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So my aunt and I brought home a stray dog we found in the middle of nowhere, to try to find his owners, and the dog ripped the head off of my recently-acquired alpaca-fur dog (made from alpaca pelts, from Peru). 
Alpaca is such a unique fur, and it seems to be pretty hard to find compared to other furs. Does anyone know of a good "substitute" that I can use to make a replacement head? Something dense but also mid-length and fluffy?
He's MOST satisfactory. 
Not quite the same fur, but still pleasant. And he's got such a chummy smile. 
He certainly looks soft and snuggly and at 26" he will be a wonderfully huggable hunk of a bear. :love:
I know! He's my birthday present to myself. I've been searching for another animal with the same kind of fur as my Folkmanis rabbit (the white fur, not the coarser brown fur), and this looks really close. I'm thrilled!
My latest eBay acquisition:
26" head to foot. He should be here tomorrow. I'm hoping that he'll be as soft and snuggly as my Folkmanis rabbit.
So I bought another Spinoza bear from ebay, because I didn't see a knob on his chest and I thought he was some kind of later, post-walkman incarnation. Turns out the walkman and speaker had been removed, and the hole from the knob in his chest is still present. How would YOU go about fixing this, to ensure durability and a pleasing appearance? Ladder-stitch a patch of contrasting fur over the hole? Or attempt to darn it? Some other way that I haven't thought of? I really like the bear, because his fur is unusually soft, but the hole worries me. I'm concerned that it might start to fray over time.
Well, I scoured Etsy and found this REALLY cool one:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/245936706/ … rn-stuffed
and this ENORMOUS one:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/162433973/ … _gallery_3
I'm considering the latter in this "luxury shag" faux fur:
https://www.fabric.com/buy/0260777/faux … shag-camel
Though 4' might be a little too big, so I'd try to resize to about 3'. I think the first pattern would be too advanced for me, but judi lynn's patterns look pretty manageable.
https://i.reddituploads.com/c02dba76469 … de5cd71287
I'd love to make a similar cat (for myself), but haven't had any luck finding a realistic pattern. Any suggestions?
He's GREAT! His back feet actually already have beans in them, and his front feet are stuffed. The puppet feature is his mouth, which is really cute. And his white fur is deliciously soft! Brown fur, not so much, except on his face, but that's fine. All in all, I love him!
(Plush, since a real one is out of the question). It's a retired Folkmanis:
I'm going to stuff him and sew the puppet opening closed, since I won't be using him as a puppet at all. He's so realistic-looking! And big- 20" or so. I had been considering a Dakin, but I fell for this one because of his face (that nose! those pudgy cheeks!), and I can understuff him and put some pellets in his pawsto make him juuust right. He hasn't arrived yet, but I can't wait!
I love the red one! I definitely need a red bear in my collection.
What an endearing face!
Good to know it's possible, and what a beautiful blue boy!
Becky
I know! I really love these old carnival bears, because they're so bright and fluffy. "In person" there's even a certain sheen to the fur, and it's surprisingly fine. I wonder if there are any modern equivalents?
About washing faux fur- I did successfully handwash some of that antique plush that you find on German carnival bears:
Mine was golden yellow, but very dirty and matted. I disassembled him to work on him, since he was stuffed with excelsior. Careful washing and combing yielded excellent results. Warm water, not hot; gentle soap; and line dry.
I also washed my vintage Avanti bear, and he came out as good as new after line drying and brushing.
Okay, that's helpful to know. I'll spring for an acrylic one. Now I'm just torn between the twin size (I have a twin bed, and there probably won't be as much overhang as I would like) and this gorgeous, huge, super heavy one (about 14 more inches, and 14 pounds!!):
No, it's short and dense, almost velvety. Cold wash, line dry is what I'm planning to do.
Okay, technically this isn't bear-related, but I figured folks on this forum would know more about faux fur than your average...bear (couldn't help myself). ;)
Is it true that polyester fur isn't as durable as acrylic fur, and won't hold up to washing as well? I'm looking to buy one of those faux mink/plush blankets, and I've read the above, but I'm skeptical that the source (a blanket website) is just trying to sucker me into a more expensive acrylic blanket. So is there any truth to the claim? Will polyester fur matt/shed/pill/fray more than acrylic, or is there no difference?
These are so cute!
I love the daily animal photos. They're a great pick-me-up.
Oh, wow, I just want to brush that white mane and tail forever...
Look at those spindly little toothpick-legs! 
Mickey's fantastic! Red bears are so striking.
Yes. He IS very huggable. He takes up a whole armchair, all by himself! And he's so incredibly fat!
Wow! How did that woman get so lucky as to be able to actually HOLD a baby panda?! I want her job!
He's amazing! His fur looks so wispy and soft!
Yes, Peter, that's about right.
