Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Thank you everyone for the really encouraging words!

This bear is staying with me, but it warms my heart that someone else might want him:)

I'll post more photos soon, and I hope to have a few bears ready for sale later this year. (No website yet, but maybe that's the next step.)

With my best,
Becky

I'm curious about liability. If your bears are not child-safe and you're selling to adult collectors, what's an adequate way to make that fact clear and protect yourself from the (admittedly unlikely) possibility of someone blaming you for an unfortunate bear-related accident?

I simply must add - those toenails!!! And a wonderful piece all-around:)

Becky

Nice sculpting on the face!

This is my largest bear so far at 22 inches. The beautiful red mohair was from the Norton mill.

One challenge was the cotton velveteen paw pads, which fray like crazy, it turns out. I lined them with fusible interfacing AND used pinking shears to cut them out AND stitched around the outside edge before I attached them to the legs. That worked:)

Best,
Becky

I love the textures! Lovely fur combinations.

Thank you, Joanne!

Your instructions make sense to me, and I'll let you know whether I really understand when I try them out. (Thanks, too, for the compliment. I'm really happy with that bear, too, and I LOVE the fabric!)

Best regards,
Becky

Dear Teddy Talkers,

I've been making traditional mohair teddy bears using patterns for about six months now. I have several good books that have helped me with most every area - except claws! I've also looked through the TT archives, and not found any information on making old-fashioned embroidered claws.

My goal is to make simple, straight-line embroidered claws (maybe four of them per paw as on Steiff bears). Can anyone explain:

1.) At what point in the process do you stitch claws? (Is the limb stitched, but still wrong-side out, or already turned and stuffed? other?)

2.) How can I stitch claws without leaving visible knots?

Thanks very much!

Becky Chase