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Jozi Bears Jan 12, 2015

I apologise if this was discussed before:

Are fully hand sewn bears more 'collectable' than machine stitched ones? Obviously smaller bears are easier to hand sew, but do collectors feel that the bigger bears are more 'unique' or 'special' if they are hand sewn?

The biggest bear I currently made was 20cm (about 8inches) and I did hand sew him, but I do feel that a 40cm (15") bear or a 60 cm (23") bear will be quicker on the machine... but how collectable is a machine stitched bear, or doesn't it matter?

Thanx
Theresa

peterbear Jan 12, 2015

Theresa,
As a collector I really don't care if the bear is hand-stitched or machine-stitched.  Most of the time I don't even know if parts of the bear are stitched by hand or by machine.  The only thing that is important for me is the design of the bear: is it an original design by the artist and therefore a "one of a kind" bear (or a very limited edition bear)? 
I don't see any reason why a machine-stitched bear would be less collectable than a hand-stitched one, but maybe other people feel differently about it. I have got OOAK artist bears up till 30" tall and I can imagine that making them completely by hand is very laborious.

1 user likes this: Crown Critters

Us Bears Jan 12, 2015

I wouldn't say strictly hand or strictly sewn.  It depends on the design of the Bear and how the stitching works in the design.
A tiny Bear is probably going to be hand stitched but a larger one is probably going to need, at least, some machine work or else it will become an unwieldy project.

Maybe machine sewing the body and hand stitching smaller parts.
It really depends on the Bear.

Jozi Bears Jan 12, 2015

Thanx so much, appreciate the input 

gugu"s teddies Jan 14, 2015

Hi There
Just a  tip dont Machine stitch the head and gusset sew that by hand also foot and paw pads  Its preferance most of my bears are hand stitched below 20cm above that i have started to use my Machine  Good Luck

Francesca Jan 14, 2015

I hand stitch all my creations. It has nothing to do with thinking that it might be more valuable. It has to do with the fact that I am not good enough with machine sewing to have good results with it, especially as most of my designs have multiple little parts that need very careful and precise sewing. I think what is important is the result. If you are able to obtain a good result with machine sewing, I think there is no shame in saving time....I would do it, if I were good enough! Machine sewing gives me immense stress, hand sewing soothes me!    

4 users like this: Conni, Crown Critters, dangerbears, peterbear

Jozi Bears Jan 18, 2015

Thanks all! Recently been making a 20cm bear and decided that the machine will definitely not work, too many small fiddely parts. I enjoy size 10cm to about 25cm bears so I guess I will stick to hand stitching. Like Francy I am not so good at machine stitching, and the hand stitching is great stress relief!
Have a fab weekend everyone!
Theresa xxx

1 user likes this: Francesca

Figartteddy Apr 10, 2015

Hi to all bear lovers! Can anyone advise on keeping mohair edges together while machine sewing? One seam edge always seems to slip, this is despite the fact that I pin very closely and horizontally together and use the longest stitch on the machine, any tips would be appreciated, thank you in advance.

Lyntonteddybears Apr 13, 2015

Hi

Like the others here I both hand and machine sew depending on the size and complexity of the piece I am working on. I trim all the pile from the seam allowance then I like to pin and also tack pieces together before sewing. If i'm machine sewing I use a 'walking foot' attachment which is designed to help feed the material through and stop it slipping. This was a tip I got years ago when I went on a Janome sewing course - I think it does make a difference not sure if others use/would agree?

Lyn x

dangerbears Apr 13, 2015

Can anyone advise on keeping mohair edges together while machine sewing? One seam edge always seems to slip, this is despite the fact that I pin very closely and horizontally together and use the longest stitch on the machine

Try increasing the pressure on the presser foot, and use a small stitch! Large stitches are not going to form a strong enough seam for vigorous stuffing. (I use a standard foot and a very old machine.)

Becky

jenny Apr 14, 2015

Someone gave me great advice once..
" no matter how slow you machine it will always be faster than you can hand sew'
I have learned to sew pretty much everything on the machine...it's faster and once you get used to it is neat and takes to donkey work out of it. Occasionally I will sew the nose and muzzle in by hand ...and rarely...the footpads if I do trapunto ones and they won't go under the machine.
To me it's a case of ' why have a dog and bark yourself'
If I have a sewing machine to do the boring bits I let it! It means I get to do the nice bits faster.