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Rufnut Teddy'sHi, just wondering what everyone does with their scrap/offcut pieces of mohair?
Would love to know if anyone has come up with a novel way of using the scrap pieces, that are not big enough to create bears with
Two words: CAT TOY.
Rufnut Teddy'sThanks Shelli.
How about kids brooch, I made one over the weekend, its a mini bear brooch for kids to wear. My only concern is using the beads for eyes, I am scared the kids will choke on them 
Usually choking hazards apply mostly to the under-3 crowd. My ex- has a toddler at home and that, in combination with my sterling memory for such tidbits, makes me pretty sure that after about three you're home free.
A brooch sounds like a great project for bitty bits of mohair. If you manage to grab some snapshots, post them here; I'd love to see!
I bagged mine up and put them on ebay....I got enough to buy a half metre of something I needed and the ladies were very pleased too...mind you these were my bigger scraps...I still have millions of small bits ....maybe the local play-group might use them for 'art'.....
Jenny
DoodlebearsJenny that's exactly what I do with my small left over pieces of mohair. I pack them up and send them to a school . The children have made wonderful collages with them. The children are around seven to nine year olds so have a great imagination...as kids do at that age...they made chickens, dogs ,horses, and the best one I saw was a family portrait that one little girl made. She had used the mohair for the hair and he Daddy's beard, it was really great and she one a prize for it.
Jane.
Pandy Potter BearsMany years ago when I had a bear shop, I made my 'misfit' bears. I would get say an arm out of one piece, the head out of another and made the bears up, small ones obviously. I tried not to get colours and lengths clashing. I sold them for less and people liked the 'ahh they don't really belong' kind of thing. Paid for more mohair and children liked them as they were more affordable.
Posts: 27Try Golf Club Covers.
Mark's BearsHi Karen,
I have only been in the teddy bear business for a short time so I do not have a lot of scraps yet. But I am quickly accumulating more and more. I saw in the back of Nancy Tillberg's book 'Teddy Bears with a Past' patterns for pins or Christmas ornaments. I am planning for the ornaments, but not for this Christmas.
Good luck with your scraps.
Mark
Posts: 8,574I am saving them and get them from local bearing friends as well- I will sew them together in a wonderful patchwork quilt type thing-then either back it with flannel as a lap blanket for wintery nights , or make a bear.
Also- my mink scraps I make into mini bear heads and turn those into brooches for friends.
Dilu
Back Road BearsFoot Warmers!! Seriously! :D
I was teaching a bear workshop in the downstairs hall of a church one rather cold winter day. One of my students, after complaining about frozen toes, took her scrap pieces and put them inside her mocs or clogs! She said her feet warmed right up so all the ladies did this!! I saw this woman a few weeks later.... she STILL had mohair scraps in her shoes and had given some scraps to a couple of friends! Look out Dr. Scholls!!
The mohair I trim off the seam allowance I stuff inside the bear. Waste not......
Someone (forgive me if it's one of you.... I did read it on this board or Edinburgh's) puts a scrap of the mohair INSIDE the body of the bear before closing it. This way if the bear needs to be repaired there is an extra piece of matching mohair! I thought this was so clever! I'd never thought to look when repairing old bears. Too bad this wasn't a universal practice.
I give my bitty scraps to my local elementary school for art projects.
Daphne
Back Road BearsHey, Mark!
Great idea!!!
Great to hear from you!!!
How are things going in your bear world??
Daphne
Past Time BearsWe had this topic going in the early days of Teddy Talk. Check out page 17 in the General Discussion Forum and go down to post # 12. More ideas!! 
Matilda Huggington-beareI staple scrap pieces to the menu card to go with my pattern pieces before I pack them away.
I also keep my scraps and usually use as contrast pieces for ears, I use them for eye lids. I also have them for sample pieces if I have to send them away or I go to a fair. I may nolonger have the bear, but I'll still have a saple of the mohair. etc.......... There are heaps of uses........ Matilda
Wild Thyme OriginalsI also shove at least a bit of a scrap into the tummy cavity, in case teddy needs a little repair someday... though obviously, the outer fur would be weathered to some degree and the inner wouldn't be.... hmmm...
I save my larger scraps.... don't know what for yet, but I'm workin on a nice sized box of them. Medium sized scraps of any material go to my daughter's school art department, or the nursing home across town (they do a lot of art therapy there).
Perhaps the most fun one though... I did a lot of cutting and sewing on the deck this spring and summer while my wee ones were on the swing set.... and I pretty much just let the small scraps fall where they may.... along with all the fur that I cut from the seam allowance.... We had three robin nests this year.... and when I lifted my daughter up to see if there were any eggs in the nest... she said "MOMMY, they took one of your bears!" Shocked and amazed by this statement, I got on a step ladder to see just what was going on.... the inside of two of the nests were lined with mohair!!!!! Imagine that! And little blue eggs "snuggled" up in the center!
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
Past Time BearsWell, I have to say, scraps used for lining a bird's nest is one of the most wonderful ways of recycling scrap mohair!! And one of the most inventive!! Way to go, Robins!!! 
Ruby Mountain BearsThe cat toy thing I thought that was a great idea too, until my cats thought that the bears were cat toys too. I only make smaller bears and a few that I really hated became cat toys, that started the cats on a hunt for others. Twice while I was working on a new prototype the cat stole it off the table. Once she stole a head I was working on. That put an end to giving the cats unfortunate disasters or scraps. 
College Place, WAI give them to my dentist. His hobby is fly tying, he gets some very unusual flys this way, and some of his fishing friend are astonished
Posts: 8,574Wow what an innovative group of folks-
Hi Mark, glad you came to play, we are always happty to have more folks here.....
dilu
Mark's BearsHi Daphne, Dilu,
I'm doing pretty well. I have to have a real job so I can afford my bear habit so I don't get on Teddy Talk more than once or twice a week. Today I had an all day class with the State of NM and the IRS for small business owners. My head is still spinning over what I have to put on my taxes, what I can deduct ...
In the mean time I am searching web hosting companies so I can get a website out for all to see. I already did one on ATT's personal web page feature but I quickly realized that the address is way too long and I need to spend the bucks and get a real site.
Hope all is well with everyone,
Mark
Past Time BearsHiya, Mark . . . welcome back to TT! Glad to hear you will have a website before too long. We want to see your bears!! Take care and we welcome your postings whenever you have time to come see us!
In the mean time I am searching web hosting companies so I can get a website out for all to see. I already did one on ATT's personal web page feature but I quickly realized that the address is way too long and I need to spend the bucks and get a real site.
Hello Mark,
You don't need to look for a hosting company. You can continue to use ATT. Register for a domain name and mask it to your ATT account. Then you can direct your domain name to an existing site (ATT). With masking, users don't see the underlying address; only what they type in.
Quy
Past Time BearsI did that very thing! Only I am using Prodigy's (now Yahoo) web page feature and got a domain name from www.Register.com. And yes - my website address is http://pages.prodigy.net/jpaulholcomb/ - horrible to try to remember, but with Register.com, it's simply www.pasttimebears.com. Thanks for bringing up that point, Quy!!
Rufnut Teddy'sGreat ideas everyone, thanks for the wonderful responses.
I give them to my dentist. His hobby is fly tying, he gets some very unusual flys this way, and some of his fishing friend are astonished
Bev, I'm not a fisher-person. That's fascinating! Good for you. 
