pile fur, so rather thick. When working with a thicker mohair / alpaca I always trim the seams (appr. 4 to 5 mm) before sewing the pieces together. This makes neater seams. But it also makes the fabric travel smoother under the foot of your sewing machine. Hope this helps 

And if that's not available in the area where you live a double thread of waxed dental floss does the job fine too  , always available at your drugstore / pharmacy round the corner.

To be on the safe side concerning faster wear of the mohair fabric I'd place a piece of woolfelt slightly larger than the metal washer between the washer and the mohair. Metal just is 'harder' than fibre board discs and even if the rims of the washers are smooth the material will cause the mohair to wear faster. And you will need to pay attention to the size of washers you use. If the washers are too large for the joints and the limbs are not properly stuffed you will very soon feel the rims of the washers through the fabric of the limbs, which I guess will not add to the huggability of your creation. Hope this helps!

Hi Houa, I think you might get more response if you posted a picture of your bear here. Furthermore your message doesn´t mention anything about the approximate age of your bear. You say you´ve got him/her ´for as long as you can remember´ but how long would that be? If you are 50 or more years of age we are talking about a bear of respectable age, if you are this age and the bear was your mums or dads childhood bear we are talking antique, but if you are a young person and you didn´t inherit the bear from an older person it probably is a rather young bear. The fact for instance that you are thinking of buying a similar bear for your niece gives the impression that your bear is rather young. You see, many answers are possible. If you really want to get any help you need to provide more details on your bear because based on the current details I don´t think anyone will be able to help you. Good luck!

Surely it won't take long for this puppy to find a new home! I actually think the new puppy mums / dads will be queing up for little sweethearts like this.

Hi Mary, too cold to go to the local hardware store? Because that's where you'd usually find a cotter key turner or cotter pin turner as it is sometimes called. After all it originally is a, be it simple, technical piece of equipment. Good luck finding your tool!

Hi, this is the method I remember having seen in a US book on bearmaking. From what I remember it goes like this:
First you will need 2 cups or containers (large and medium), boiling water and fabric dye of your choice, one sponge (I think they used natural sponge but I'm not sure), a small piece of sponge, rubber gloves and rinse bath (water, vinegar and salt). Put on the gloves before you start preparing the fabric dye mixture. In the other container prepare the rinse bath. I haven't got the 'recipy' for the rinse bath but I think that also depends on the make/type of fabric dye you are using.

You should not make the fur wet before you start dyeing the tips, so you should apply the dye on dry fur.
Prepare the dye you want to use in a small container. Use the large sponge to keep the backing of the fabric and part of the fur that is closest to the backing dry (so you place the sponge onto the mohair and you brush or comb the hairs you want to dye over the side of the sponge). Dip the small sponge in the dye and wring it as dry as you can. Then use it to apply the dye on the tips of the mohair. Next dip the small sponge in the rinse bath and wring dry; then blot the tips of the mohair again with the small sponge. Move the large sponge further on and repeat the dyeing / rinsing process. After you've dyed all the tips you want finish by letting the mohair air-dry.
I don't think I have forgotten anything, so I hope you can do something with it. Good luck!

Marianne

Looks like a 1-inch alpaca to me and definitely not sparse. Now that you mention it, I've never seen a sparse alpaca  :rolleyes:
Perhaps this pups' fur looks slightly sparse because of the trimming in the face and the fact that the pup seems not to have been properly groomed before his picture was taken.

Maybe I'm wrong but I'm not entirely sure Schulte (or Steiff Schulte as the new name has been for some time now) produces an alpaca fur of this length. My local supplier sells gorgeous 1-inch alpaca fur in various colours, but from another (German) make. It is, however, lovely material to work with. If you want to have the contact details (of my supplier / they do offer mail order service) just send me a PM.

Marianne

Hi Shelly, Phineas is another superb creation of yours! I was at Teddies in London with my sister and had a glimpse at your rabbits. They are stunning. It was so crowded around your table (good for you!) that I didn't get a chance to speak to you on that occasion but I just wanted to let you know that I love your work!

Hugs from Holland,
Marianne

Hi Jenny, my sister and I went to Hugglets as visitors. Although the ques didn't go as far as the corner of Kensington High Street once inside it was rather crowded. Lovely bears to be seen and when we left there were many empty places at quite some tables. I saw Jane making pictures as usual, so maybe she'll share some of them here with us? Hope you had a lovely holiday!

Marianne

Am I the only one that uses a plain wooden stuffing tool with T-shaped handle, wigshaped at the end, for stuffing with polyfil? Easy to work with and to force the stuffing material into the bear because of the T-shaped handle.
I only use the metal stuffing tool, forkshaped at the end, when stuffing a bear with woodwool / excelsior.

Marianne

Hi, it could be that postage costs charged are rather high. Be sure to ask what exactly they charge before you place your order, for example by sending them an e-mail. I know they speak English so that should not be a problem.

If you need any help with translation from Dutch to English, just let me know.

There was an earlier post on making a Bing bear by Woo Bears (Toronto) who asked for advice on shaping the head of this bear. She probably knows exactly how much fabric is needed. This is the link to the topic  http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=34733

You might contact Woo Bears? It seems strange though there isn't any indication in the description on the quantity of fabric needed to make this bear. Even in German details like that look quite similar to those in English. Anyway, if it is the pattern for an appr. 60cm bear 2/3 yards of mohair should be enough. Good luck and have fun making this Bi(n)g Bear!

PS: Just crossed my mind, I guess you could ask the supplier of this pattern, Shamrock Rose!

PS2: There is a Dutch supplier (ProBear) who offers this pattern, at least the one shown in the picture from Becky, for EUR 4.= !!! (plus postage of course) which I think is considerably less expensive? It is, however, only shown in the Dutch page (not English / German) : http://www.probear.com/nl/shop/pd941919 … egoryId=39
If any questions just contact me by PM.

Oh, and this bear has a 4-piece body and his arms and legs are well-proportioned for a 1928 model bear; in those days bears had long arms and legs 

Not a schautzer dog pattern but perhaps the Lisa Pay pattern of Scribbles, a terrier, comes close. This pattern is available at Berelijn (just send them an e-mail); see this link  http://www.berelijn.com/supplies%20pagina%201.htm   Maybe you could use this pattern as a starting point for your schnautzer?
I've seen the same pattern offered elsewhere on the internet, however at a higher price. And I know Berelijn doesn't charge huge amounts for shipping, on the contrary .

I could be mistaken but this looks like an English bear to me. Definitely mohair. Possibly a Chad Valley ?

Hi Thelma,
What a sweet and lovable character your Skeeter is! Love his nose. And BTW in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong - quite the contrary I'd say - with an oldfashioned embroidered nose, especially when made with aim for perfection like your bears noses. When you start making alternative noses like from resin, Fimo clay, leather or needlefelting, it will take some time for your own R&D and then to develop your own signature. Until then I like your bears as they are now!

Marianne

Perhaps buy one original and replicate it in the size you want it?

I think army barets will be available in Australia, but if not you could try this webshop http://www.dumpstore.nl/index.php?main_ … anguage=en

Good luck!

Thanks Thelma! 

Thank you all!

Sibren is another 17.4" / 45cm panda bear, or actually he's not a 100% panda because he is not in black and white and when you take a closer look you will see he has no eye patches. Sibren was made of distressed 1” mohair. The darker colour is an olive green mohair and the lighter is a blond mohair with brown backing. This BeauT Bear has lime green cashmere velvet paw pads, black German glass eyes and a black embroidered nose. Sibren has a cream-coloured leather collar with studs.

He is available through Bear Pile. For more details see  http://www.bearpile.com/item/55413

Thanks Peter and Debora!  :)

Hugs,
Marianne

Thank you Debora!

Meet Colin, a 23.5" bear, made of a gorgeous dense distressed 1” Schulte mohair. The colour of Colin’s fur is silver grey with an antique pink backing. This gives it, in spite of the fact that grey is usually regarded a cool colour, a warm appearance. This bear has antique pink cashmere velvet paws, a black embroidered nose that has been waxed and buffed with bees wax. Colin has a lilac leather lace with messing bell around his neck and in his tummy he has a large growler.