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Elli, thank you so much for that link. its solved a huge problem for me. 
also, PlushPuppy, thank you for that link too. and yes that would be the way to measure the wire. just think of it like adding the bones.
Posts: 102Glad I could help. 
The armature from probaer looks a little different than the one in your link, so they won't be compatible, but I guess both are similar in use.
Posts: 110From the US company the armature would be £18 all in, from Probear £25, so it just depends on which will take longer to arrive :P.
I have cut out the pattern dog this afternoon, the one's 8.5" and one's 9.5" so I'm using the slightly bigger one. I've made the legs and nose much finer:
Are they too thin? I've tried to stay in proportion, but a pom is really fine and dainty so they can't be too big :lol:.
legs look good, but be aware they may be hard to turn after they have been sewn if you are sewing all of the seams before you turn them rightside out.
As promised, here are some photos of my finished Chihuahua. he is completely posable, even his ears are flexible and his eye lids open and close.
Posts: 110I'm hoping not to turn the legs inside out, following Elli's clever idea of leaving them undone to fit the armature in easier, then stitching them closed after :).
SilverClaw your chihuahua is amazing!! It's fab the way you can bend him so realistically to lie down and roll over! I love his tiny paws, did you paint them or glue them on? And where did you get his nose? I've found here that make noses:
http://www.woodlandteddies.co.uk/noses.htm
But it's the only place I've found so far. Yours looks super realistic!
I haven't given up on my pom, I found one more fur to try on eBay, so I've been waiting for it to to arrive. It's turned up in the post this afternoon, and I'm very happy with it. It's the exact same 'toffee' colour as the Minerva craft one, but its a fair bit longer and thicker as its 75mm pile:
I haven't tried clipping it yet, but I think its actually the same stuff, just longer, which is better for a pom coat, so should clip the same as the other did.
SilverClaw your chihuahua is amazing!! It's fab the way you can bend him so realistically to lie down and roll over! I love his tiny paws, did you paint them or glue them on? And where did you get his nose? I've found here that make noses:
Thank you so much. His paws are resin casts from my original sculpt (easier than sculpting each individual one) and the wire armature is directly embedded into them. they were then hand painted to match his fur.
his nose is also my original sculpt, as is the whole head its sculpted in super sculpey onto the armature and then hand painted with gloss varnish added to the eyes and nose. the eye lids are done like teddy bears with open/close eye lids.
that fur looks pretty good. do you have a link the to the ebay shop?
and thats probably going to be the best way for the legs.
as a tip, i like to under stuff a little, that way the fabric will move more freely in posing. and it also helps the tighter bends to hold better.
Posts: 110PlushPuppy wrote:SilverClaw your chihuahua is amazing!! It's fab the way you can bend him so realistically to lie down and roll over! I love his tiny paws, did you paint them or glue them on? And where did you get his nose? I've found here that make noses:
Thank you so much. His paws are resin casts from my original sculpt (easier than sculpting each individual one) and the wire armature is directly embedded into them. they were then hand painted to match his fur.
his nose is also my original sculpt, as is the whole head
that fur looks pretty good. do you have a link the to the ebay shop?
and thats probably going to be the best way for the legs.
as a tip, i like to under stuff a little, that way the fabric will move more freely in posing. and it also helps the tighter bends to hold better.
Ah ok I'm with you now, the design and sculpting is what you've done yourself, where as I thought the pieces are pre-bought from doll supply stores 
I'm learning loads of stuff here I never knew! 
As I've never done it before, I'm a bit unsure of trying to sculpt a nose and paw pads myself, and had thought of one of these :
http://www.dreamvisioncreations.com/noses.htm
I'm guessing their soft and squishy, like an actual dog's nose is, and they do look good, but I'm not sure if they'd be small enough?:/
This is the eBay shop I got the fur from:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Funky-Clubwear … 34.c0.m322
Thank you for the stuffing tip , I haven't thought about that yet, because I want to use something that will weigh it realistically, in a similar way to how a reborn baby is weighed.
Posts: 102SilverClaw, that Chi is sooo cute! 
I love the picture of him lying down on the floor. 
I would have added fur to clay parts, but well, that's just me - I want everything to look and feel as realistic as possible... 
PlushPuppy, those silicone noses look very good, but they are way to big. 
You could try to make one yourself of polymer clay. If you want it to feel soft you could cast it in silicone. It's also possible to model a nose directly out of silicone, but that can be tricky (I tried it a few times but were not happy with the result).
Posts: 110I did wonder if they were too big 
It's going to have to be a realistic as possible plastic nose then, because I've no idea how to make one from silicone! :D. I might try those WoodlandBears ones, they look really good, as most of the plastic ones I have found aren't very real looking.
If it helps, I could make you one at the correct size, either in polymer clay or silicone. A clay one would be £3 and a silicone one would be £5 plus postage. I've got an etsy store that I could do a custom listing for you or I do have ebay, but I perfer etsy.
Both silicone and clay would have I high amount of detail and would be sculpted to match the pom breed exactly.
let me know if this is something you'll like.
As for weighting, I use steelshot from mohairbearmakingsupplies. They add lots of weight at a relatively small amount. I would say you would only need the smallest amount they sell.
Posts: 110SilverClaw that would be amazing if you could do that, thank you so so much for the offer :). A black silicone nose would be perfect, and I could pay you by PayPal if you want? Obviously I'm a while off from needing it, but I will pay you upfront if you wish? Etsy is fine by me, if you can explain to me how to use it as I've never actually done so (I'm assuming its a bit like eBay?).
Steel shot is a great choice as its nice and heavy, but will there be space to fit it , especially in the paws by the time the wire and wadding is also in place?
SilverClaw that would be amazing if you could do that, thank you so so much for the offer :). A black silicone nose would be perfect, and I could pay you by PayPal if you want? Obviously I'm a while off from needing it, but I will pay you upfront if you wish? Etsy is fine by me, if you can explain to me how to use it as I've never actually done so (I'm assuming its a bit like eBay?).
Steel shot is a great choice as its nice and heavy, but will there be space to fit it , especially in the paws by the time the wire and wadding is also in place?
We can do it directly through PayPal if you want to :-) let me know and i'll pm you my PayPal address.
steelshot will fit in nicely, if I remember correctly you can get it in either 2mm or 1mm so it is very small.
Posts: 110PlushPuppy wrote:SilverClaw that would be amazing if you could do that, thank you so so much for the offer :). A black silicone nose would be perfect, and I could pay you by PayPal if you want? Obviously I'm a while off from needing it, but I will pay you upfront if you wish? Etsy is fine by me, if you can explain to me how to use it as I've never actually done so (I'm assuming its a bit like eBay?).
Steel shot is a great choice as its nice and heavy, but will there be space to fit it , especially in the paws by the time the wire and wadding is also in place?
We can do it directly through PayPal if you want to :-) let me know and i'll pm you my PayPal address.
steelshot will fit in nicely, if I remember correctly you can get it in either 2mm or 1mm so it is very small.
PayPal is fine for me, but I really don't mind, whichever is easiest for you :). If you let me know the total I'll get it sent to you straight away :).
I didn't realise the steel shot was that small, I was imagining something like mini marbles :D. I've just ordered the quarter of fur needed, so as soon as it turns up I can finally get properly started. I'm a bit unsure of what thread to use though:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coats-Nylbond … 2c7481144e
Is this going to be strong enough, or is there some special thread used for bear/doll making?
PayPal is fine for me, but I really don't mind, whichever is easiest for you
I didn't realise the steel shot was that small, I was imagining something like mini marbles :D. I've just ordered the quarter of fur needed, so as soon as it turns up I can finally get properly started. I'm a bit unsure of what thread to use though:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coats-Nylbond … 2c7481144e
Is this going to be strong enough, or is there some special thread used for bear/doll making?
I've sent you a PM about the paypal address
and yeah, steel shot is surprisingly small.
I stitch my art dolls with normal thread, but doubled up, but i do have some nylbond that i use too. it should be fine for your plush. whenever i sew by hand like this (rather than the ladder stitch i use for my art dolls) i like to use a back stitch as it is stronger than just a running stitch and can be pulled nice and tight. i also like to use a slightly different colour to my fabric so i can see exactly where i have stitched, but thats just me.
Posts: 110Thanks for the stitching advice SilverClaw :). Well the fur and thread has turned up, and the actual piece is much better than the sample, as bits of loose fluff doesn't shake out of it :D. However, I have underestimated how big a piece to get as I forgot that the fur has to flow a certain way, and I can't get all the pattern pieces the right way up on the one piece, so I've had to order another one :rolleyes:. I am however, going to at least cut one side out over the weekend (although I am going to practice cutting the sample first!), and I know not to just cut it with scissors or the actual fur will cut, but how exactly do you cut it with a craft knife/art scalpel? Surely putting a knife through it will also cut the fur, or at least put slices into it making it uneven? Also, seeing as it can't be stitched until I get the other piece, is it ok to cut it and leave it, or will it start to unravel like a loose thread on a sweater would?
Posts: 102You could have split the big pattern parts to get them all onto the fabric piece... Is your test dog finished already? So you are happy with the pattern?
I mostly use very small scissors (nail scissors or small embroidery scissors) and never had problems with cutting into the fur. Just be carefull and practice on the sample first.
I've never seen a plush that did unravel after cutting.
I always use a craft knife to cut my fur. The trick is to make sure that it is nice and sharp, i've even been known to use a knife steel to sharpen mine, and then not to use too much pressure to cut only the backing of the fur fabric. Use an even pressure and try to use one long cut for each line. Going arround round edges can be a little tricky but it just takes practice. I'd use the sample to have a go first, so you can get used to using it first.
Fur fabric shouldn't fray if you leave it, I often do as i'm working on several things at once, and pre cut kits would never work if the fabric fell apart
try what elli said about cutting up the pattern and see if you can fit it all on before you cut it out, it might save you buying another piece of fur.
Posts: 110I did consider cutting the pattern into more pieces, but as I've never done something like this before, I decided I'd be safer to use as few pieces as possible (less to go wrong!), and just ordered another quarter of fur :P. It was only £6 anyway so not a big hardship, but it would have only been £8 for a much bigger piece to start with - ah well you live and learn :D.
Yes my test dog is now done, I want to play about with the tail and ears a bit, but its complete in itself. I am very glad you told me to make one first, because apart from lining everything up properly and making sure it fits, the whole thing gave me so much practice and has given me confidence for the actual one. Here is my test dog:
And a close up of the face:
It's not made out of the best material, an old cheap t shirt because I didn't have anything else! Awful stuff to work with, it stretches terribly and curls up instead of laying flat when cut :P. I have purposely left the muzzle undone so far as I was trying to gauge it right, it needs to be smaller than what I altered it to on the pattern, and I think the right size is what is in the pic. I haven't ordered any wadding yet, so just to have a quick check I stuffed it with cotton wool balls and some socks, so if it looks odd and lumpy that's why!:lol: It's not the best looking thing, because I used a black marker and thread so I could clearly see my marks and stitches, but I am happy with how its turned out and think its a good shape, but if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions please say :).
Next step - need to make the wire for the inside!
Posts: 102I'm not sure if it's because of the stretchy fabric, but for me it doesn't look like a pom - or at least not a pom without fur, the neck and breast are too muscular. I always thought them to be very slim dogs under the fur, like a chihuahua?
More like this:
I think I would leave the muzzle as it is. It will look smaller since the head and body will get bigger with long fur.
If it' still too big in the end, it's no problem to make it smaller.
Posts: 110I'll leave the muzzle as it is then for now :). I never realised how difficult it is to find a good pic of a pom's body shape! These are the two best ones I've come across:
I'll try and pin it more into the shape you've shown, see if it looks better :).
Posts: 110Mark 2 - I have done the alterations so it looks more like what you suggested, have to say it looks much better, far less bulky/muscle-y :D:
Against the pattern:
I have also sewn up the muzzle, your right, it didn't need making smaller, by the time it's clipped down it will be small enough I think.
Do you think it looks better now, or does it still need a bit more alteration?
Posts: 102Yes, now it looks more like a pom to me.
I would have made the head and neck in a lower, more stretched forward position. But that's up to you, every artist has to find their own way to work.
Posts: 110Thanks Elli Now its finer, I can see instantly what you meant about it being too bulky, it looked a bit like a German shepherd type shape:P
I have done some test ears, but because the test dog's head is so small, they might look completely different with the thick fluffy fur, so I've decided to leave them until I've done the head properly. The tail though, I have had a go at:
It's very fine, I had a job to turn it the right way out! Not sure if its too fine to get the lockline type stuff in actually, or if it does, no other stuffing will fit with it.
Posts: 102You'll have to sew the plush around the lockline anyway (with fur it would be impossible to turn), so you don't need a pattern.
Even without any stuffing the tip will be too thick to look realistic, but fortunately you won't see that under the fur.
