Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I did wonder if they were too big It's going to have to be a realistic as possible plastic nose then, because I've no idea how to make one from silicone! :D.  I might try those WoodlandBears ones, they look really good, as most of the plastic ones I have found aren't very real looking.

Ah ok I'm with you now, the design and sculpting is what you've done yourself, where as I thought the pieces are pre-bought from doll supply stores   I'm learning loads of stuff here I never knew! As I've never done it before, I'm a bit unsure of trying to sculpt a nose and paw pads myself, and had thought of one of these :

http://www.dreamvisioncreations.com/noses.htm

I'm guessing their soft and squishy, like an actual dog's nose is, and they do look good, but I'm not sure if they'd be small enough?:/

This is the eBay shop I got the fur from:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Funky-Clubwear … 34.c0.m322

Thank you for the stuffing tip , I haven't thought about that yet, because I want to use something that will weigh it realistically, in a similar way to how a reborn baby is weighed.

I'm hoping not to turn the legs inside out, following Elli's clever idea of leaving them undone to fit the armature in easier, then stitching them closed after :).

SilverClaw your chihuahua is amazing!! It's fab the way you can bend him so realistically to lie down and roll over! I love his tiny paws,  did you paint them or glue them on? And where did you get his nose? I've found here that make noses:

http://www.woodlandteddies.co.uk/noses.htm

But it's the only place I've found so far. Yours looks super realistic!

I haven't given up on my pom, I found one more fur to try on eBay, so I've been waiting for it to to arrive. It's turned up in the post this afternoon, and I'm very happy with it. It's the exact same 'toffee' colour as the Minerva craft one, but its a fair bit longer and thicker as its 75mm pile:

I haven't tried clipping it yet, but I think its actually the same stuff, just longer, which is better for a pom coat, so should clip the same as the other did.

From the US company the armature would be £18 all in, from Probear £25, so it just depends on which will take longer to arrive :P.

I have cut out the pattern dog this afternoon, the one's 8.5" and one's 9.5" so I'm using the slightly bigger one. I've made the legs and nose much finer:

Are they too thin? I've tried to stay in proportion, but a pom is really fine and dainty so they can't be too big :lol:.

Thanks Eli, I'll have a go at a test dog, to make sure it fits, as you say, its hard to judge from a paper pattern :lol:.

I will definitely make a loop for the paws, but should the head be made into a loop as well, or left like the wire in my pic?

Thanks Elli :). The fabric has a bit of 'give' in it, but it's not really stetchy. Obviously it would tear if you pulled it hard enough though like any other cloth

I've started on the wire armature this afternoon, and I know it needs to be made as straight as possible, but should it be bent to size/shape first like this:

If I cut it like that, it would likely be too short when stretched out, so if I pull it straight and cut, will it then go back into the right size when put in the doll?

( I know its meant to run up higher in the body than the pic shows, but its a 4ft piece of wire and it was tricky enough keeping that little bit in place )

I got it from here:

http://www.minervacrafts.com/lpf-60-wid … lours.html

It's the long pile toffee colour, I paid 99p for a sample piece, and the image picture was a very good representation of the actual fur ( the closest of all the samples I've had). On the sample I've got they've just cut a square out so its shorter on the bottom, but with a big piece It'll hopefully look better all over

Thanks for that link, as I was going to get lockline, thinking 1/4 would be small enough! Daft question, but presumably that company will ship to the UK and its just me who can't find the shipping prices/info?

Its obviously not as thick as the the fauxthrow ones, but it has clipped down ok:

I've used one of the shortest blades on the corner, and it looks ok, can't shape the longer hairs as I still can't use the scissors, but the colour remains the same throughout:

The depth of the fur:

If you pull it sideways it stretches, like the other ones I've got do, but it doesn't if you pull it top to bottom, not sure if that's a problem or not :/.

I think I will stay with this fur, because the baby prop throw, although a good length of fur, is £26, and I wouldn't be able to clip it to test first, and in the pics, it does look darker at the base. I don't really want to pay that much for something that only might work.

Yay, I've finally found a fur that is both the right length and colour!   It's the 'toffee' one from Minerva crafts:

And its the same colour throughout so it will clip ok:

Does anyone know what their fabrics are like to work with? And if a normal sewing needle is strong enough to sew it, or if the thread should be as close a match as possible, or dark so its easy to see?

Thanks for the link SilverClaw, if the next samples are no good, it looks like it'll have to be a dye job, so I'll go and check out how to do that :).

As an aside from the fur for a bit, I've been looking up the lockline. Is the 1/4" size big enough or do I need to go up to the 1/2"? I had thought of putting it right into the tail, but after a think decided it might be better to just put the electric cable in the tail, or it'll be too big and not feel right.

Thanks Elli :). Still all wrapped up, but my samples from fabric online arrived earlier:

The cream:

Beige frosted:

Compared with the polar bear:

There's not that much difference between the cream and the PB, not enough to pay £30 for anyway! And it still looks too white. The beige frosted is almost perfect, but it might clip darker and it's not really long enough. So I'm still looking for the right fur! :wacko:

As I'm finding it so difficult to find the right fur, would something like this work?:

http://www.babypropshop.co.uk/faux-furs-page-2/

And a bigger image of I think the same colour:

http://www.babypropshop.co.uk/faux-furs … -faux-fur/

Elli that is a great diagram  and thanks for explaining :). My brother has indeed got wire, and I was going to get started on the frame, but unfortunately I had an accident whilst walking the dog this afternoon, I fell and impaled a tree root in my hand, and now I'm all bandaged up in a sling :(. So now I'm completely out of action for at least a week or two, (though I'm hoping I can at least sort the fur out over the phone) and typing with one hand is really difficult,so if I don't reply for a while its not because I've disappeared, forgotten or given up, I'm still gaining a lot of info and knowledge off you all, I just can't answer very easily for a while :(.

Thanks Elli, that picture is very helpful :). I'm sure I can get hold of insulated wire, because my brother does electrical work and usually has loads of it! With regards to the backbone, do you thread the locklite onto the wire itself?

Thank you Dannelle for that :).

Elli, thanks for explaining about the pattern, I'm going to use the original, as the other one is slightly too small.

What type of wire should be used in the armature? I've found a roll of garden wire, but it's very fine and a little bit rusty, so I'm not sure if its ok to use or not. I don't want the rust spoiling the wire inside a few months after putting it in. And what size should it roughly be? For example, if the actual fur doll is 9" high and 8" long, should the wire be 7" high and 6" long, or does it need to be even smaller, to compensate for the wadding being around it?

I've also had a reply back off mohairbears about the 'blush', saying its more pink than cream, so that one is completely out of the question.

I've printed out the pattern this afternoon, and its got a 5cm scale next to it. So as it was slightly over 5cm when I printed it, I made copies shrunk down until the scale line measured exactly 5cm, thinking that would make it deadly accurate all over. However, when measuring the actual pattern to the shoulder, the bang on accurate one is only 8", whilst the one that's out is 9" 2cm, and now I'm a bit unsure which to use :/. Is the original print ok even though the scale is a bit out? Or do I need to use the accurate but smaller one?

The ice cream looks more white like the polar bear, but if it actually is cream, then its certainly one that will go in my consideration pile :P. With the beige frosted, wouldn't it go dark brown once it's clipped, as it looks like its darkish with lighter tips on the longer hairs?

I might try the mohair if they allow returns, which they should seeing as you can't actually see it properly before buying it. I have now ordered a sample of the fabrics online, so we'll see what its like. If it's the biscuity cream it seems to be in the picture, which I hope it is, I'll probably get that, even if it is £30.

I don't really want to mark the fur with paint/ink, I didn't even know you could, so I'm afraid of spoiling it! As I'm a newbie at this I'd rather start with fur that is ok as it is, at least for the first time.

Francesca, your little dog is adorable, and thank you for the link :). The 85mm mohair, is it straight or wavy? And the way you pay for it, about how much would 1/4 cost?

Well mohairbearsupplies don't supply samples, so they've just told me in an email. So I guess that means unless I pay £7 for the smallest piece, I won't be able to see what its like :(.

Out of interest, I've just had a try of clipping the coyote one, and whilst it does get rid of the darker brown bits, it makes it shorter, which is no good. If I phone them up and ask, do you think they could send me a piece with as little of the brown on as possible?

I might phone them about the coyote one, it really does look different in their web pic.

I've found this one:

http://www.fabric-online.co.uk/content/ … longhaired

Which will send a sample, so I think I'll ask for one of that one too. Its expensive compared to the others, but I really would like to get the colour as I want it, otherwise I'm not going to be happy with it as it won't be 'right' :P.

This is the colour pom I'm trying to get:

http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/classifieds … haven.html

http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+ … entDetails (click the inactive advert link to bring up the picture)

Thanks SilverClaw for explaining that, I actually thought the black stuff was the wire .

I have received my swatches from fauxfur, and unfortunately the coyote one is not suitable after all, it's nowhere near the creamish tan showed in the pic:

The back, which is two toned:

Its a shame because its lovely and long, and the cream it does have is perfect (would make a lovely cream sable pom), but it's mainly more brown than cream :(. I've just found this on their site though:

http://www.fauxthrow.com/gallery_image. … 5e0fdd.jpg

Which says its made with the coyote fur, yet it looks far more like cream than the swatch I got? It's the sort of colour I'm actually after too.

The polar bear one, is nice enough and the same all the way through:

They feel so soft and realistic!

I'm not sure whether to just use the polar bear one, even though it's not really the colour I wanted, or ask mohairbearsupplies for a sample of the 'blush' and 'tan' ones :/.

Yes I'll keep you updated! You've all been extremely helpful, and I've learnt and learning new skills and techniques that I had no idea about, or even heard of! It's also rather addictive, because not only can I not wait to get started, if it works out alright, I'm already thinking of doing another :wacko:.

I've just had a thought and wondered if I could combine the two methods, make the pattern using the sew inside out method, then making up a model using the tape method, to put inside the 'skin'? As I also want an armature that will hold up to posing well. SilverClaw, it looks like you've wrapped the wire all over your chi, almost like a wire topiary frame, is that how you get it sturdy enough? Will it still be cuddly like that? And if you cover it in tape, can you hear it crunching when you hold/pose the doll? Don't want it to sound like a pop bottle in a Jiffy bag!:D

Thank you both for the pictures, they are really, really helpful to visualise the different steps :). SilverClaw, your idea of making the frame and then basically encasing it in the fur, is fab!   Now I'm not sure whether to try that, or use the pattern I found, but with Elli's idea of leaving the back and legs open, as for now, I don't feel confident enough to stitch it from the outside, I'd rather turn it inside out so its mostly hidden for the time being! :P

I have ordered some swatches from fauxfur, 2 of each so that I can clip one down to see what its like against the unclipped one. Provided it looks right, I think the coyote one will be the one I use, it's the only one long enough. I've no idea where people get the really long straight fur from for dolls like that Peke and Maltese, I'm thinking that maybe they use hair extensions somehow, possibly dyed and cut to be suitable.

I really like the coyote coloured one, it looks very real, and has longer hairs in it, which would look good for a pom coat. I don't mind the head/nose and legs being slightly different in shading, real dogs often are once the longer hair is clipped down, just as long as its not too different.

Out of interest though, would you say the polar bear one is white or cream, if you actually have that one in front of you to compare?

Elli - I am going to request a sample of each of those two I think, those furs are definitely the best I have seen so far, from what I can tell off a snippet on screen anyway :P.

I've just had a look at that site, this:

http://fauxthrow.com/faux-fur-remnants- … ux-fur.htm

Looks good, but again, I'm not sure if it would clip to a different shade?

Or this one :

http://fauxthrow.com/faux-fur-remnants- … ux-fur.htm

The fabrics on there look really nice and natural.

Thanks for the link Dangerbears, I won't bother with those two fabrics then, incase its too fake looking.

This was the only other one I could find that looks nice:

http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/15893657 … s%2Ffabric

It looks light cream-ish in the picture, but I'm not sure how accurate it is :/.