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Marilyn:Just having a little laugh here!!! Oh Paula, I wish I could make a bear in 10 hours!!! I am usually just about starting to stuff a bear at that stage and I usually reckon on taking between 25 to 30 hours of actual working!!!! I know I take my time, but what am I doing wrong!!!!!
After suggesting a time of approximately ten hours, as a guide to working out pricing for a standard teddy bear design, I nearly gave poor Marilyn apoplexy! So, it set me wondering, how long should it take to make a fairly typical, undressed ted and what would be a fair number of hours to charge for in terms of labour.
As a little exercise, next time you make a typical bear design (ie., something fairly standard without too much in the way of artistic embellishment and assuming you've already created a pattern with it cut from cardboard or whatever your preference is), with a clock, a pen and a piece of paper to hand, please share how roughly how many hours it has taken you to:
1. draw out your pattern
2. cut out your pattern
3. trim your fabric edges
4. pin your fabric
5. machine/handsew your pieces
6. turn, stuff and joint the head
7. trim the head (scissor sculpt)8. insert eyes
9. embroider nose
10. attach ears
11. turn, stuff limbs, insert joints
12. attach limbs and head to body, closing seams
13. stuff body and close final seam.
14. finishing details such as sewn claws, eye shading, trims etc.
If you could mention what size bear you are working on, that would be a great help too! On a practical note, I am hoping this might help the newcomers among us begin to gauge what is a fair price to ask for in terms of labour costs, which is always such a difficult thing to work out when you are just starting to price handcrafted work.
After sitting in my workroom yesterday with a pen, paper and digital clock to hand, these are the results for for my 13" bear. As you can see, he's a pretty standard teddy bear design. I was quite surprised at how quick he was to make, as I would have estimated about 8 hours for this size of bear!
1. draw out your pattern 10 mins
2. cut out your pattern 15
3. trim your fabric edges 17
4. pin your fabric 26
5. machine/handsew your pieces 66
6. turn, stuff and joint the head 16
7. trim the head (scissor sculpt) 28
8. insert eyes 15
9. embroider nose 40
10. attach ears 13
11. turn, stuff limbs, insert joints
12. attach limbs and head to body, closing seams 60
13. stuff body and close final seam 15
14. finishing details such as sewn claws, eye shading, trims 45
(I included points 11 & 12 together).
Pandy Potter BearsThanks Paula. Then theres taking photos, loading in server, making ebay template (maybe), updating webpage, updating us TT folk, blog, email lists.....eek! 
I bet you were surprised with things like pinning and trimming, they take time.
It really does help though to see it laid out for a standard bear. I'll do one next week from the miniature side. It makes a good point to start off from and I think a few of us might see things a little clearer. Cheers for this.
Bears by Edie
Well, I have just finished my bear as well - a miniature 3 1/4" tall and here are my results:
1. draw out your pattern 10 mins
2. cut out your pattern 5
3. trim your fabric edges -N/A but picking out seams instead 12
4. pin your fabric -N/A
5. machine/handsew your pieces 30
6. turn and stuff the head 9
7. trim the head (scissor sculpt) 5
8. insert eyes 9
9. embroider nose 10
10. attach ears 8
11. turn, stuff limbs 25
12. attach limbs and head to body, closing seams
and 13. stuff body and close final seam 22
14. finishing details such as sewn claws, eye shading, trims 33
(I combined # 12 and #13)
MY TOTAL TIME TO MAKE A SIMPLE 3 1/4" BEAR - 2 HOURS AND 58 MINUTES!
This little guy has wired arms, a bit of scissor and needlesculpting, shading on face, ears, and footpads, a waxed nose, and embroidered accents by eyes. Likewise with Paula, I have not included time for photography, designing the pattern (I rarely reuse a pattern without making some changes) and I have left him bare as accessorizing and dressing always take me a lot of time - in addition to doing the actual work, I need time to play around and figure out what suits the bear in this regard.
Very interesting exercise, Paula! I would have estimated that my minimum time would have been at least 4 hours - although I did feel like I was "rushing" on this one - kind of like I was doing an exam or something! :crackup:
Thought I should edit this after seeing some of the comments/questions to say that I machine sewed this bear (using the sandwich method - right sides of fabric facing, draw pattern on one side and then machine sew along drawn lines) and then cut out the pieces after they were sewn, so I actually did #2 after #5 but kept the steps in the same order Paula had them in. Some other things I did in different order too but again kept everything in the same order for simplicity of comparing
Deedle BearsWow Edie! You sure are quick and such a cute little bear to boot!
Paula - amazing also!
Great topic, I will be watching with great interest!
Duff
Waggle BearsWow, Paula, you're fast. That how you put so many wonderful bears up so quickly. I've not timed myself yet, but I know I'm way slower than that. You can stuff and joint the head in 16minutes??? It seems to take me forever, though I do have carpel tunnel in both hands and I often must stop for a while. I'd also like to feel your head...well, everyone's head...to see how firmly everyone stuffs.
This is very interesting stuff.
Holy macaronie, Paula!! You must have incredible focus!! It takes me at least twice that time to put a bear together. I think the only thing that takes me less time is trimming the seams because I have an electric shaver!!! I guess my mother-in-law was right.....I pitty pat. 
Warmest bear hugs, :hug:
Aleta
Back Road BearsI'm "in progress" with this assignment and I'm amazed at how much of a bear I've gotten done in one day!! Like Edie said:
I did feel like I was "rushing" on this one - kind of like I was doing an exam or something!
I'm thinking I'd get a lot more done if I timed myself with every bear. Today I was in the midst of pinning and remembered that I need to get the clothes out of the dryer before they wrinkle. But then I'd figure that'll just make it harder to calculate the time with all those starts and stops so I stuck to what I was doing. Now I have to go IRON!!! :crackup: But I've gotten more bear done than I would have otherwise.
NEW BEAR MAKERS: Please keep in mind that it DOES take longer to make a bear when you are first starting out! I teach bear making workshops and the beginner class (4 students learning everything from tracing to tying a bow on the finished bear) is 16 hours! It takes at least that long (4 class sessions w/ homework in between too) to get a bear done when you are just starting out! It was more than a year before I felt effecient at most aspects of bear making. So, please don't compare yourself to those who have been doing this for years or who do it full-time and thus become discouraged. Just see these as examples of where you could be at someday. And remember that its OK to take what seems like forever - if your end result reflects your hard work and love that's what's most important! Collectors will see it too if you choose to sell your work!
Patsy Lake BearsWell done ladies that is super fast work, :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: I know it would take me so much longer than that.
WOW Paula....I am amazed. I sometimes think I do a bit of 'shilly-shallying' about..but even going at a fairly determined and focussed pace it takes me a goodhour to do the nose..and even then I go back and do it at again ..and stuffing the head...about 40 minutes? I have taken almost a whole day of going over and over scissor sculpting too ( I am a very picky snipper) on some bears. Mind you, I am like that after 30 odd years of cutting hair too ..it takes me a full 40 minutes to do a haircut...sometimes an hour...my customers can't be in a hurry!!!
I thought I was being quite quick....I am going wrong somewhere!!
Edie, thanks for sharing your lovely pics ... I was fascinated to see what the differences between making a miniature bear and a medium sized bear (huge by your standards!) would be. It's really interesting to see the timings. Incidentally, was your bear handsewn throughout, or machined? It's amazing that you achieved such detailed work so quickly!
When I timed my bear, I didn't feel as though I was rushing at all, every time I needed a break I took one, I just didn't include any break time in my figures, so I could see what the actual 'making' time was. It was an interesting exercise, so I do hope a few more makers will give it a go. It has certainly helped me with my pricing structure and with my general attitude towards getting work done.
Melanie, I don't think my hands would cope with 6 per week ... I find they get very achy if I don't take breaks. Also, I get extremely tired from all the concentration. These days I aim to complete 2/3 bears a week ... but I might consider a fourth on some weeks, now that I know I can make one of my smaller bears so quickly.
I'm curious to know how long my big bears really take now too, so I'll time one of those next time I make one and will share the results here.
With the numbers in front of me, I can't blame low productivity on anything other than allowing myself to get distracted too easily! :whistle:
By the way Marlys, my heads are pretty firmly stuffed - not rock hard so they stress the seams, but good 'n solid. I use a large stuffing tool for the bulk of the stuffing, but I also use a much smaller doll stuffing tool to pack hard into the nose and to stuff more tightly when the main stuffing is done. 
Kingfisher Farm Teddies and Folk ArtOh man, I cant be forced to sit and keep track of how long it takes me! I'm with Aleta. I putter and putter. And amazingly, sometimes a bear or creature emerges, HA! Pam 
WoW you guys are quick! but what gorgeous creations!!
My work has been in progress since this thread was started and I am blown away at your speed! Do I count in airbrush time? And hand painting eyes?
Hugs,
Krista
Well..I sat in the car at the hospital today waiting for my sister and I had taken a bear to do while I waited..( well it is Hugglets very soon!!) I started to stitch the nose at 1.56 and a 2.08 I was half way through the first layer. I finished the first layer and put in the mouth at 2.25 and then started to snip the excess pile away for the next layer ( always do a rough scissor sculpt at this stage) my sister knocked on the window and we drove home which took till 3pm..I went straight to her house and sat sewing ..it's now 4.30 and I just finished the top layer and I am just starting the next sculpt...does that make me a slow coach? It's no wonder I have to sit in hospital car parks sewing..at this rate I won't be ready for Hugglets!!!
It's a 10" bear by the way..I am no quicker on the smaller ones.
Bears by EdiePaula, this little one was completely sewn on the machine, except for sewing in the paw pads - which took twice as long as sewing all the rest! So if I had completely hand sewn it the time would have been a lot more. Sometimes I hand sew the heads and that would likely add on 20- 30 minutes depending if it was a two piece head or one with a gusset.
I didn't sew mine all at once - just bits here and there when I had time between other things but always kept track of the time with each thing I did. It was just checking the clock when I started and finished that made me feel like I was in a timed contest or something - and also made me feel a lot clumsier doing simple things and dropping things etc. so I'm surprised that didn't add more to my time! If I have a whole afternoon sometime with no distractions around I'd like to sit down and just work through a whole bear and see if that makes a difference - but that rarely happens so wouldn't be too realistic anyway!
Jenny, how many layers of stitching do you do for your noses???
Bears-a-Bruin!Edie, I'm intrigued about you sewing your little ones by machine... I hand sew mine, and can't imagine how I could machine them. But then I do have a cumbersome old machine that I've had forever and refuses to die! So as well as something more modern that might cope better, I guess I'd also need to leave more of a margin than I do at the moment (about 2mm)???
The handsewing does really add the time on. All mine are back-stitched, and while I don't have a break down of exact timings I do know it takes me about 6-7 hours for a 3" bear. Not including pattern design, photos etc. Next time I start a bear I'll time each step and see what I get....
Ruby Mountain BearsI spent about five hours on Saturday, then another three on Sunday on an Eight inch bear and it is still not finished. I could go faster if I Machine sewed. The five hours also included tracing and cutting out two other bears. I try to maximize the time since I work on the kitchen table. All three are Mohair so I had to fray check all the edges too.
The eight inch bear is Head is complete(minus ears) and completely jointed and ready to stuff. Also I stuffed another bear 4" at the same time.
Waggle BearsJenny, I've always wondered how you and others are able to get their nose enbroidered with the fur starting just at the nose. I've tried taping and it just doesn't work for me. Is there a trick or do I just need practice?
Hi Marlys..I use a felt nose shape that I cut out from ordinary wool felt, whatever shape you want..I pluck the rough shape of the nose before I start then I tack the felt nose shape onto the plucked area...I do put a dab of fabric adhesive on it..some people are not happy to do that, but I am so I do..however you could just do a couple of big stitches to hold it on. I then do my first layer of stitching following the nose shape neatly then I do the mouth, roughly trim then I do another layer or two of stitching. The felt stops the strays from poking through your stitches . It might not be text book..but it works for me.
Wow, what a good idea. I'll have to actually sit down and do this sometime. I might actually find out how long it takes me to make a bear! People always ask me and I have to say, "Uhhh...I don't know..." and make something up.
Waggle BearsThanks, Jenny. Your noses are so perfect. And I like the look of that little nose sitting right into the fur.
Laurie Lou BearsI will also have to time myself as today I took some bears into my local bear shop and he asked me how many I do in a week as he was trying to work out when to hold a bear fair and I had to give my usual answer being that I don't really know.I make similar sized bears to you Paula and Edie that you have timed yourself making but I would guess that I am a lot slower although I hand sew all my bears.I don't think that I would want to work out my hourly pay rate though-it would frighten me
Laurie :hug:
puca bearsWhen I read just how quickly you , Paula, and you Edie , can make bears, I felt like banging my head on the table...... but it's reassuring to hear that some of you take considerably longer.........when I (finally) finish the one I'm SLOWLY working on, I'll try timing the next.......tho' I could end up clinically depressed!!!!!!!!!!!
ho hum.................
huggies
Maria
When I read just how quickly you , Paula, and you Edie , can make bears, I felt like banging my head on the table
I'm with you Maria! I am timing myself....and getting more and more depressed with each stitch!! Results won't be in for a while as I only get to sew in the evenings. I've only sewn the body and legs and one arm (no feet yet) and I'm already at 2 hours!! 
and the bear is only 2 inches tall 
Swan Valley Bears
I just finished my timed bear. Here are my results:
This is a 12 inch bear
Tracing, fray check and cut pattern pieces: 34
First pinning 12
First sewing 25
Second pinning 24
Second sewing 70
Stuff head 30
Joint head to body 18
Stuff joint and close limbs and joint to body 90
Stuff body and close back 20
Ears 35
Eyes 20
Nose & mouth 72
finishing (clipping and shading) 30
Total: 8 hours. This is a basic bear, so this isn't including any extras. This bear will most likely be embellished further, so he's really not done.
