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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Cincinnati, OhioHi everyone,
I have a couple bears that have sand inside for weight. I have been thinking about giving that a try myself. Just wondering if anyone knows if I need to use any lining or anything so the sand doesn't come out?
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have!!!!
Whimzee BearsI have used sand and also crushed garnet in my bears and have no problem with it escaping. I do put it inside a stocking toe for the tummy but that is more to keep it in the one place. For the feet I just pour it in directly. I find it also gives a more realistic feel to my bears and actually prefer it rather than steel shot or glass beads. Oh and it's so much cheaper too !!
Chaska, MinnesotaConnie: I use glass sand and it is give the mini or regular bears a heavier weight. I use a scrap piece of material, do a basting stitich around the rim and place the glass in the middle. I draw up the thread to enclose the glass and place it in the tummy. I don't know about regular sand. I would think it could come out if the stitching is not close enough.
Back Road BearsSand, if very fine, can actually seep through the woven backing of many mohair and alpaca fabrics as some aren't woven as tightly as others. Never mind the seams. For this reason it is likely best to enclose the sand in a muslin or similar material bag THEN insert into body or limb with stuffing around it so it can't be felt.
Glass beads and stainless steel shot can be used with out putting into a bag first if it's not super fine. These are what I use. I do put some polyfil in first, then pour the beads or shot in.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)It depends on your 'sand'. I used to retail sand & glass beads, bought through industrial supply houses and the sand there is not beach or 'sandbox' sand! These are grains of 'sand' of the type used to make glass (silica-something, forgotten my chemistry..); though less refined than going the full circuit through formulating glass, they have been graded (sorted), cleaned and 'slumped' in the furnaces to round off the edges.
Regular sand will cut through any fabric given time. Don't use this! At shows I would rub my products over mirrors to show no ill effects, and the glass beads that'd been hammered into breadboards and didn't shatter.
So, besides the debris and possible 'live stuff' in regular builder's/beach/sand lot sand, you'd want a product that won't hurt your design from the inside out.
I had stopped selling glass and sand after finding the stainless steel mini/micro beards, like the type(s) Luann carries.
I sold mine in little, cone-spouted, rectangular jugs call syrup bottles, about 3" x 5" x 1". One lb of sand in all of my sizes exactly filled it. When I sold the glass beads in them, it was a little less than filled to the top, with one lb of product in them. But when I filled them with the stainless steel beads of any size, the jugs were only 2/3 full! They weighed 1/3rd again as heavy as the same volume of sand or glass, so one could get the same weighting in a mini, using less product.
Luann's got a superior product, and is available in an easy-to-use spouted bottle: I no longer need these in NFing but if I did, I'd continue to use stainless steel beads over and other product.
Cincinnati, OhioThanks for the info, guys!!!!!
A note on using sand and natural things for filling- if you ever ship something overseas it can cause problems with Quarantine. Here they will not let a bear through without being irradiated if it contains natural fillings. Of course they charge for doing that, your customer may not be happy.
As Daphne suggests, glass or steel is a safer option.
