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Tami E Jul 3, 2008

I have recently been adding a handmade wire armature to the arms of my largest bears and I am pleased with he result. They can hold a pose, or a doll I've made, or even hold hands.

But each time I have done it I have struggled with the stuffing of the arms and paws once the armature is in. And each time I have thought, there must be an easier way. I'm thinking I need a different stuffing tool perhaps...

I have used electrical cable for the armature and made a paw shaped loop at one end.

Then I wrap this with a long strip of batting which I secure by wrapping with thread and taking a few stitches here and there to hold it into place. I slide this into the arm like putting a shirt sleeve on an arm. Then the trouble starts. I have to fill out the paws and arms and my stuffing stick just pushes right through the bits off stuffing instead of pushing them where they should be, leaving lumps. I keep working at it and after pulling out lots of stuffing and going again, it works, but is there an easier way?
Any ideas?

All Bear Jul 3, 2008

I don't know if this will be of any use Tami as I don't tend to use armatures, but I found a terrific stuffing tool from joggles.com ... it's a Barbara Willis medium stuffing tool intended for dolls and it really does put the stuffing in the right places.  You need to be quite careful with it though, the end is quite sharp and can pierce the mohair or paw fabric if used too enthusiastically!

http://www.joggles.com/store/catalog/in … Path=32_98

Beautiful bears by way way *sighs* ...

Tami E Jul 3, 2008

Paula, thank you. Is the end of the tool "forked"? I couldn't tell from the picture, but the name implies that.  That might be just the thing to hold onto the stuffing. How long is it? The tools I usually use for stuffing are my "cotter keys" --large for big bears and small for the smaller ones (and I cannot stuff my bear's trapunto toes with anything but the small cotter key) It grabs the stuffing great but it is not long enough for these big guys when I have the armature in them so I was using a chop stick.

Laura Lynn Banner SponsorJul 3, 2008

Hi Tami,

I don't know if this will work for you as your bears are bigger than mine - but I also had problems stuffing the arms when I had the armatures wrapped with batting.  The stuffing I was trying to add kept getting caught on that batting.

Then I found Super Rollers when I was browsing at Sally Beauty Supply.  I take the wire out of the rollers and use the roller as padding around my armatures.  I've been using these ever since  

The kind I use are thinner as my bears are smaller.  But I think they also offer thicker ones that may work for you.

http://www.sallybeauty.com/Super%20Roll … lt,pd.html

Tami E Jul 3, 2008

Laura, that's a cool idea! like make your own Flex-a -limb. I will check them out. It is the batting that catches the stuffing.

desertmountainbear Jul 3, 2008

I am going to Sally's I love the idea of the rollers,  I have the same problem,  These last few bears I have used flexialimbs, but I would rather do it myself

Joanne

MerBear Jul 3, 2008

I use this product from Lee Valley for armatures. It's a flexible wire surrounded by a spongy, removable coating. Not expensive and it works great - I have no problems getting stuffing around it as well.
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.as … 33283&ap=1

Marion

jacky Jul 3, 2008

hi tami i can not help you . but i        the two bears holding hands how do you get the great paws and pads       im new to bear making , is there a book on how to get them to look any thing like yours. the best iv seen :clap:  :clap:  :clap: , i hope you do not mind me asking :redface:  :redface:   jacky

Tami E Jul 3, 2008

Thanks Marion! That looks like a very economical solution!

hi tami i can not help you . but i        the two bears holding hands how do you get the great paws and pads       im new to bear making , is there a book on how to get them to look any thing like yours. the best iv seen :clap:  :clap:  :clap: , i hope you do not mind me asking :redface:  :redface:   jacky

Thank you Jacky. What a lovely complement.  :redface: I have been making my own bear designs for 15 plus years, so I have worked a lot of things out on my own including how to do the combination  applique and trapunto paws and open mouth designs, but I can tell you that one excellent book you can purchase is 101 Bears to Make by Nancy Tillburg. Nancy details so many wonderful techniques in the book including trapunto paws and open mouths and well as many other cool things like dying fur with Kool Aide. Also, Daphne Blau of Backroad bears has an excellent tutorial on her website which shows how to do the applique-trapunto combination. I call it that because I just borrowed those two quilting techniques and put them together but it has recently come to my attention that this  is actually called "reverse trapunto" when done like that.

Linda Jul 3, 2008

You could try leaving a bigger opening, I've found that it helps as you can manipulate the stuffing tool around with more room to move. Your bears are lovely, by the way. 

bearlyart Jul 4, 2008

Stuffing around armatures is one of those tasks I hate doing   

That having been said, here are two suggestions.  First, add stuffing into difficult places with hemostats.  You can get LONG hemostats, 10-12" long (medium length works for most projects though).  Pinch a wad of stuffing in your hemostats, shove the tip where you need it to go, open the hemostats when you're in the right location and the stuffing winds up where you want it.

If that doesn't work (and I have some tricky armature combinations that I've tried), leave an additional stuffing hole open closer to where you're having a stuffing problem.  So if you had a leg/foot armature and had problems stuffing under and around the foot portion, I'd leave an extra stuffing hole in the heel (in addition to my normal hole along the back of the thigh).  Sometimes it's not a matter of not reaching an area, it's getting the right angle.

Best wishes,
Kelly

Tami E Jul 4, 2008

AAh! I thought hemostats would work. I only have a short pair though. Apparently I need to go shopping Hemostats, hair curlers and stuffing forks.
Thanks everyone!

All Bear Jul 4, 2008

Sorry I'm late getting back!  Tami, the stuffing tool I mention does have a forked end ... it's got a very little head, but it works really well and encourages the use of small pieces of stuffing ... I really like the finish it gives and use it even on my biggest bears.  It's particularly useful in areas such as noses, paws and around joints.

Kelly:  Sometimes it's not a matter of not reaching an area, it's getting the right angle.

Great advice Kelly!

Eileen Jul 6, 2008

Hi Tami--what gorgeous bears!

For bigger arms, you could probably use pipe insulation, sold as long foam tubes in almost any hardware store.

I haven't tried this myself, but I mean to.