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Posts: 52Hi there, I'm in the process of making a teddybear - only problem is, I'm not really into buying and waiting for the joints. I sort of just want to finish the bear!
He wasn't expensive at all to make, and I don't think I'm going to sell him for much, but I am curious as to whether he'll sell at all without joints. He's small, not a miniature, but about 11" high? Less?
Has anyone sold unjointed bears? Should I order the joints and wait? Advice is appreciated!
BrozZ BearZIf it was me, I would wait for the joints cause they just make 'em so much more...stronger feeling and professtional if you know what I mean...Plus I've gotten really excited about a bear once and really jumped into but kinda rushed it and wasn't happy with the end result but thats just my opinion. Hope this helps 
I maek lots of unjointed bears......I call them my BabySafe animals, I embroider the eyes and noses. They have their place, and I really like them.
pandamac
MerBear OriginalsI just used one of my artist patterns to make a bear out of chenille. I sinew jointed it though cause I wanted it to be baby-safe. The limbs still have limited movements, just no actual joint.
EJ's CraftsI make affordable bears that are childproof and I have always put joints in them. I have tried a few without joints and they just don't seem to sell. Anyway, that's my opinion.
Eva
Eat Cake! bears and vintageDo you have to use the plastic joints for them to be child safe? I've been able to pull those off before but never have I been able to pull the cotter pin joints apart. My oldest has requested a bear for the soon to be here baby and I haven't gotten past thinking about it yet except getting nice plastic baby safe black eyes. I was still stumped on how much shading I can do and how.
Posts: 52Thanks everyone! I've decided to go with the joints. I bought a pack, and it's worthwhile I feel if I'm going to be making more bears (which of course I am!)
As for your question, eatcakevintage - YES, the plastic joints are often called 'child safe doll/bear joints'. Cotter pins are definitely not child safe, and the only other way to joint your bear is with the plastic ones. They're the ones I enjoy using the most, not because they're child safe in particular, but because they come all together in a set and the cotter pin thing was always a bit complex for me.
As for shading - I'd be careful. I know that prismas/copics are non-toxic, but that baby will probably be sucking and gnawing all over that thing if he takes a shine to it. There's a lot of 'babyproofing' that needs to go into a bear if he's going to be a baby gift, that I know for sure.
