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Rin Sakura Bears
West Yorkshire
Posts: 70

Hi everyone,

Is there a way to test whether a bear pattern you have designed will work without having to make it out of fabric?  I have tried piecing it together as a 3D model out of paper but struggled with pieces that only had 2 parts to them such as the arms.

I hand-draw my patterns onto paper before transferring them onto card and cutting them out and can't always picture what they would look like in 3D.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Rin

SueAnn Past Time Bears
Double Oak, Texas
Posts: 21,924

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

Do you not have a sewing machine?  You can always stitch it by hand if that's the problem.  You could use a low-cost muslin or something similar to sew the pattern pieces together to get an idea of how the bear might look.  You wouldn't necessarily have to sew with tiny stitches . . . use a longer basting type stitch just to see how it comes together.  Have fun.

Rin Sakura Bears
West Yorkshire
Posts: 70

Thank you for your prompt reply and sorry for the lateness of mine.

I prefer to sew everything by hand as I like to make small bears and find the sewing process very therapeutic.

I think I've been putting too much effort into making the prototype bears as I have still stitched them neatly and stuffed them carefully whereas I should have been doing a quicker stitch like you suggested and then stuffed them quickly as I'm only getting an idea of the proportions and shape.  I made an ear using this method last night as I wanted to see if a bigger ear would look better on a bear I was making and it took hardly any time at all.  It was just weird seeing an orange ear with white stitches on a brown bear lol.

I know it sounds silly but I got so set in my ways that I didn't even realise why my prototypes were taking so long and it took your message to make me take note of the amount of work I was putting into them lol.

Thank you very much for your help.

Kind regards

Christine

SueAnn Past Time Bears
Double Oak, Texas
Posts: 21,924

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

You're very welcome, Christine.  I know we sometimes don't remember that things can be done in more ways than one.

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