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Back Road BearsWow, this was a great thread to read. I haven't tried a center seam.... never gave them much thought until I first saw Wanda's bears (namely Tyler, her adorable avatar. Yeah, ok, you all know how in love with him I am!) Now I'm dying to try one!
Lots of great suggestions. Debbie, I'm glad you finally got his seam to look the way you want. I was also thinking that, given the nap, I would have not trimmed the seam allowance on the right side, leaving the fur on that side to prevent the bald spot. But that takes a lot of foresight and learning the hard way and wouldn't be a general rule. Ya done good, girl!!!!
Can't wait for those eyes to come so we can see him all done!
Posts: 3,540
Daphne aren't Wanda's creations amazing!!!! I just adore her center seam teds 
Vicky (vkallum) told me after you've split your head gusset (and added the seam allowance), to sew the head gusset pieces to the side first. Then you sew up the head, from neck to nose, and then finally from nose to the neck. I'm so glad she told me because I would have simply resewn the head gusset without even thinking of doing it this way.
Here's a pic of my bear...in waiting still for his eyes... I've restuffed the head, so the bald patch is no more
Upstate New YorkCenter seams are my fav. The last bear I did, and the current one are not center seamed. I'm def going back next bear.
Debbie
He's looking fab - it's really paid off re-stufiing him. I feel the urge to make center seam coming on!
Will you post the finished piccies?
HannabearsDebbie, your bear is looking great!! You were brave to try this on such a small bear. I've done only a few center seam bears, and discovered right away the need to first be sure the pieces were laid out and cut so that I'd be reasonably happy with the natural lay of the fur afterward. Then after trimming and "picking" the seam, making sure the seam was open flat before and during stuffing, and this can really be a challenge. I usually find that when I'm embroidering the nose and mouth, the "needle-shifting" method mentioned by Debbie works well to neaten up the muzzle and chin seams in that area as well. Once I get my bears' heads stuffed, I'm willing to try almost anything to avoid pulling it all out and stuffing over!!
Hugs,
Karen C. ~ Hannabears
Posts: 3,540Awwwwhhhh...Karen your little avatar bear is cute! I'm with you, once they're stuffed, I do just about anything to prevent yanking the stuffing out and redoing it...but it was much better with this one to just redo.
Vicky...yes, I'll be posting his finished pics! 
I promise! I'm just waiting on his eyes....and it seems to be taking ages for them to come..... 
Ah well, they'll get here eventually... Thank you again for the brilliant instructions!! I never would have made him without them :hug:
Eileen...I have that " flipped seam " problem all the time..I never saw a remedy on any board and really wondered if I was the only one that had the problem !!! that can drive you nuts.
I dont even bother to unstuff my bear..I just use a hefty needle to enter at one side of the offending seam and sort of flip it over to the other side...works great...altho I was thinking about gluing the seam before hand I did not think that would work because how can I tell how the fur will lay later before its stuffed ?..
Just wanted to let you know that Winneys needle poking method also seems to sort out squiffy muzzle seams, usually they end up in the bin. Today has been one of those days when everything I've done has gone wrong 
- just as I was about to throw the offending head on the floor and jump on it I remembered the post about fur laying the wrong way. So I undid the mouth and had a little poke to see if I could change the direction of the seam and "Hey Presto" by changing the way the inside of the seam was lying straightened out the outside. THANK YOU Winney - not only did your tip save my sanity it saved the little bear from a very nasty end! 
Back Road BearsI tried Winney's little seam trick(OK, its a 'makes all the difference' trick so, not so little) today and jumped for joy! It worked! It worked!!!
Thank you, Winney!
Winneybears and FriendsYeahhhhh !!!! So glad it worked...sometimes these little things can really make or break your bear.I just never found it on any board...but I was sure everyone MUST be having problems with this...like Egyptian Virus legs ????...that's where after finishing your bear the legs and feet point in the same direction....yikes ! That has already been posted so do a search..if you cant find it then post and ask me....
there are other quirky little things that are problem too so hey...everyone tell us what drives you nuts ? Maybe we can figure out how to get around it........... Winney
Baird'sBears
Great idea, Winney!
I'd like to know how others groom/clean their bears once they're finished.
By the time I complete mine, they look a bit 'distressed', if you know what I mean, from all that torture--so do I, actually!
Eileen
