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Hi 
I was wondering if someone could help me...I'm working on a new bear and as of lately have had problems with the seams on my bear's heads going crooked on me 
It's driving me insane! After it's stuffed, one seam on one side of the gusset will be going up, the other will be going off to the left. I haven't done anything different and yet every attempt I make, I end up with a crooked head. I am so careful that everything is the same size and so on, I make every stitch carefully and make sure all seams are the same....and still...crooked...argh!!! I know it's been awhile since I've worked on bears but :doh: I normally figure things out for myself but this is just making me crazy right now! Any help would be soooo appreciated 
It might be to do with right or left handedness when you stuff....I always have that problem that when I stuff I have to be careful to stuff evenly or the same can happen.
Lost bearsMay be you should put some marks (first on partten and then on mohair) each 5mm ( for eg.) on 1st part and 2nd. some mohair stretch a little so if even have everything wright it could happend 
it also drive me crezyyyyy 
It also depend on what is the stuffing. I foud that with wooden sawdust I don't have that problem.
I hope my little advice will help you.
I was recently reading a book that said to make sure your seams stay flat (e.g. open: one flap lying on one side and one flap on the other side) while you were stuffing.
I wondered what was becoming of my seams when I stuff a bear! Those seam allowances are pretty small... It wasn't one of the things I was thinking about, but perhaps it makes a difference.
Good luck!
Becky
Thank you ladies so much That all makes perfect sense! I had surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago and just had the stitches taken out last week so without even knowing it I'm probably favoring that hand (it's still very tender and sore). Marking pieces is a very good idea too. And you know I also had wondered about the seams inside, whether that might affect it as well if they weren't laying flat. All great ideas, thank you girls for your input! :hug: And may I ask just one more question...if and when you have a crooked bear head, do you start over or do you attempt thread sculpting, scissoring and such to straighten it?
Lost bearsIf it happends I turn inside out, unstitch, sew together trying to draw or to stretch one part till I get what I want- really boring! but I don't know another way to get good result
Kimi I hope you get well soon
Good question, Kimi. I've been known to take all the stuffing out and start over when I didn't get the nose firm enough. I'd probably do the same with a crooked head (but then I don't think my sculpting and trimming skills are good enough to hide the problem:)
I like to think that bear-making is honing my patience skills because I don't really get upset when I make a mistake. I just take a deep breath and start the un-doing and re-doing process to make it right. (I consider it to be tempting fate if I sew without the seam ripper nearby.)
Let me know if you confirm or disprove the "flat seam" theory.
Becky
Needle sculpt it...no head is symetrical...and it's the little things like that that create the personality. Human faces aren't symetrical,or animal ones...so if mother nature is happy with that state of affairs so am I !!
Angela's Bear GardenI mark my head pieces so I can match them up perfectly. Some fabric has more stretch, so basting the pieces together first can be a great help.
If the face is twisted, I would unstuff and fix the problem before I joint and try to finish. I would spend waaaayyy too much time trying to fix it otherwise 
If it's just a bit off, scissor-sculpting and needle-sculpting is a great fix.
New YorkAnother thing to consider is stitching it from the same direction on each side. In other words, don't go up one side and down the other. Isn't it amazing how the slightest thing can make such a huge difference?
Baird'sBearsKimi,
If you don't want to remove the stuffing, you can try using a sturdy needle to move it around inside the muzzle. Sometimes you can shift stuffing from the tightly packed area to the loosely packed area and/or move seam allowances. Sometimes the needle just breaks!
Laurie Lou BearsI would keep looking at the front of the bears head regularly as you stuff so you can correct the problem before it starts as otherwise if you stuff the head and only look at the bears face when you have finished it is too late then to try and correct it.I think it is easy to put more pressure on one side of the bear as you stuff than the other and thats what causes the problem.
Laurie :hug:
Gosh Thank you ladies so much, I really appreciate all your input! I think I've decided it is because I stuffed one side more than another due to my hand being tender. I didn't redo the stuffing because I had already stitched the nose and so forth before I had noticed...so I have needlesculpted and trimmed (thank you Jenny for pointing out that even in nature nothing is perfectly symetrical 
Many thanks again to you all for being so kind in offering your expertise! You offered some wonderful tips that will prove to be very helpful! I am so grateful for all your help!!!! :hug: :hug: :hug: Biggest hugs, Kimi
