Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Kim-Bee BearsHow do I go about felting "locks" or longer pieces of wool onto a critter without them pulling out? I haven't tried this yet and have no idea how to start! 
Could you fold the lock in half with some transparent thread (like a tassle) and insert it like a hair plug with a needle? That way you could insert each end of the thread separately then tie it off? you'd still have both ends of the lock showing and the middle would be the part inserted into the bear.
Little Bear GuyJust needle them in like you would if you were needle felting. Determine the area you want them to be in, and needle felt in the ends. They will lock in just like regular roving, we have done that loads of time, they will lock into place no problem.
hugs
shane
Charlotte Des Roches DesignsKim, do you mean like on my owls?
Hugs &
Hi Kim,
Do you want to leave the ends long as in hair. If so, just felt them in as you normally would. Here is a picture of one of my sewn bears with hair.
I used roving locks and shaped them onto the head the way I wanted and then needled them in along the hairline and a few pieces in the middle.
Hugs,
Kim-Bee Bearsyes, Charlotte, that is what I mean 
I want to try to make a bear with a colorful mohawk (now don't any of you steal my idea! 
)
Charlotte Des Roches DesignsFor the owls, I used my carding combs & carded the wool to get the fibers all lined up & took length & needle felted them across the middle til they were felted in place. Then fold up the wool each side of the felting so it stands up or lays the way I want, then poke a bit more to keep the wool where you want it. This is how I do hair on many of my characters. I just keep adding more lengths til I get the hair to cover whatever area I want.
Hope this helps & makes sense 
Hugs &
Kim
here is a little guy I made from a mix of alpaca and Romney. I then plucked some fibres from some half inch mohair..and just carefully poked them with my needles into the bear ...some further into the bear to make them different lengths to obtain a scruffy look. It sounds a bit fiddly...but it won't be too much for a mohawk. Perhaps you could use some longer stringy type of mohair to pluck it from. Maybe even use some spray or paint on a bit of some sort to stiffen it after needling it in. I am not sure if something like Stiffy fabric stiffener might not work... try it on a bit of practice piece first to check how it goes.
