Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
When I am turning miniature limbs, I don’t reach in and try to turn it with the hemostats grabbing the fur side. Rather, I take the hemostats at the tip of the toe or the tip of the paw from the wrong side out and I push it through the opening. It takes a little bit of finagling, but just keep trying to turn it on the wrong side towards the opening. Does that make sense?
I use Prisma Markers. I find Coppic markers fade. It’s important to know that when you finish shading, you heat set it with a hairdryer. Wave the dryer over the shaded areas for a couple of minutes to set it. That should prevent feeding.
You can use mustache clippers/trimmers. You can get them on-line, Walmart, Target... or beauty supply store. My suggestion is to avoid the battery generated clippers. Get a good one that plugs in to a socket. Batteries run down quickly and is frustrating to use. They also don't do a good job for for larger areas.
There is a great book on how to cut and sew teddy bears from real fur. It is called Teddy Bears with a Past by Nancy Tillberg. You can find it on Amazon
I am not sure but I could take a guess. When you sculpt the feet, muzzle. pads...., I would put a rim around it and poke holes close together on the rim. Once baked, I would sew it in like your would be sewing two seams together but in this instance it is sewing one fur piece to the the baked clay. I hope this makes sense. Now fair warning, I have never done this but if I were to experiment, this is where I would start.
Why not get some vintage creates from eBay? Maybe some vintage hat boxes too. Get different shapes and sizes to add interest to your table. You may have to spend a little money up front, but going forward you have all you need for other shows. I finances are an issue, go to the dollar store and get plastic boxes and bring some rocks from your garden to add weight to them. stack the boxes and drape a large pieces of fabric. Another idea is to go to the thrift store and buy some vintage luggage or old looking books and stack them. Your bears would sit nicly on top.
Though I don't sell bears, The above what I seen used over my years of going to antique and bear shows.
Grinandbearit: Making bears from vintage quilt is a fabulous idea. I love the flowers on the ears of your first bear. It is adoraable.
Take your bear to the craft store and look in the jewelry section. They have a lot of different types and size of cording. You can hold you bear up against the cording to see what looks right.
In agree with Renee. I don't think it need more trimming. you want the drama of the big Main around the face because of the bold character of the clay sculpture. That is my two cents.
Renee. Thank you for posting the muzzle trimming tutorial. It has great information.
Oh my gosh Cassie, that is the cutest bear, You did a wonderful job.
I have never done this type of bear but I have seen faces that have holes perferated around the rim of the face so that you can sew the fabric to the clay face. The holes are put in before the face is dried or baked. I don't know if that helped.
Understuff 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.
Thank you all for your feedback. It is very helpful. I knew there was something about preparing the mohair to take color.
Jenny: So you don't pre wash your mohair right? You put a couple drops of dish washing detergent in to water. How much water per two dropsnof detergent do you use? Is it a cup per two drops would you say? One you shade Jenny, do you heat set the color?
Michelle: thank you for passing along Jenny's tip on wiping the area you shade with the water detergent solution.
Becky: I use Copic and Prisma markers for shading. I heard somewhere Copic fades with time. I also heat set when I use the markers. I wonder is that is necessary?
Lisa: Your mini bears are darling. 
Your elephant is so cute.
I think bears with button joints are darling. There are so many beautiful buttons out there that can add so much charm to the final outcome.
Thank you Becky. Your tip about fluffing the mohair with water is a good one. I never wash my mohair and wonder if by not doing that will my shading of my bears fade?
Hello Teddy Bear Friends: I know some people wash their mohair befor making a bear. Is this something that helps hold the color when shading? What advantage is it to wash the mohair?
I know there are a lot of bears on Ebay up for action and "buy it now". I love to see other peoples creations and really enjoy looking at Bear Pile as wel as Ebay. You may want to try selling there too. I can't answer your other questions for I don't sell my bears. Here is the link to bear pile.
what you may want to do is buy a set of Test/True Eyes. It is helpful to use them. You can stick them in the eye socket and see if it is the right size. Once you do that, you can purchase the right size for your bear. I bought my True Eyes as a set. I look at the Intercal site and found they sell them individually:
I too would like to hear your critique of the book. I looked at her website and had a lot of fun looking at her beautiful bears and tips.
congratulations on the sale of your dog. I knew it would be snapped up. 
I agree with Becky and Pink. There are no rules really to pattern making. That is what makes the bear unique.
thank you Becky.
I don't sell bears but my aunt is in the antique business. Here is what I learn from her over the years:
1) Always stand behind your product
2) If a customer changes their mind and wants to return it, you offer a full refund
3) Be gracious even if you are annoyed.
4) Always disclose what you know about your product, flaws and all (may not apply to your bear)
By practicing these principle, my aunt has an excellent reputation in the business community and has many repeat customers.
Here is her fifth rule: "If it really is good and you love it, keep it for yourself".
Your dog is cute as a button. I know there is a perfect home out there for him.
