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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Posts: 110Hello!
Not sure if you remember me, as I've not been on here since last March I think. I was making plush dogs and never meant to just dissapear, but my real dog suddenly had to have emergency surgery which meant I couldn't afford to buy fabric to carry on. Now though I have finally just finished paying the bill off and want to get back into the 'sew-ing' of things!
I have just finished sewing up the body for my new dog, high quality faux fur this time, as I think I prefer it to mohair, as it fluffs back up after being handled instead of staying 'flat' as my mohair dogs have done, plus it's a lot cheaper, which means they won't cost as much and will hopefully sell better. I also found with the mohair, if you need to clip it shorter on the nose/feet it looks 'patchy' instead of fully furred, and doesn't all lie in the same direction.
Anyway, last time I posted I'd just tried to follow someone's great idea for silicone paw pads. Mine didn't turn out so great, it took me longer to make four decent pads than it did to do the rest of the entire dog! So I'll probably not bother with paw pads full stop, but as one last try, I've thought of something and I was wondering if it would work. My idea was to sculpt the pads out of sculpey oven clay ( provided you can put it in a electric oven as I don't have a gas one) with a loop of jewellery wire inserted in the back, then sew them in like you would with eyes that have loops on them. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether the clay would crack or chip after a while, and how durable it is, especially as wouldn't be very thick. Has anyone used clay for paw pads?
Oh and one more thing, pro bears is the only place I can find 6mm armature, but it says their out of stock, anybody know how long they take to get things back in?
Nice to speak to you all again 
Welcome back!
I remember your last puppy, it was a really nice job.
High quality faux fur can be a better choice, depending on the look you need to achieve. I use faux fur a lot for realistic looking dogs, wolves, foxes, raccoons and so on. Mohair doesn't give the same result.
As for the paw pads, I also make it with polymer clay. I have used Apoxie and Fimo, they work really good, an you can also paint them over for realism. I do not put a wire loop. I simply attach the tiny bits with extra strong glue which dries very fast. You just have to trim the fur in the area where the little bit goes, so that it is attached onto the fabric and not on the fur. Apoxie is very strong and doesn't break easily. I think you will have no problem with Sculpey too.
As for the armature, you can make a flexible armature using multiple shafts of galvanized wire. It is a lot cheaper than Locline and works really well.
Happy crafting! 
Posts: 110Thanks Francesca, yes I have found that mohair doesn't give the right look for what I want, I stupidly thought that because it's very expensive, it would give a better finish than the cheaper priced faux fur, but clearly it doesn't work like that.
I am going to get some sculpey to try out, though I'm not sure about glueing it, I prefer to sew than glue if possible, as I'd be worried about something glued on just falling off later on. I had thought of poking the wire loop through the fabric so that it it completetly out of sight and feel, inside the dog. Out of interest, would Milliput epoxy putty work? I think it's similar to apoxie sculpt but it's a lot cheaper here.
I emailed probear earlier but haven't had a reply yet, I really want the doll armature, I know it costs more but I like it's flexibility, which my first dog, made with a wire armature doesn't have in quite the same way, though maybe that's me not doing a very good job with it!
