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Apple Dumpling DesignsI have been thinking about trying out elastic cording for eye lids. How is it secured to the bears head? Can it be done the same as leather cording...awl hole, the dreaded glue, etc? OR Does it need to be secured in another fashion. I thought I'd ask before I created a disaster 
Thanks for any secret sharing?
Ha! I love your sense of humor Shantell.
I've used elastic cording several times and find it harder to work with than leather. Having said that, in some ways I prefer it. Mostly because it can be threaded through the head, which psychologically "feels" more secure to me. Although I do insert my leather cording pretty far (like 1/2 - 3/4 inches on each end, and then secure it with glue.)
Anyhoos...
Because you need to use a huge-eyed needle you still need to awl-poke your holes beforehand; you can't simply stitch thru the head with the elastic cord. At least, I can't, anyway...!
What I've done is either knot and insert at the neck joint where it's invisible, or just insert into the neck area without a knot but leave a long tail. Come out at a corner of the eye, drape across, insert, cross to the other eye, etc., going back and forth in no particular order.
Some things to know:
1. Watch out for too much, or not enough, tension. Because the cording is elastic you can get it too tight or too loose and then it's difficult to attain symmetry in your bear's eyes.
2. You still have to glue the cording to the eye if you want to be assured it won't roll off the location you most want it to rest.
3. It's harder to paint than leather because it has a certain texture to it that grabs paint differently. Sometimes this effect can be great but other times not so much, so I tend to stick with the black look when using cording.
4. Last, be careful with it! Some black cording actually has an inner WHITE elastic base. If you snag the exterior black part you end up with white dots and lines. Ick!
Hope this helps... have fun!
Back Road BearsThat was very helpful as I have used elastic once with no problems but wondered if I should be doing it differently or be aware of challenges! Thanks, Shelli!
Glad you brought it up, Shantell!
