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BarcelonaHow do I make floppy bears? Do I understuff them? Is that ok for bears with joints? Something that looks like this...is it floppy and soft or just looks that way. Sorry for asking a lot. I am a newbie here and in this magical craft.
Such lazy, floppy ursine attitude!
My 3rd bear Fur Elise. She is not floppy at all.
Netcong, New Jerseyi don't know anything about making bears, because I collect them, but your third bear is just lovely!!!! 
I agree that Fur Elise is lovely. 
If you want to make a floppy bear, two places to start are with the jointing (looseness and position since you probably don't want the arms too high) and the filling (consider a heavy poly fill and/or pellets, either plastic or rubber, and it's fine to understuff a jointed bear). And think about your design, too. Very traditional bears are usually only floppy when they're old and well-loved, so do you want to make an aged or distressed bear? Or if you like the contemporary design of the bear in the photo, maybe that would work better as a floppy bear?
Have fun, make lots of bears, and your inner teddy bear will eventually emerge!
Becky
BarcelonaThank you, girls! I appreciate it. Thanks for the tip, Becky! I need all the help I can get!
Chaska, MinnesotaUnderstuff the upper body and and tack the stuffing so it does not fall into the lower body. A few small stitches, grabbing the stuffing and small stitch into the body should do it. You can do normal stuffing for the lower body, using polyfil and weights (pellets or BBs). Play with the folding over the top half of the body to the lower half to make sure you don't overstuff the top half. It really needs very little stuffing. Next is the jointing of the neck. You can make it wobbley to add to the look of a floppy bear. Here is a link to a tutorial on how to do the wobbley neck.
