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That stripped effect you see is called "letting out."
The unsewn pelts are put in a machine that looks kind of like an industrial spaghetti cutter that cuts them into thin strips. Those strips are sewn into panels that are fitted to the part of the coat the furrier wants to use them in. Then, those panels are assembled into the completed coat.
Fur coats made of pelts that are not cut into strips are called "skin-on-skin." The fur pelts are just sewn together, piece by piece to make a coat.
The idea of letting out the skins before making a coat is to allow the garment to "break" or "fall" over the shape of the wearer without looking like a giant sack.
It's similar to the way ladies dress jackets are made with "darts" in the sides to allow it to fit over the bust. If a lady wore a mens' dress jacket it would just look like she's wearing a large bag over her body. With the darts, the jacket conforms to the body.
Furriers let out pelts when making a coat for a similar reason as tailors put darts in ladies' jackets only letting out is taken to the extreme.
Most fur coats made today are sewn from a combination of "let out" pelts and "skin on skin" pelts.
The reason is that you don't need the coat to be let out in all places. The furrier doesn't want to waste the time and labor costs to make a "fully let out" coat when it's not needed.
Think about the sweep of a full length coat. (The sweep is the bottom part that is nearest the floor.)
Does the sweep need to be fully let out? No. It just hangs there.
However, the part that breaks over the wearer's shoulders and chest should be let out so that the garment falls right. If it's going to be a custom fitted fur coat, maybe you would want the sides and the waist to be let out but that's something that needs to be decided on a case-by-case basis.
So, you see, the main reason fur coats are so expensive is because of labor costs to sew the furs together.
Every one of those strips of let-out fur have to be cut apart and sewn together by hand before finally being assembled into a finished coat.
If I was you, here's what I would do:
Disassemble the coat into it's main component parts: The sleeves, the back panel, the front panels, etc., etc.
Leave the let-out sections intact. Don't disassemble into strips.
Lay the fur panels face down onto a piece of plywood or something similar. Wet the leather with a sponge then staple down to the board. Be sure to stretch the leather nice and tight. Not so tight you damage it. Just tight enough to lay flat. (Kind of like the way you upholster a chair.)
Now, get your pattern out and lay it over the fur and decide how you want to cut out the shapes. Think about the way the let-out strips fit into the design of the Bear. When you have it all planned out, use a marker and trace the pattern onto the leather side of the fur and proceed to cut and sew as you normally would.
When you are working with fur, the planning and design phases are the most important.
As you are taking the original coat apart, I suggest that you look at how they are assembled and how the orientation of the let-out strips affect the lay of the garment. Then, when you are reassembling the coat into a Bear, you can use the information you learned in disassembling the coat so that you know how to best assemble the Bear.
I love fur Bears so I'm really interested to see how your first fur Bear works out! 
I never thought I would work with real fur since I am an animal lover.
Being an animal lover and liking fur are not mutually exclusive ideas.
The things people do, just waking up in the morning, like washing with soap, making coffee and driving their car to work do more collective damage to the environment, causing the deaths of native animals or preventing the births of new ones, than it would take to make ten fur coats.
Does this mean that I want everybody to like fur? Not at all! The last time I checked, we still lived in a free country. Make up your own mind. I'm just pointing out the fact that people who claim to be "animal lovers" often do not think about what effect their lives have on the lives of the animals they say they love.
I like your attitude of "We might as well put the fur to good use." :thumbsup:
We use cows for food so why not put the leather to good use? There are hundreds of things we use every day that are made from animal by-products. This is the attitude I prefer. We should use the environment wisely. Use animals and animal products for things we need but don't waste them.
The bottom line is that people can care about animals and still use fur.
P.S. -- People use rabbits for food. What happens to all that rabbit fur? I, for one, really like rabbit fur bears. We have several and they get petted often!
As for sewing leather and fur. Be sure to use a "Glover's needle."
Regular, round needles don't work on leather and fur very well. They are hard to push through and they don't make good stitches. A "Glover's needle" is flat and has sharp edges with a sharpened triangular point. It doesn't pierce the leather. It slices through.
When you get fur to work with you should check it three ways: Bend it, feel it and smell it.
Bend the leather to see if it is still soft and supple. If it is not, the leather will eventually crack and fall apart.
Feel the fur to see if it is still soft. Old, improperly cared for fur will be stiff and coarse. Good fur will be soft and the hairs will not fall out. If you have any hair falling out, the fur is past its prime.
Finally, smell the fur. Does it smell rich and "musky" like leather? Or, does it smell like a dead animal? If the fur smells bad, it is probably beginning to rot.
I'm with you. Making Bears out of fur is hard.
I've seen furriers make Bears out of fur and the construction is good but the Bears, themselves, are lacking.
I've seen Bearmakers make Bears out of fur and the design is good but the construction isn't great.
People who can make well-designed, well constructed Bears out of fur are, as you say, "Like unto God." 
To quote Thomas Edison:
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
The unique aspects of the work are what's copyrighted.
Other people can make Bears and sell them but the features of the face, body, clothing, character and name are what makes one Bear different than another. That is what's copyrighted.
They can't take the design of your Bear and change one thing and call it a new work.
You can make a plush mouse character but you can't make one that looks like Mickey Mouse. Not even if you name it "Morty Mouse." Not even if you give it different clothes. It has to be "substantially different."
The problem is that it is the courts that decide what is similar and what is different. It is up to the copyright holder to pursue a claim if he thinks he is being copied.
Patents are different. They cover a device or a method of doing something. If another person can create a device or a process that does the same thing as yours but does it in a different way, they can sell the item but they can't just rearrange the parts and avoid being sued.
Copyrights protect the physical manifestation of a thought or idea. It's not good enough to simply change things around. You have to make something that is different.
First the baking soda thing is an urban legend. It is a very well advertised legend but there is very little truth to it.
Baking soda is an alkaline substance. Alkaline substances will neutralize acids but there are very few smelly things that are acid. Therefore, baking soda can neutralize a few odors but not very many.
The idea of using baking soda is little more than an advertising gimmick, designed by the Arm and Hammer company to sell more product.
We have adopted more than a few smelly Bears over the years. The best thing for a Bear with smelly fur is fresh air and sunshine. Put your Bear in a place with lots of air circulation and let him air out. If that doesn't work, give him a Bear Bath.
There are several companies who make special Bear Bath for your plush friends. It's liquid soap, basically.
Mix up some Bear Bath in some warm but not hot water. Saturate a clean, white wash cloth in the liquid and wring it out so it's no longer dripping. Wipe your Bear's fur with the wet cloth. Carefully rub, so as not to damage the fur. DO NOT saturate his base fabric! Be SURE his stuffing doesn't get soaked! When he's all clean, take another wet cloth and wipe away the soap and suds. Let the Bear dry in a warm, ventilated place.
If you can't find special Bear Bath, use a mild soap. Woolite or Johnson's Baby Shampoo. We sometimes use Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap. (The non-scented "Baby Mild" kind. Not the peppermint kind!)
Find a spot on the Bear where it won't be conspicuous and test his fur for colorfastness. If any color comes off on the cloth, his fur isn't color fast. Proceed carefully or, better, don't proceed at all.
When Bear is dry, use a soft hair brush, like the kind you use to brush a baby's hair except it should never be used on humans. (The oil from a human's hair will get into the Bear's fur.) Gently brush and fluff up the Bear's fur. He should be good as new.
If the Bear's fur still smells, use Fabreeze. Lightly mist his fur then rub it in with your hands. Let him dry in an airy place. That should get rid of any leftover smells. Use Fabreeze as a last resort.
Really, the best thing to de-smell a Bear's fur is time.
As I said, Alibaba is a scam and nothing but.
It's supposed to be a "business to business" marketing site where you can contact companies that make things and have your order filled at wholesale quantities and prices. However, it's really little more than a bunch of crooks who take peoples' money and are never heard of again.
Alibaba = SCAM.
"These aren't the droids you're looking for."
As they say, "Measure twice. Cut once!" ;)
One time, when I was a kid, I was helping my dad fix the roof. He carried the same board up and down the ladder three times. Finally, he looked down from the roof and shouted, "I cut this darn board three times but it's STILL too short!"
99% of everything on Alibaba is a Chinese scam. The first big clue should be that they only take payment via Western Union.
Alibaba = SCAM.
Just from looking a the pictures, I think the Bear can be saved. His head looks all right. His arms look all right. It seems that only his left leg is really damaged and he's been unstuffed. If he goes to a Bear doctor, I think he can be put back together.
If some of his material is torn it might be possible to patch him from the inside by temporarily turning him inside out and sewing material over the damaged parts then putting him back together. Given his age, I think he would be happy to be restuffed, regardless of damage.
If his material can't be patched or oversewn, I would recommending cutting out the torn parts at the nearest seam and replacing it with new material that matches the original as closely as possible. Then take the old material, roll it up and stuff it inside the Bear when he gets his new stuffing.
This is not an easy job by any means but, with time and effort, I think he can be made whole again.
Stretch, I suggest you take a look around on this site and visit the websites of a few of the Bearmakers who have their profiles listed. Look at their work and decide who's style you like best. Make a list of two or three Bearmakers who you like and contact them by e-mail. Ask them if they are willing to be a Bear doctor for you.
Many of the Bearmakers who come here are busy, especially this time of year. They are all gearing up for Christmas. But, if you are patient and can pay somebody to do the work for you, I think your Bear will come out none the worse for wear.
Seriously! That machine's got steel gears inside. Most consumer grade machines made today have plastic gears that won't last more than a few years with regular use. With reasonable care, your machine will be in working condition longer than you will.
As you said, that sewing machine will sew multiple layers of leather. Sewing plush would be like cotton candy. ;)
Anybody who would get rid of a machine like that has to have an I.Q. lower than room temperature. 
Major score! :thumbsup:
Any Bear or plush friend would be proud to have been made on such a fine, old sewing machine! :cool:
I thought only guys fell victim to G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) 
"Broccoli! Yuck!"
Thanks! :)
Carving pumpkins has always been my favorite part of Halloween.
Passing out candy for Trick or Treat is a lot of fun, too. We live on a corner so we're kind of a lookout point for neighborhood watch. We only ever had one, very minor problem in almost ten years.
We didn't have quite as many Trick or Treaters this years because the weather was crummy. :(
We did, however, get two kids in Bear costumes! :cool:
One was a Care Bear. The other was Fozzy Bear from the Muppet Show.
Of course, kids in Bear costumes always get extra treats from us! 
I always like to see your photos, Peter. They are always creative and the lighting always shows off the Bears' fur.
I took Oliver's photo with my digicam. There's no sense in developing film then scanning it if you're not going to use the actual photo. Oliver downloaded his picture and imported it into Adobe Illustrator. Then he used the "Live Trace" feature to vectorize it into outlines. He used "Live Paint" to color it at three levels. Brights, mids and darks. The result gets scaled for size and printed out on paper.
I hollowed out the pumpkin. The Bears don't like to get pumpkin innards in their fur! 
Take a sharp-edged spoon and scrape the pumpkin shell until it's about an inch thick. If you have a thick-walled pumpkin and you don't do this, it's hard to carve. Once it's hollowed out, wash it with warm water then wipe it down, inside and out with a paper towel soaked with rubbing alcohol. Afterward, use more towels to dry the pumpkin, inside and out, very well. If you don't wash and dry your pumpkin the dirt and bacteria will cause it to rot very quickly. Done properly, your pumpkin can last a week or more, provided you keep it cool.
Next, we affixed the paper pattern to the pumpkin with cellophane tape. Sometimes you have to cut slots in the corners of the pattern to get it to bend around the curve of the pumpkin. Use a small nail or the point of an old ballpoint pen and poke little holes in the pattern, into the pumpkin. Basically, you're making a "connect the dots" game out of your pattern. When you're done, take a "Sharpie" marker and trace your lines so you know where to cut.
Remember how I said you make your pattern with brights mids and darks? In the areas that are bright, color them in with the marker. You don't have to be perfect. This is only to remind you what parts of the pumpkin to cut. In the areas that are middle, draw hash marks. Leave the dark areas alone.
This is the part where the Bears leave me to do the most of the work. We don't let them play with sharp instruments.
Use a sharp utility knife to cut half way through the pumpkin shell, outlining the middle. Next, carefully cut away the pumpkin skin, leaving the light colored flesh underneath intact. What's going to happen is that you'll make these parts translucent. The light from the candle with show through. The parts where you don't cut away anything will be dark. You have just created your mids and your darks. Finally, cut out the colored in parts where you want the brights to be.
Instead of using a knife to cut out the pumpkin, we use a thin coping saw blade. Cut it off short so that it's about 2 or 3 inches long. Wrap one end up in duct tape to make a handle. They make kits that have ready-made pumpkin cutters but we just use things that we already have around the house. Why buy something that you already have?
When you're done, you'll have pumpkins that look like this:
When you light the candle and turn off the lights, they look like this:
It's not that hard once you get the idea how to do it. It just takes a bit of work to do it. I figure most of you guys are used to doing these kinds of things for the sake of art so I feel all right about telling you all the steps in detail.
When I was a kid, my father taught me how to carve pumpkins like this but he was a good artist. He was a cartoonist before I was born. He used to draw faces on pumpkins freehand. I can sketch a little bit but I never got good enough to do that.
I saw pumpkin patterns in the store one Halloween, several years ago and I figured out how they make them. Now, me and the Bears create them on the computer.
We always have the best pumpkins in the neighborhood. Me and the Bears feel proud when people comment on them.
Thanks for letting me tell you how to do it. Maybe some of you guys can do it next year. Me and the Bears would really like to see what you guys can come up with.
Thanks! :)
Every year one of the bears gets his picture carved into a pumpkin. This year it was Oliver's turn. He's the Bear sitting to the right of the pumpkin on the right. He is a difficult Bear to carve because all the detail in his fur is what makes his picture stand out. We used a lemon zester and a utility knife to cut the fur detail. It was tough but it turned out well. Oliver is pleased with his pumpkin. 
The other pumpkin is a Coca Cola polar bear. It was probably the most ambitious carving we have done. We didn't think it would turn out but, when you turn the lights off and light the candle, it looks really good.
We're glad you like our pumpkins! :)
Does anybody else have any pumpkin pictures to post? We bet all you Bear artists must have some cool pumpkins too! 
Here's our annual Halloween pumpkin and group picture for this year:
Happy Halloween!
P.S. - Post your Halloween pictures here too!
A doggie trio! :dance:
A dog plays the piano and sings! :D
Hi everybody! Thanks for your responses!
We have a couple of people in line for the item already. We're starting at the top of the list and working our way down until we find a home for it.
You guys are great! :)
Randy S & Bears
This is now my desktop picture!
We have a neat Teddy Bear wall hanging that needs to find a good home:
Entitled "Why are Teddy Bears Sew Lovable?"
We think it's important for this to go to a "Bear Person." Since it's about sewing, who better to have it than somebody who sews Bears?
The image size size is 36 in. tall by 22 in wide.
It is printed on muslin fabric. Size of entire fabric is 40 in. tall by 30 in. wide.
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