For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Hi Sue Ann,
Thanks for the great pattern.
Can I post the pattern ( Including Goldie's photo, pattern and instruction translated in Chinese) in my blog to have more people to start with teddy bear making. But of course sure I will mentioned your name and also ask people to link to Teddy talk and your website.
If you allow that will be great, if not, please at least allow me to post goldie's photo so I can ask people to link to Teddy talk for the english instruction.
Yes, Angel, it's perfectly okay to post the pattern on your blog. Teddy Talk and I thank you for giving credit and linking to us.
Yes, Angel, it's perfectly okay to post the pattern on your blog. Teddy Talk and I thank you for giving credit and linking to us.
Thanks SueAnn, I hope with your free pattern and instruction many people in Taiwan will start to make teddy bears.
Thanks again.
Cute!! I want to try doing her.
But wen I click on the download the page freezes after I click >-< I have adobe 8
Marcia, our tech genius says to right click on the link and save it to your computer.
Thank you for the help, I alredy printed the patterns.
This tiger is made from your pattern though I gave him a tail. He is made in mohair fur and the striped is added with ProMakers. He has embroidered nose witch is painted with nose glossy. He is living with my mum. She enjoys him very much.
Thank you for the wonderful pattern!
hugs
Birgitta
How clever of you to turn "Goldie" into a lion, Birgitta! And he looks very handsome, too - great job!
Sue Ann,
My first prototype of Goldie (in dense brown synthetic one inch) which is what I have on hand to practice with, has gone well until the 'gather the neck' instruction. The bulk of the furr, the darts and the inclusion of the front and back seam into this gather, make it difficult to a) gather b) thread the screw and attach the disk, washer and lock nut. Correct that...for me, a newbie, it has proved impossible and I have resorted to a cotter pin joint which is too loose. The synthetic does want to unravel and stretch and I have thought of a reinforcement on the second prototype to support the stitching and shaving the furr to reduce the bulk.
What is the secret of dealing with all this bulk around the gathered neck of the body of a bear and successfully inserting the jointing mechanism.
Pat
PS--I'm awaiting my first mohair with great anticipation after practice bears. Hopefully I can overcome this problem before it arrives with Goldie prototype Number 2! I am dying to see her in the new Salmon mohair I ordered. Thanking you in advance.
PPS--I absolutely love your hares! More please!
Hi and welcome to TT Pat
Well I am sure that Sue Ann will have more than this solution but, this is what I do presented with you problem. I cut a circle, the size of the neck opening, punch a hole in the middle of it and saw it to the head, leaving a bit open, enough to insert the jointing disk then I stuff the head and close the opening and the head is ready to joint to the body.
Hope it helps you
Bear hugs.
Gladys
Hi, Pat . . . big welcome to Teddy Talk! I'm in the middle of making a bear with a long, dense synthetic myself and can tell you that trimming the fur away from the area that you gather will make a big difference. Also, flatten the seam allowances against the neck edge and gather them along with the edge (does that make any sense?), so that the bulk is distributed evenly. Same with the darts (you can cut down the middle of the dart and open). If these suggestions are clear as mud, just let me know and I'll try to explain it better. So pleased you are practicing with Goldie and you will find that mohair is SO much easier to work with!!
I totally agree with Sue Ann. I started out with mohair and found synthetics so much harder to cope with!
HI.
I was lucky enough to find an entire truckload of stuffed animal material being given away for free recently. So I'm trying my hand at making teddy bears. I really like your Goldie Patttern, but I was wondering if there was any way to put her together without the washers and locking nuts? I want to start with a basic run of the mill Teddy that is simply just stuffing inside, nothing fancy.
If anyone can help me to figure out how to put teddies together without the hardwear I would be greatly appreciative.
Thanks.
Lucky me - I think it would be alot of effort to convert the Goldie pattern into the type of pattern you want. I would suggest either, making as per the instructions and sewing on the arms and legs in place or buying some plastic doll joints, you can get them in most craft stores they are very simple to use :)
Have fun creating :)
Richy~
Hi lucky me,
Maybe you could get a pattern for an unjointed bear, either that or scale the pattern down slightly smaller and string joint the bear?
thanks for the advice, does anyone know where i can find a pattern for an unjointed bear?? everywhere i look I can only find jointed patterns. Or the kind where its only two pieces of fabric sewn together to make the whole body.
Lucky Me, check out the pattern books in stores where fabric is sold. Like Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue, etc. Look in the 'crafts' sections . . . sometimes they will have patterns for unjointed bears. Also, you can google "unjointed teddy bear patterns" and find many sources.
well I gave Goldie a whirl, minus the hardware... I basically just sewed the arms and legs onto the body where the washers should have been. I'm pretty pleased with the results for a first try. I posted a picture in the challenge gallery.. I chose a fabric that was easy to work with for the first time. Next time I will try one a little more bear like in nature.
Your Goldie bear came out very well, Lucky . . . well done!
I have ordered from intercal (LOVE!!) and am nearly finished with my first mohair bear!!! I do like the "Goldie" pattern but am seeing that the gusset is not working for me in regards to the overall shape of the muzzle and the top of the head. I keep staring at pictures of other Goldies and I'm really perplexed as to why I'm getting such a long snout and a strangely shaped square head. Any thoughts? Are folks sewing the nose to neck piece all the way up to the top? If so, then how is the nose tip of the gusset inserted? That's all I can think that I might be doing differently. I have already begun working on a head of my own designing to try to get a more rounded shape with a shorter muzzle....I'm getting ready to work it up in felt first.
I keep staring at pictures of other Goldies and I'm really perplexed as to why I'm getting such a long snout and a strangely shaped square head.
I should really leave this for Sue Ann to answer, but to me, your Goldie does look like the other Goldies. Your mohair (isn't Intercal great?) is fairly short and sparse, so the form of the bear underneath is easy to see, so that might be the difference between your version and some of the others.
This brings us to the other thread (about patterns). Now that you're modifying this pattern, you'll see that small changes will give you a different-looking bear. You might also want to read the recent thread in Tips & Techniques called "Chubby bears." The posts are about adding roundness using darts, and Joann Livingston created a nice pictorial tutorial.
Becky
Thanks Becky~!
I'm surprised that you're seeing this as similar - but you are SO right that different mohair affects a different look. And I've only got photos, not the actual bears, but some of them seem so much more rounded to me. I'm going to keep hammering away at my design, and working up other head patterns - see if I can find that particular look I'm really drawn to! I know I've also got to experiment with ear sizes and eye sizes and muzzle shaving! *overwhelmed* It's pricey and time-consuming to gather all the materials needed!!!
I will take a look at the other thread!
Zag, I really like your Goldie a lot! The way that one stuffs the head (or other parts) can, to a certain degree, influence the shape. I stuff the head pretty tightly, sort of 'molding' the shape as I go. That technique will become clearer to you as you make more and more bears. But, as Becky suggests, putting darts in certain places of pattern pieces definitely will affect the final look of the bear. Have fun in your journey!
Thank you Sue Ann~! And thanks again for sharing this pattern.
This head is stuffed so hard....that I split a seam. I really thought that would help round it out, but it didn't. My muzzle is still thinner and more pointy. But yep, I'm going to keep working on bears! I think this will be the last Goldie I make, though...because of that head.
THANK YOU!
I think perhaps if you move the ears up just a tiny bit the head won't look square!