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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
The 85 mm mohair is slightly wavy. If you brush it you can get it quite straight, if you want to emphasize the curls you can put hair mousse on it, like you would do with your own hair! 
The way it is priced is so: the prices are per centimeter, and you can buy in 5 cm increments. Meaning that you can buy 10-15-20-25 cm and so on. The fabric width is 140 cm. 1/4 is normally a piece of fabric 50x70 cm. Meaning that the same amount of fabric in 'pro-bear' would be a strip of 25cm (x 140 cm). Just beware that with a long and thin strip you might have more 'leftover' fur when you cut your pieces, because the space you will be placing them will be a narrow rectangle instead of a quasi square! I would suggest to order 30 cm, to be on the safe side!
The price for the 30 cm is 59.40 euros, plus shipping (if you don't live in Germany) it would cost 72.40 euros...I tried putting it in my basket to see the precise amount! As I said, not cheap....but very nice Schulte mohair!
Good luck with your quest!
Posts: 110how about Icecream https://www.mohairbearmakingsupplies.co … -70mm-pile on mohair? or beige frosted https://www.mohairbearmakingsupplies.co … -70mm-pile
mohair allow returns but you will have to pay the postage, i just checked.
The ice cream looks more white like the polar bear, but if it actually is cream, then its certainly one that will go in my consideration pile :P. With the beige frosted, wouldn't it go dark brown once it's clipped, as it looks like its darkish with lighter tips on the longer hairs?
Posts: 110I've printed out the pattern this afternoon, and its got a 5cm scale next to it. So as it was slightly over 5cm when I printed it, I made copies shrunk down until the scale line measured exactly 5cm, thinking that would make it deadly accurate all over. However, when measuring the actual pattern to the shoulder, the bang on accurate one is only 8", whilst the one that's out is 9" 2cm, and now I'm a bit unsure which to use :/. Is the original print ok even though the scale is a bit out? Or do I need to use the accurate but smaller one?
Posts: 102The original print should be alright, you can enlarge or shrink the pattern as much as you want as long as the scale is the same size on all three parts of the pattern.
Ohiohere's a pattern if all else fails
http://gerrys.com.au/product.php?produc … 378&page=1
Posts: 110Thank you Dannelle for that :).
Elli, thanks for explaining about the pattern, I'm going to use the original, as the other one is slightly too small.
What type of wire should be used in the armature? I've found a roll of garden wire, but it's very fine and a little bit rusty, so I'm not sure if its ok to use or not. I don't want the rust spoiling the wire inside a few months after putting it in. And what size should it roughly be? For example, if the actual fur doll is 9" high and 8" long, should the wire be 7" high and 6" long, or does it need to be even smaller, to compensate for the wadding being around it?
I've also had a reply back off mohairbears about the 'blush', saying its more pink than cream, so that one is completely out of the question.
Posts: 102I mostly use insulated copper wire, the stuff you get in any hardware store, I think the plastic insulation makes it quite durable.
I make my armatures similar to a real skeleton with the spine directly under the back seam, like this:
So it's just a little bit smaller in heigh, just enough to wrap the spine in a layer of thick felt.
If you make a test dog out of cheap cotton fabric, you can make the armature to fit that dog.
Posts: 110I mostly use insulated copper wire, the stuff you get in any hardware store, I think the plastic insulation makes it quite durable.
I make my armatures similar to a real skeleton with the spine directly under the back seam, like this:
http://www.teddy-talk.com/img/members/3 … eleton.jpg
So it's just a little bit smaller in heigh, just enough to wrap the spine in a layer of thick felt.If you make a test dog out of cheap cotton fabric, you can make the armature to fit that dog.
Thanks Elli, that picture is very helpful :). I'm sure I can get hold of insulated wire, because my brother does electrical work and usually has loads of it! With regards to the backbone, do you thread the locklite onto the wire itself?
Posts: 102It's always complicated to get the wire legs on the lockline spine. 
I drill holes through the lockline and put one of the leg wires through it (a leg consists of 2-4 twisted wires).
Then I twist the wire ends around each other and around the opposite leg, I try to get it solid but not too bulky. For the head I just add a wire ring.
At the end I wrap the legs in tape and the whole armature in felt before putting it into the plush.
That's my way to do it, maybe other artists have found better solutions.
PijangibearsElli - you are very talented 
Posts: 110Elli that is a great diagram and thanks for explaining :). My brother has indeed got wire, and I was going to get started on the frame, but unfortunately I had an accident whilst walking the dog this afternoon, I fell and impaled a tree root in my hand, and now I'm all bandaged up in a sling :(. So now I'm completely out of action for at least a week or two, (though I'm hoping I can at least sort the fur out over the phone) and typing with one hand is really difficult,so if I don't reply for a while its not because I've disappeared, forgotten or given up, I'm still gaining a lot of info and knowledge off you all, I just can't answer very easily for a while :(.
Posts: 102Get well soon, PlushPuppy. :rose:
Birgitte, I've still so much to learn, can't compete with really talented artists.
Posts: 110Thanks Elli :). Still all wrapped up, but my samples from fabric online arrived earlier:
The cream:
Beige frosted:
Compared with the polar bear:
There's not that much difference between the cream and the PB, not enough to pay £30 for anyway! And it still looks too white. The beige frosted is almost perfect, but it might clip darker and it's not really long enough. So I'm still looking for the right fur! :wacko:
As I'm finding it so difficult to find the right fur, would something like this work?:
http://www.babypropshop.co.uk/faux-furs-page-2/
And a bigger image of I think the same colour:
how about this? its a mohair but it is 52mm in length
http://www.christiebears.com/acatalog/M … lanc2.html it comes out at £32 for 1/4 meter which would be plenty. again, it is slightly lighter than you are looking for but you can dye mohair a lot easier than faux fur.
have a browse on the library for dying tips.
Posts: 110Thanks for the link SilverClaw, if the next samples are no good, it looks like it'll have to be a dye job, so I'll go and check out how to do that :).
As an aside from the fur for a bit, I've been looking up the lockline. Is the 1/4" size big enough or do I need to go up to the 1/2"? I had thought of putting it right into the tail, but after a think decided it might be better to just put the electric cable in the tail, or it'll be too big and not feel right.
Posts: 110Yay, I've finally found a fur that is both the right length and colour! 
It's the 'toffee' one from Minerva crafts:
And its the same colour throughout so it will clip ok:
Does anyone know what their fabrics are like to work with? And if a normal sewing needle is strong enough to sew it, or if the thread should be as close a match as possible, or dark so its easy to see?
Posts: 102It looks as if it could get matted easily, but it's hard to judge the quality just from pictures. Does the knit back stretch? Try clipping a part of the sample just to see if the fur is dense enough and looks fine at the base.
If it's okay - congratulation!
I've worked with a lot of sythetics and always used normal sewing needles. The thread colour should match and I would recommend to use an extra strong thread, posing can strain the seams a lot.
Posts: 110Its obviously not as thick as the the fauxthrow ones, but it has clipped down ok:
I've used one of the shortest blades on the corner, and it looks ok, can't shape the longer hairs as I still can't use the scissors, but the colour remains the same throughout:
The depth of the fur:
If you pull it sideways it stretches, like the other ones I've got do, but it doesn't if you pull it top to bottom, not sure if that's a problem or not :/.
I think I will stay with this fur, because the baby prop throw, although a good length of fur, is £26, and I wouldn't be able to clip it to test first, and in the pics, it does look darker at the base. I don't really want to pay that much for something that only might work.
that fabric looks good. do you have a link to where you got it from? i'm always on the look out for uk suppliers of good fur.
as for lockline, you will need this http://www.crscraft.com/products/vProdu … chOffset=x rather than actual lockline. probably need 3/16". lockline come up rather large as the measurement is the inside diameter. it can be a little expensive to the to the UK (shipping is quite high) but it is also cheaper than lockline.
Posts: 110I got it from here:
http://www.minervacrafts.com/lpf-60-wid … lours.html
It's the long pile toffee colour, I paid 99p for a sample piece, and the image picture was a very good representation of the actual fur ( the closest of all the samples I've had). On the sample I've got they've just cut a square out so its shorter on the bottom, but with a big piece It'll hopefully look better all over 
Thanks for that link, as I was going to get lockline, thinking 1/4 would be small enough! Daft question, but presumably that company will ship to the UK and its just me who can't find the shipping prices/info?
Posts: 102I buy my "doll armature" here http://www.probear.com/dollarmature and I use the 11mm as backbone (and the 6mm as tail).
It's normal that the fabric stretches a little bit in one direction, but if it is too stretchy you have to stabilize the backing.
Posts: 110Thanks Elli :). The fabric has a bit of 'give' in it, but it's not really stetchy. Obviously it would tear if you pulled it hard enough though like any other cloth
I've started on the wire armature this afternoon, and I know it needs to be made as straight as possible, but should it be bent to size/shape first like this:
If I cut it like that, it would likely be too short when stretched out, so if I pull it straight and cut, will it then go back into the right size when put in the doll?
( I know its meant to run up higher in the body than the pic shows, but its a 4ft piece of wire and it was tricky enough keeping that little bit in place )
Posts: 102I would make the test dog first (or even a second or third test dog, if you want to alter the pattern) and built the skeleton to fit that dog, for me it's difficult to make a skeleton just from a pattern.
But if I understand your question correctly (damn English )... If the legs of the pattern aren't completely straight (like on this dog), I would also bend the wire into shape for measuring.
Just an advice: don't put those cut ends in the paw, form a loop nearly as big as the sole of the foot to have poseable paws.
Posts: 110Thanks Eli, I'll have a go at a test dog, to make sure it fits, as you say, its hard to judge from a paper pattern :lol:.
I will definitely make a loop for the paws, but should the head be made into a loop as well, or left like the wire in my pic?
Posts: 102In the head the loop is even more important. 
