Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Floridahello,
i'm working on my bear what i want to let stand free by himself... i put the weight in his leg, then i tryed in his belly.. then in his arm...
nothing worked .. now i have it in the legs and in his tail/.. but he still dont want to stand>
what should i do?? please help
sandra
Goldelocs Bears
Hi, I find that having a short legs, as well as weight such as glass beads or garnet in the feet and belly helps my bears to be free standing.
Hope this helps 
LeftyBears by Natascha Sabo
Did you try this already:
Stuff just the feet firmly with steelshot and the rest of the legs with fibrefil, also firmly.
If your bear has longer legs, just make the feet bigger/longer, too.
I hope this helps!
Bears by EdieAnother thing you can try is putting stiff cardboard in the bottom of the feet to make them very flat, or if you don't want to use cardboard then stuff the feet while keeping them pressed against a flat surface to keep them as flat as possible. You definitely want to have weight in the feet if you are weighting the bear and I would try to not put too much weight elsewhere - you don't want to make him top heavy!. As already said make sure the feet are as large as possible for his size - too small a feet and he won't stand alone no matter what you do.
Also look at where you have the legs aligned and jointed to the body, make sure there is balance at that location. I test mine by putting a doll needle through the leg, body, other leg and then make sure that it stands before permanently attaching. But I thread joint on miniatures so I'm not sure how well this would work on larger bears.
/bearhugs,
VallierBearsPeachtreeCottage - I Was going to say the same thing. Make sure the legs are wide enough apart and are horizontal to the body, no pulled in legs like a V.
Also well stuffed weighted feet and legs, also make sure you joints are VERY tight.
Richy~
Floridahello,
thanks so much for helping me.. yes i have bbs in the legs.. propably my feed are to smal .:(
i will try to put some bbs in the belly.
where can i find steel shots??? so u know?
thanks again sandra
Our Blue IguanaHi Sandra,
I put on both my bear feet almost until the knee 
and also on the button part of the body so gravity does it work... 
I check intercalg but unfortunately i cant see it... but i do know that sassy bear and fabrics have them.. I saw it just the other day when i check her site or u can go ask www.jennylovesbenny.com where i get my supply from since it's closer to taiwan
hope this helps...
:hug:
Floridahello Ming,
thanks so much i will check it out right away
sandra
Chaska, MinnesotaI agree with the others, put glass or steel BB’s in the feet up to the ankles. But if you are adding weights to the belly and arms, that is probably toppling the bear over so chose one or the other (feet or belly).
I buy my steel shot at Walmart....can be found in the hunting supplies section. Lots of great tips here on balancing and getting a bear to stand on its own! 
The method I currently use for my standing bears is shorter legs, bigger (flat) feet, weight in the feet, and positioning the hip attachment lower on the body and closer together than for a sitting bear. That last one might sound wrong as a wide base of support is logical, but it works well with the shorter legs and the look is cute with the legs close together when standing. 
You can then turn out the feet a bit for your wider base if you want to.....also cute!
Another thing you might try that works along the same line as stuffing the ankle firmly is using sturdy wire armature in the legs to help support them. I do this instead of trying to stuff the ankles hard, as when I try stuffing hard here, I always end up getting the feet too fat and not flat. 
Floridathanks so much,
what kind of wire do you use??? 
Posts: 16hi Sandra
i have had the same problem with a big bear i made not so long ago, and after reading some of the tips posted i have corrected it with shorter legs, and weighted pellets in the legs, but he's still balencing abit! so it needs abit of work, but thanks for the question, the replys have helped me aswell!
love and hugs
Abi 
