Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

An interesting question Thomas.

As you mention, you're not alone in carrying a bear to help with anxiety. Was it in WWI when soldiers went into battle with little "mascot bears" in their coat pockets?

For me, my love of bears is an extension of my love of all kinds of stuffed animals, which in turn is related to my love of real animals. (They probably reinforced each other as I was growing up.)

I guess that this does affect my bear designs in that I like bears (cats. dogs, etc.) that I feel comfortable picking up, holding on my lap as I nervously watch presidential election returns, or even taking to bed to help me fall asleep. (Like you, Thomas, I find it very relaxing to hug a bear.) If the bear is really shelf art - with an exquisite outfit or extensive ornamentation around its neck - I can appreciate it, but I personally don't enjoy it as much.

I'd love to hear what others say about this! There are so many different sorts of bears out there. There must be many different feelings about them, too.

Becky

I'm honored, Thomas! Of course you can use Buddy as a model bear:)

You are very observant when it comes to the teddy. With this particular one, I just noticed the same thing you mention about the black glass eye - it catches the light in such interesting ways. Sometimes I think I see a pupil. At other times a mischievous or affectionate glance.

Now I have to comment on your collection: They have the most interesting names! We knew about Stitchy already (what a lovely bear!), and now Bringy the elephant. So charming!

With my best,
Becky

Hi Thomas,

Buddy has a lot of things I like in a bear. He has rather straight (not curvy chicken-leg type) arms and legs, and maybe you can't see it in the photo, but his torso is more substantial. (I like some girth to the tummy and butt - on bears, especially!) Then, he's made with a very nice kid mohair that I'd used once before, and I think it complements his form well. Very huggable. And the head just worked out nicely (I'm still working out the mysteries of head shape - which pattern shapes will give which finished result).

I'm interested in what you notice about him. What made you ask the question? (He's going to be one of two, by the way, since I've cut out another just like him from the same fabric.)

Becky

I can see why she's such a flirt. That fancy red hair probably gives her a lot of self-confidence:)

Becky

Lovely! That's a lot of character and expressiveness in a very small package.

Becky

Delightful photos! The bright blue paw pads are nice; Did you dye those to match, or does somebody sell a fabric in that color?

Becky

Wonderful, all of them! (Franklin makes me want to curl up and take a nice nap.) I admire the shading you do around the noses.

Becky

Hi Jenn,

I just did a quick search on eBay and found quite a few cute vintage postcards with teddy bear images. some I found with a keyword search, and others in the antique teddy bear category under "postcard."

Good luck!

And thank you, Maria, for the Alaskan website. What a wonderful variety of pics of North American wildlife!

Becky

She's a very contemplative sort, isn't she? Wonderful work!

Becky

I ran across a website with lovely photos of black bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, polar bears... Copy and paste the following URL into your web browser. Enjoy!

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Pictu … graphs_11a

Becky

Those are lovely little ears:)

Becky

So Peter is the lucky new dad! Congratulations on the adoption:)

Becky

Thanks to you both:) Thomas, your post gave me a big smile, as usual. I'm almost there, and should have two or three for sale by the end of June.

Best,
Becky

Yes - the color is gorgeous, and the way the thick wavy fur works with his big huggable girth - so harmonious! I envy the bear's new paw - I mean "pa"! (Sorry. Who can resist a bear pun now and again?)

Becky

Here's my latest. Buddy is made of curly kid mohair, stuffed with mohair wool and excelsior, and is nice and heavy. (He's staying here with me:)

Becky

Great tips! I know that the topic got away from Michele's kapok question, but it's been very interesting to read about all the stuffing options and to find some good suppliers.

Thanks to everyone!

Becky

He's gorgeous, Judi! A lovely homage to the real-life cub Christian and to cats in general.

Becky

Just a follow-up to the topic:

I jointed a bear last night and tried doing it with the lower part of the leg partially stuffed (up to the opening where the joint needed to go in). That, along with the bubble wrap inside the body so I could see the sitting form better, got me a pretty good result on the first try.

Thanks for the advice, and if anyone has another tip to add, I'd love to hear it!

Best regards,
Becky

Thank you, Michele, for the tip on cotton stuffing. I'll check out Gerry's.

Like you, I want my bears to feel old. I recently tried wool stuffing in a bear's head, and I love the weight and firmness. It also takes to shaping and needle sculpting much better than the polyfill. It is pretty costly, however. (The search goes on!)

Best,
Becky

The post is in the right place now. I found it in "Technical Help" this morning. (Not sure why.)

If you do try the Colorado kapok source, or if you find another source that you like, could you please let me know? I might like to try an alternative to polyfill.

Best regards,
Becky

Hi Michele,

This link is from an Internet search, not someone I've worked with, but the price looks good. They're in the US: http://www.zafudesigns.com/pages/kapok_ … DAodtlirdw

You might try your post in the Tips & Techniques section rather than here, though. More members might see it there.

Good luck!
Becky

Your way makes more sense to me. That's the way the bottoms of my feet look, anyway, with the instep on the inside!

Best,
Becky

Thanks, Eva,

It's that "bottom of the leg is even with the bottom part of the body" that seems tricky to me, in other words, how far up or down on the body to put the joint.

Probably another one of those "practice makes perfect" things.

Best regards,
Becky

Hi Thomas and Lee Ann,

I recently switched from cotter pin joints to lock-nut and bolt (just for the arms and legs) because I couldn't get consistent tightness with the cotter pins.

I can definitely see the logic of having the leg stuffed or partially stuffed before trying to determine the position. I'll try partially stuffing the leg but leaving the seam open so that I can tighten the joint. (I've also been putting a couple of pieces of bubble wrap inside the body during the jointing process so I can get an idea of how the bear will sit in 3-D.)

Does anyone else have trouble with this? It seems like such a small variation in the joint position can have a big effect on the bear.

Thanks,
Becky