Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Such a sweet sleepy bear!! You did a really wonderful job on the shading I love the toes and eyes too!

Really beautiful bears Tami!! Loved reading about them too! Congratulations!!!!!!

Wow!! Perfect little bunny!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Hi Ev,
I've never done a four part head like you mentioned , I'm sure that the other bear makers can help you with that.. but from my experience working with a gusset I think that it just makes the head/ snout wider... the side pieces themselves seem to be what make the nose longer so I would think that if you were to just shorten the front part of your side pieces and leave the gusset the same width but end it where the side pieces end then it should help.. I'm still pretty new to bear making so please correct me if I'm wrong...

Hes adorable..!!! Love him!!   

WOW! He is really a handsome little bear! His nose, face, expression, paws, everything perfect!  :dance:  :clap:

Thank you all!! I couldn't have gotten this far without your help!!  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Karenaus- I didn't think working with the fur was really any harder than mohair, the actual steps to prepare it is time consuming though... I doubt if I would do it again just because I can't needle felt on it but I think you should definetly give it a try!!! I will probably have a lot of big scraps left over, just let me know if you want them!  :hug:

Thank you all for your wonderful tips!!! As I started my first mink bear I referrenced back to this page often  :hug: . I finally finished the head... its definetly not perfect and hes a little odd looking bear but he is lined properly, needlefelted only where I put in the insert muzzle, and sewn with the right needles  ! I've only just begun and so far this has been a great learning experience!

So sorry to hear about your dad... I hope he gets better soon.
How generous of Ali, it must have been so difficult to part with such a sweet puppy!        Hope things are looking brighter for you!

Congratulations!!! :clap:  Your little bears do look very happy on display there! Perhaps this will make even more people interesting in making bears  :dance:

Wow he is great!!!! So sweet   

Adorable!!!! This is one of my favorite dragons !!!!!      

Adorable! I love your pandas!      

Very cute!!!!     

Here are the pictures as promised. 

Thank you all again for the helpful bear making tips and moral advice!

Tami- You were right about those being fur strips, as I started to take the coat apart I got a better look at them and I see now that it is not a lining. I think I will give it a try, and if it doesn't work out maybe I can find someone who makes fur bears that would like the remaining pieces.

Thondra- The coat has a lot more holes in it than I first realized.. and a lot of duct tape  . I think I'll line it like you did. You said that you solved the problem by inserting in a muzzle, was the muzzle you inserted needle felted that you then sewed on? I've heard of people doing this... but I haven’t seen what this technique actually looks like on a bear.

Gabriele- Thank you for the tips, the clay nose is a great idea!!! I hope I can at least make something from this coat so that it doesn't all go to waste  .

Us bears- I agree with you completely, being an animal lover means more than just avoiding fur coats and pelts. I take a lot of extra steps to protect the environment and I try my best to do my part. I rarely eat meat (never red meat), I bike whenever I can instead of driving, no coffee for me  , all of my household appliances are energy savers, and I volunteer and donate regularly at my local animal shelter. I was hesitant because I am so cautious about the environment and honestly know little to nothing about how antique fur coats are created.  Hopefully through recycling this old coat I can gain more knowledge about the process as well as preserve and honor the lives of these specific animals. Thank you for the information about the needles, I had no idea regular ones wouldn’t work. The fur seems to be in good condition just going by the advice you gave me, so hopefully things will go as smoothly as they possibly can 

Hi everyone, I hope you all had happy holidays! I went up north this Christmas to visit my relatives, no snow but it was still really fun! I gave away the last two bears I own to my grandparents, they loved them . I was surprised however to get an old antique mink coat in return.. I never thought I would work with real fur since I am an animal lover. This coat has a lot of holes in it and no one else in my family wants it so I decided I would rather put the fur to good use than just see it thrown away in the trash. I think turning the coat into a bear would be a better way of honoring the animal. So now that I've got my morals sorted out I have no idea what to do with this thing. I can't really tell if it already has a lining... the back looks like thin strips (pencil width that run all the way up the coat) sewn together. If this is a liner on the back and not the actual leather & fur then do I need to reline it or should I just sew it how it is? I'll attach some pictures of the coat as soon as I can so that maybe you real fur experts out there can help a newbie like me!   Another thing I was wondering is if it's possible to needle felt on real fur...?
Thank you all for your help!! I really do appreciate it! :hug:

I missed what happened last year with the bears since I had just joined Teddy Talk around that time... it is very sad to hear about what happened to Hope... how could anyone be so cruel? I just now checked out Lucky and Honey's den, it is very cool to see the bears in there sleeping but at the same time I don't feel that it is right to invade their privacy. Although, it defiantly could be put into good use for educational purposes.. I plan on being a veterinarian (either for wild or domestic i'm not sure yet) when I get older; I doubt that I would be treating many bears but you never know.. 

Very funny!!  :crackup:  And so cute too!! Love it!

Very cute    love his nose!

He is my favorite yet!! I love his outfit   

Thank you Sheree!  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Thank you all for your kind words!!  :hug:  :hug:  :hug: