Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I have some dyes I'd like to try on mohair fabric, and I wondered:

Has anyone here done this well using a crockpot?

The dyes I have are mostly Jacquard, I think, but the problem is the dye store repackages all their dye under their own brand name and the sales person was less than helpful.  And perhaps some colours are faster acting than others, even within the same manufacturer's range?     

My challenge is that both the available stove and the crockpot are electric, and its slightly difficult to know what temp. one is getting with settings like Low-High, and 4-6-8 Hrs!  Is it possible to 'overcook' mohair?  Has anyone tried the microwave oven method?

With acid dying, have you found that adding salt (not sure of amount) assists the dye absorption for the mohair?

And is using a little detergent necessary during or after the dying process to wash out access dye?

Has anyone experienced 'fabric shock' when hand/stove dying, and if so, what was the threshold, do you think, that you crossed that caused it to happen? (silly question, I know, but was it after plunging the fabric immediately into cold water from hot, or how long should one take to cool down the mohair while rinsing?

I'm, like, the teddy bear making nerd!!! :)

Looking forward to your advice, I really, really appreciate it, and its always better to ask FIRST before I start something new; I've learned the hard way!

Cheers and thanks

Brenda

I'd tried out bright yellow eyes but they were too stare-y.  I think these work better!

This fellow is 7" tall.  I like the mussed up little bears, I guess!

He has such a beautiful face!  He's really made me smile today

Barbette

They are all gorgeous!  Is the little brown guy in the front already taken?  I would love to adopt him!  Pls. contact me by direct mail and let me know - teddyretirementhome@gmail.com

:)

Brenda
woo bears!

Wow, I really appreciate the input!

I'm so unsure of showing them that I had completed them 3 weeks ago before I could get up the courage to post them here!

And to hear such encouraging words from folks who are masters really helps me keep at it   I've now got enough mohair in a variety of shades and texture to make a whole whack o' bears, so I'll keep at it and see what or 'who' joins us here ;)

Richard, its funny, when I'm doing something I love I'm so focussed I know where everything is, but the rest of the house looks like a hurricane hit it! hahahah  I actually sit on the couch in the living room sewing, as I have to keep an eye on the French Bulldogs, 3 of whom are under 2, and worse than human kids - these brats will wreck everything.... STILL!

So I have a big plastic container/bin, sort of see-through, with a nice colour-coordinated lid (ROL) that I pretty much chuck everything into for my bear making supplies. I do keep each bear, while working on them in see through plastic bags.  Luckily they're not all the same colour or pattern at any one time, and that also makes it easier to keep track.  If I'm on a roll for muzzles, I'll try to do all 3 or 4 at once, or paw pads, etc.

Everybody, I have to say, after a 25 year creative block (!!!!), I'm really loving this!

Cheers and bests

Brenda
teddyretirementhome

good news: his eyes are only in temporarily, have some lovely hand painted  brown/ochre ones in the mail to me for him

p.s. His straight hair and the center seam give him a sort of Alfalfa from the Our Gang look

gosh, thanks! 

His pink pearl mohair is ultra straight - I found out after making him by washing the remainder that it goes a bit curly at the ends and 'clots' really nicely

Cheers

Brenda
teddyretirementhome

Adorable!  Melisa, you've really got the magic touch :)

Brenda (a fellow Canadian)
teddyretirementhome

He's a skinny, shy little fellow but once he feels more comfortable, he is an interesting little guy 

teddyretirementhome

The funny thing about this guy is I started him 12+ years ago, and gave up mid-bear, and didn't touch him until a couple of months ago...

He's not my pattern but I do love him, he seems an easy going kinda guy :)

teddyretirementhome

Well!

Here is Bear #3, "Blue Monday". I love the mohair, a dense, curly/wavy mohair called Antique Blue.  He's 16" tall.

I know his eyes might seem scary, but I was going for the intense look of the old Bing bears. The flash is blanking out the Copic marker shading I've done - time to photograph him in natural light. Anyway, hope you like him! 

Poor fellow went through the mill: I attached his arms and legs, they weren't in the right place for me.... unstuffed, 2 or 3 sets of arm/leg joints later... a learning experience for his boy shape!

And the guy was blind for 2 months as I waited for different sizes of eyes to show up in the mail... (shaking fist at Canada Post)

teddyretirementhome

Well, here they are, you can see I'm going wild trying out different mohair, and bear styles or types!

I'm working on bears 5-7 as I write, but it takes me ages (4 nosy, bored and silly French Bulldogs trying to steal teddy body parts and all of my bits n bobs while I'm hand sewing doesn't help!

Oops, and another adorably funny looking critter!

The little nudie wombat baby is named Karmann.  Apparently when she's held she likes to wave her paw "hello"

Here ares some more pics of her. To make her, I was thinking a peachy pink kid leather, ultrasuede or velvet? :)I do love wombats - they're so cute and bearish!

Adorable!  What a face!

Brenda
trh

I have two:

the top of my list is getting the expression just right - it may not be what I started off with as a vision, but the bear's personality sort of tells me as I get there....

and #2 (very strangely!) is gently picking out the mohair from the seams with an embroidery needle.  Weird, I know:  I think its because it almost seems like magic when my not-so-great-yet seams become invisible and are camoflaged 

Brenda
trh

What a doll!  Look at the size of his head! 

I find these animal pics so inspiring, they really give me some great ideas for toys that I want to make

Brenda
tbh

Thanks so much for your advice - I have to take these extra steps and be more patient!

The mohair I'm working with is like butter! 

How about Alphabit? Alfie for short - and cos he's just a little bit of a dog (and also cos Chihuahuas can be pretty alpha!)

Cheers

Brenda

I've been having a ball shading some of  my bears with Copic markers that I recently bought.  Love the fact that they appear to be translucent, and love the blending pen.

But the areas that I've shaded, after drying, are kind of crunchy!

Is there a way to fix this, so that the mohair feels the same all over?

Cheers and thanks (again!) 

Brenda
teddyretirementhome

I hear ya, KJ!

I have a very particular purple that I tried to dye some ultrasuede for:  no dice.

Oh well!

Brenda
teddyretirementhome

Hi everybody

I'm so glad that this site exists and everyone is so wonderfully helpful.

I've learned about hand sewing a running backstitch and how it affects the alignment of my mohair pieces and can create a twist to the seam, as well as how it makes the mohair 'travel' so that one side can end up shorter than the other.

So! Today I've been trying to machine sew a bear on my trusty Singer Featherweight. The mohair is quite thick and curly/wavy. My problem now is:

Even though I pin the sides together very carefully - not too frequently or too little - and the fabric edges are aligned, the fabric pieces slide, but not together equally.  Waah!

Any suggestions on how to keep the mohair pieces from sliding against each other while I have it going through the sewing machine?  I do guide the fabric through but I don't fight against the feed.

Thanks so much in advance, teddy angels!

Brenda
teddyretirementhome