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dangerbears Jun 6, 2009

Hi everyone,

Would anyone like to share tips for getting the placement of a bear's legs right? Too low, and he won't sit correctly. Too high, and he looks "hippy" (and still won't sit correctly).

I'd love to hear any advice:)

Thanks,
Becky

ThomasAdam Jun 6, 2009

This is going to be a first for me, since I don't make teddy bears, but...

I have done this before -- and I can tell you, it's all in the stuffing.   You don't say if the teddy in question is having his leg reattached or simply is attached and needs stuffing.  In the case of the former it's a little easier.  In the case of the latter, the trick is to ensure his leg is fully stuffed before you sew it up -- and even then it's the stuffing at the joint that will cause you problems.

Hopefully someone else with way more experience will help -- but that's my experience, if nothing else.  :)

-- Thomas Adam

2catkiss Jun 6, 2009

Hi Becky~
Not sure how you are jointing your bears, but if you are using cotter pins, have you ever tried finishing your arm and leg pieces including stuffing and stitching closed? ( Cotter pin is inside the leg, sticking out to the outside )

Leave the body open and put light to medium stuffing in there( just to see how it is going to fill out ) and then place and mark the spot for your legs where you like them.  You have to remove the body stuffing to finish the cotter joint, but this extra step might be worth it

Hope this is helpful..

Lee Ann

dangerbears Jun 6, 2009

Hi Thomas and Lee Ann,

I recently switched from cotter pin joints to lock-nut and bolt (just for the arms and legs) because I couldn't get consistent tightness with the cotter pins.

I can definitely see the logic of having the leg stuffed or partially stuffed before trying to determine the position. I'll try partially stuffing the leg but leaving the seam open so that I can tighten the joint. (I've also been putting a couple of pieces of bubble wrap inside the body during the jointing process so I can get an idea of how the bear will sit in 3-D.)

Does anyone else have trouble with this? It seems like such a small variation in the joint position can have a big effect on the bear.

Thanks,
Becky

EvaJ Jun 6, 2009

Becky, sometimes the body piece can make a difference too.  Are you centering the legs or setting them back to give a bigger tummy?  As I make child safe bears and only use the plastic locking joints all my joints are put in before I stuff.  I center my legs and also make sure the bottom of the leg is even with the bottom of the body as if the bear was sitting.  Don't know if this makes sense, I hope so.  Them when I stuff, I do the body first and then when I do the leg, I do the foot and then the top part of the leg so that I can see how the leg will look and then the middle of the leg.  This keeps me from pushing the top of the leg out too much.  As you are using the nut and bolt system, which I use to use, a bigger washer sometimes works in keeping the top of the leg from sticking out too much.

dangerbears Jun 7, 2009

Thanks, Eva,

It's that "bottom of the leg is even with the bottom part of the body" that seems tricky to me, in other words, how far up or down on the body to put the joint.

Probably another one of those "practice makes perfect" things.

Best regards,
Becky

Clarebear Jun 7, 2009

If you only want them to sit then just check that the back of the leg is level with the body in a sitting position and then place the joint midway beween the front and back of the bear.  If you want it to stand -same principle but play with the position of the joint on the body so it doesn't sit too far forward or back. hope this makes sense.

dangerbears Jun 9, 2009

Just a follow-up to the topic:

I jointed a bear last night and tried doing it with the lower part of the leg partially stuffed (up to the opening where the joint needed to go in). That, along with the bubble wrap inside the body so I could see the sitting form better, got me a pretty good result on the first try.

Thanks for the advice, and if anyone has another tip to add, I'd love to hear it!

Best regards,
Becky