Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi all,

I hope this is ok? I found this nifty video on making miniature glasses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up8bUoOqpHc

I used it to make the spectacles for my professor bun, below.

In addition to the wrapped wire, I glued in clear plastic disks to make lenses.

If you took a second piece of clear plastic cut into a half-moon, and glued it on with glue that dries invisibly (like a thin layer of power pritt), you could easily make bi-focals

Prof. H. H. Bunneh

Sue Ann, thank you very much for sharing the pattern. It's a lovely teddy, a pleasure to make also.

Becky, thank you for the kind words. She has a classic 'beariness' about her, I think part of the pattern, that I really adore myself.

Here's my take on Goldie. The cubs are the pattern altered - the child has slightly shorter arms, legs and body and a slightly larger head, the baby even more so.

I love him! His little backpack is just perfect.

So I drew up a pattern and made it into a bear, and I'm really pleased with the results. I wanted a fairly small bodied, large limber bear with a wide head. This is the biggest bear I've ever made, standing 40cm tall - 16''. This would be the tenth bear I've made, though half of that ten are miniatures only 8cm tall. He's only my second bear over 10'' - I really like the size, though!

I have some white, 2'' pile plush that I used, with velvet paw pads and inner ears.
His eyes are hand painted (a first for me), and has eyelids (another first). Then I figured, in for a penny... so he has eyelashes too! He is fully 5-way jointed. Stuffed with poly-fill, weighted with lead. His colours are painted on with purple illustrator's ink - lightfast and colourfast for 20 years (we don't know what happens past then, but that's good enough for me). Nose is embroidery floss sealed with clear acrylic gloss medium - it leaves the texture but makes it more durable.
I think he's probably most like a sloth, if you want to assign a species.

I'd welcome helpful critique. I've already altered the foot pattern to have less of a bulbous toe, that was a bit over done. I also am well aware my scissor sculpting needs work, but practice makes perfect   Especially regarding proportions, and overall shaping - his belly is very oval, only tapering slightly to the top, and I wonder about the size of the limbs. I wanted them large, but perhaps I went slightly too far?

Anyway, all comments are very welcome

...hi...

Enjoying the lovely morning

Standing

Pick me up?

Face detail

What helps me to make a decision is to look at the size of the arm and to pick a joint just a bit smaller in diameter than the width of the finished arm. So, if the arm on the pattern measures 5 cm, and the pattern has 5mm seams - leaving me with 4cm arms, I'll pick a joint that is around 3.5 cm wide.

Thank you, Jen.

Thanks all for the warm welcome :)

I find the sewing, especially when I do it all by hand, is a very, very nice break from everything else. An added bonus that (except for some fiddly bits) I can generally chat with my family while doing it.

I find it hard to sit still, I'm sure many can relate!

She's for a friend's (adult) daughter as a birthday present

She is made from a silk/mohair blend, is fully jointed, and is 25 cm tall.

The colouring is all done with acrylic paints/artist's markers

Oh, I forgot to say, I drew up the pattern myself. So she's OOAK, I guess

If you just darn the edges of a perfectly round hole, I'm pretty sure it will pucker up. I'd suggest some kind of patch, maybe a disguise? A bow or a little accessory - as suited to the position of the hole?

Hello TeddyTalk!

I am so pleased to have found a this forum. Such a wonderful resource in the library!

I make bears as a hobby, otherwise I'm a doctoral student (anthropology) and I paint portraits to keep the pot bubbling.
I'm getting better at this bearmaking thing

I attach some recent bears below.

The first one I made is the Big Bear (40 cms tall when standing), followed by Bree, then Cory, then Caelynne the buny. I am definitely getting better!
I discovered shading somewhere between Cory and Caelynne Bun, and it's been a lot of fun.

Next thing to do is to learn to take better pictures of them :P

They're all jointed, poseable, and you can undress Bree. I delight in making them able to stand on their own

Right now I'm working on another bunny, this time for a friend who wants to buy it. It has toes! Adorable little feetsies.

Hello all!

Mouse-bear, named Bree Tealeaf

Bun-bear, Caelynne

Golden fur bear, Cory, of Corlin Hall

Big bear