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Swan Valley Bears Oct 8, 2006

When I stuff my bear's head, sometimes the gusset seam gets turned the wrong way and the fur at the seam from the eye spot to the ears ends up shooting out the wrong direction.  It's pretty hard to fix once the head is stuffed.

Do you have a way you make the gusset seam lay one way or the other before and while you stuff??

Any tips would be appreciated by my bad hair day bears.

Jellybelly Bears Oct 9, 2006

Patty have you tried dampening and blow drying it the direction you want it?  I've heard that you can do anything to a bears hair that you can to human hair...well almost anything  hehe

jenny Oct 9, 2006

After you stuff the head...before you do the eyes and start needle sculpting or whatever you do..try going round the seams with a needle( I use a darning needle) you can 'feel' inside the for the seams and ease them back to where they should be.

Swan Valley Bears Oct 9, 2006

Thank you all.  Jenny, do you place the seam down towards the outside or inward towards the center of the head???

jenny Oct 9, 2006

It depends on the  pile direction but generally if the it is going opposite to how you want it you can ease the seam gently by lifting it with the needle so it goes the other way and it will change the pile direction.  So each head might be different depending on the pile.

kate Oct 9, 2006

I don't know about Patty, but I found your post most informative.  I've often wondered about cutting the gusset on the diagonal where the pile is 'offline' but have never been game enough.  I'm certainly going to try your suggestions.
Thanks, Ellen and
Cheers
Kate

Swan Valley Bears Oct 9, 2006

Thanks Ellen,  yes, lots of good info.  Making sure the seams go the right direction when stuffing is key, I think.  Good ideas on how to do that.  When they go the wrong direction, it seems for me, it's the fur on the head side pieces goes awry.   I was even thinking about gluing the seam to one direction with a little fabric glue before I turn the head right side out.    That might be overdoing it. 

I've read about cutting pieces on the diagonal if the fur goes that direction.  Do you ever find that the backing stretches at all from being cut on the bias?   That thought has always made me afraid to cut that way. 

I always pick the fur out of my seams with my awl after stitching.  I'm afraid if I trim it beforehand, I'll trim too much and have bald spots next to the seams. 

I have two pieces of fur, a red and a green, that I ordered from the "end cuts" because I only needed small pieces of each.  The fur on both of them goes in every direction imaginable.  I was wondering how I was going to straighten them out.   I'll try your method with water, brush and hair dryer.

I made a bear and the head came out too big. So, I made a smaller head for him (and adjusted my pattern).  Now I have this bigger head, with only enough of the fur left to make paws.  So, that's why I bought the red and green.  I thought I'd make a Christmas bear out of the big headed mistake.

Thanks again!!   

Daphne Oct 9, 2006

Ditto with cutting with direction of the nap... I ALWAYS do this regardless of what direction it's going... if it's on the diagonal, straight up and down, sort of diagonal... whatever direction it's going doesn't matter as long as I lay my pattern pieces accordingly. And NOT just the gusset... do the head sides the same way... lay them on the nap the way you want the fur to lay once the head is all togehter. This can dramatically effect the look of the face!!!

And ditto on taking a needle along the seam after it's sewn and stuffed if it's lying the wrong way. Every head is different so there is no rule. I try to watch how my seam allowance material lies inside the head while I'm stuffing so I don't have to go playing around with the seams afterward and risk snagging a thread or otherwise weakening the seams. I usually double stitch my head seams anyway but just something to think about.

Eileen Oct 10, 2006

Great advice!

I like to readjust the seam allowances with a darning needle before my head is fully stuffed--at the firm but not hard stage. It's much easier than trying to manoevre seam allowances through rock-hard stuffing!

I've been afraid to try glue, but it's a tempting idea. If I weren't so rushed, I'd take the time to tack down the seam allowances where I want them.