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Hello Everyone..I hate asking for help but I have hit a dead end and can not figure out how to get my bears (and other animals to stand)..well..I can of course if I use a stand or create their legs from paper mache..however...I would like them to stand on their own and be completely made of mohair.....I have TRIED...and TRIED..and tried again...to make them stand by wiring their legs and they flop over every time. I just made a cat yesterday..wired his legs by bending thick wire and placing it in his legs and feet..he stood fine before I stuffed him and now that he is stuffed he flops right over. 
Are you suppose to attach the wire to the joint? I did not do that as I could not figure out how I would then be able to get the joint tight enough...
Does anyone know of a tutorial for this..or class? Any advice or help would be SO VERY appreciated.
Thank you so much .
doreen
ps..I have heard of loc-line..is this what one would use to make their bears stand?
BatFinch BearsI haven't really made any bears that stand completely properly(a little bit), but to my knowledge standing requires tight joints(to stop them just flopping) and well balanced stuffing & weighting.
I'm guessing a little weight in the feet helps, and then as you are stuffing you should stand the bear up and move the weight around until it's happily standing! Someone else can probably advise you much better!
Miser BearsI have a charlie bear somewhere that is supposed to stand. He has thick card in his feet, but the card has bent (I got him reduced because of this fault) so he just falls over. I expect if the card was straight he would be fine
MinimishkiI'm not as experienced as some of the artists on this site, but I'll try to help 
When I make standing bears I put card in the feet (use the footpad pattern piece to cut some out but make it smaller, excluding the seam allowance), that goes between the footpad and the stuffing. Then weight the bottom of the feet, stuff REALLY firmly but try not to bend the card in the foot, double it if you have to. When you stuff concentrate on the ankles, I find thats where mine flop. Make sure that you tighten the leg joints as hard as you possibly can. Then tighten them even harder (they always seem to find a way of loosening themselves).
The shape of the body also makes a difference. For example if the belly is very big, or you want the legs placed further back on the body, the bear may flop forward. You can try correct this by altering the pattern or by playing around with weighting- put more in the bum than in the tum:P and vice versa if he has a small belly and a large hump etc
Come to think of it, I've made a big stading bear with no card in his feet and he stands quite well. But to make extra sure use the card 
Hope that helps! 
Daria
Doreen, you might look in the library, this subject has been discussed several times.
This was posted long ago, and helped me figure out how to make limb wiring:
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=1104
And these are a couple of past threads about balancing, you might find it helpful:
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=44788
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=47187
Good luck!
THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH EVERYONE. I GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR KIND HELP I will let you know how I make out!!!
Chaska, MinnesotaFill the feet with ground glass or bebe's to the ankles. make sure the joints are real tight in the hips. Your teddy bear will stand great and will have a little heft!
Thank you very much Michelle
Sacred Bear StudiosAll the artists here have given very good advice, but let me add my own, from personal experience...
for the feet, I use heavy flexible acrylic sheet to line the footpads (can be aquired from pro-photography suppliers). this gives rigidity, but also is flexible enough to avoid creasing from mishandling.
Also, use BOLTS AND LOCK NUTS, not cotter pins for the joints, so that you can make them super tight, which will help him stand up and won't loosen over time....it also helps on larger bears to use plywood discs instead of hardboard.
Weighting with shot can help, but it's best to rely on the general shape to be well distributed, such as making sure that he has a nice fat rump to counter-balance a big belly, and large feet that are wide at the toe don't hurt either.
last thing, maybe most important, it's okay to sell a "self standing" bear with the stipulation that it's not a perfect enough concept that he'll stand up on every surface, with half a second's effort....he's a soft sculpture, and the collector may have to coax him for a minute to make him stand up indefinitely.
hope that helps
Thank you BlackmoonBear
