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Posts: 2Hello,
I am searching for a teddy bear pattern with NO Seam down center front. My neighbor has asked me to make a bear from an old beaver coat. Any help sure would be appreciated.
Thank you, Gwen
GJOYful BearsDo you mean on the body or the head? I have made both before but I don't sell my patterns sorry. You could free-hand one as long as you're not planning on selling the pattern ~ they're fairly easy to make up if you're not big on designing. On the body though it usually makes the front of the tummy seem too big and fluffy than usual ~ there is a reason (or a few) that there is a seam down the centre. Why don't you want a seam down the centre? Is it to do with the lining or skin of the beaver?
Posts: 2The beaver fur is the reason. I met a lady in Sonia, Ga that makes the fur bears and she is the one that said do not have a center seam and she will not share her pattern. She will make me bear for $75. using my fur. I think that is too expensive. She also said I can not use my Bernina machine, I need a special machine that sews fur..... I have never tried to make a fur bear, just fabric bears.
Thanks for the help.
Gwen
Past Time BearsHmmmm . . . I don't know about the information given you by the lady. I've made mink bears using a center seam pattern and I've sewn it on my Viking machine. Think she might just want to make the bear herself, maybe? There is a free pattern (with center seam) on this site if you want to use it.
Just wanted to mention that $75 for all the labor to make a jointed teddy bear is an incredible deal (if you like the lady's bears). That probably breaks down to about $3 an hour. Just a thought.
Becky
GJOYful BearsI have to agree with you there Becky, Gwen if you don't want to make the bear I'd go with that offer as it is fantastic. Most people charge at least $200 to turn genuine fur into a bear, however most artists I am aware of charge even more. But as you said Becky, only if you like the bears she makes lol.
Also a centre seam is fine in genuine fur bears, I've been making mink, fox, marten, coyote, beaver and other furs into bears for some time and I've never heard that you can't use a centre seam. I use an ordinary pattern, slightly enlarged for an extra seam as I line the fur too.
Making a fur bear is the toughest bear-making challenge you can embark upon regarding materials ~ if you're not sure, I'd get the other lady to make it for you. It takes so much extra time to make a genuine fur bear, and if you haven't made on before you could make mistakes on this one which would not be ideal as you don't have much of the fur. My first 6 genuine fur bears had issues ranging from heads splitting when trying to turn them to the skin collapsing as I was stuffing or finding that the skin was too brittle or thin in places. All these bears had to be re-made, and wow by the end of it I swore I'd never make another one but here I am!
There is a very good reason most artists charge a lot more for genuine fur bears ~ it's because it takes a very long time. Perhaps if you could look into Helen Gleeson's at-home workshop manual that walks you through step-by-step how to make a fur bear ~ I've heard it's very good however haven't used it myself.
Feather Heart CreationsYeah $75 is a great price to have fur turned into a bear (depending on the size of the bear & quality) I've seen some badly made & down right ugly fur bears in the past. I normally charge at the very least $100 for a fur bear using someones fur & that also depends on the type of fur (so real furs are much harder to work with than others) and if they are willing to let me have the left over fur.
Some of the information that lady is giving you is wrong, maybe also why she only charges $75 LOL Like having a special machine... True not ever machine can handle the leather of real fur (my $90 singer could not) but my $99 brother does & my old singer & my Pfaff, so yeah lots of machines can sewn real fur. You just need some leather needles for your machine ^_^
Anyway a great must have book if you plan on getting into making real fur bears is "TEDDY BEARS WITH A PAST -by Nancy Tillberg". It tells you everything you could ever want to know about making real fur bears.
