Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Posts: 16Okay...so...this has been a trouble spot for me for a while and I feel really silly that it is! I have the WORST time making my arms and legs even...and putting them in the right place so the bear sits properly. I even have the Teddy Techniques book but I can't seem to line the legs up properly even though I have instructions. (in my most recent big bear, one leg is placed higher than the other even though the marks are perfectly even in the pattern. I know the legs are totally even lengthwise...I must have done it wrong somehow!)
Do you mark your pattern first, sew, and attach....or do you sew and then attach eyeballing the position? I've had to resort to the latter as even though I mark correctly the legs are not placed so that the bear sits properly. Is there a trick to this that I'm not seeing? I feel so silly!
I just need my legs to line up evenly on either side and for the bear to sit. That seems so basic....any help is appreciated!!
I've had that kind of trouble some time ago also. The poblem was that since I design my own patterns, I don't have a precise idea of where to put legs and arms until the body and limbs are done, and I decide where I like them.
I found out that it helps putting some stuffing in the body part so that it is rougly filled and you have a better idea of the shape the body will have when stuffed.
At this point I pin the arms and legs and turn round the bear to see tat they are in the right position. I do both positions, sitting and standing, but I found that I really should decide what position I want him to be in, because often a sitting position needs the legs to be attached a bit further up (but maybe this is only in my bears.... 
)
Then I mark where the pins go in, and make the holes.
I often stuff and close legs and arms before putting them on the body. When they are full I check another time to see if the new shape is still good with the positioning.
I don't know if it maes sense to you, or if it's useful.....this is what I do anyways! 
Good luck with your next bear!
Fool's Gold BearsHi.
Unevenness can result from shifting seams or even slight variation in seam width. The way I position limbs is when the body is inside out, I take a jointing disk that is the size I'll be using and I use it as a measuring device, noting how wide the neck will be and how close the arm joint should butt up to it. Do similarly for the leg placement. I mark the center point of the disk placement on the inside then after reinforcing w/ fraycheck, I poke a hole w/ an awl. I make placement markers for the joints out of yarn. ( double a length of yarn and tie an overhand knot, leaving a loop at one end and two short tails at the other). The markers make it easy to find the joint placement when the body is RSO. I use a crochet hook and pull the loop of the yarn through the placement hole til the knot snugs up against the hole. The markers can easily be pulled out from the outside when you are ready. You can save them to use over again. Hope this is helpful.
Posts: 16I've had that kind of trouble some time ago also....
This is actually extremely helpful. I too am working from my own pattern (and you'd think it wouldn't be a problem with a custom pattern you built yourself!!) but its good to know that it isn't a bad idea to stuff the body a bit and line them up that way. I just have so much trouble working from the pattern alone without eyeballing on the outside of the bear like you described!
GJOYful BearsI mark where one limb should go (the disc should sit flat at the base of the body just inside the seam) then poke a doll's needle through the marked position and mark the other side so they're identical. Never fails for me. Let us know how you go.
desertmountainbearI have also had much trouble with jointing. I do the same thing as Francesca, I put some stuffing in the body, find the right placement, then joint. I have been much happier this way.
Joanne
TC Folk OriginalsI don't seem to have as much trouble with the legs as I do the arms. Sometimes, I have a bear with a very long neck, or else one with no shoulders!!! I too completely finish the limbs and then attach them to the body. When I am making my hole in the body, I make sure not to break any threads, just move them around the awl, so if I have to re-position the limb, there is no damage. I use set screws and lock nuts to joint. If I make an error, I just remove the lock nut inside the body from the set screw, close and Frey check the body hole, then move the limb to the correct position and reattach with a new lock nut. Because the legs or arms are completely finished, a little stuffing in the body helps tremendously. I set the bear down and look at him from behind. I like the legs to set evenly on the table along with the bum. If the legs are to high, he will rock. If the legs are too low, his bum is in the air. Next I look at him standing. I do not like a large gap at the crotch. You'd think after you've made a bunch of bears, you'd get better at this, but it doesn't seem to work that way with me! I fight this battle constantly!
