Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Kirsten, you are a woman of integrity.  Kudos to you; it's a wonderful, and not common enough, quality.

My instinct on this is that Kelly is dead on; share credit with Ted Menten if that's what your gut tells you is right.  But the design and workmanship behind the pattern creation are, in fact, even by your own description, yours to own. 

There will always be similarities in bear patterns; how different can one gusset BE from another???  There is a fuzzy line somewhere between "reproducing" and "recreating", and it sounds like you've crossed it in your current piece and are well beyond accusations of plaguerism.  (I have no idea how to spell that, by the way.)

Why not use wording in your auction like, "This magnificent, wonderful, darling, glorious, exquisite... bla bla bla... teddy bear features a Bears-n-Bows first -- low-set ears, stitched into the head at the sides, and inspired by the charming teddy bears of world famous bearsmith Ted Menten."

It's nice to see people willing to include conscience in their work ethic.  I'm happy to say I know you!

I came across this illustration I did a while ago and thought someone reading or lurking here might find it useful.  It shows the two different methods for turning down the ends of cotter pins.

Please note that the drawing, above, illustrates how to turn down the pin ends by showing an oversimplified joint mechanism.  You'll see that I drew only a single disk, surrounded on both sides by washers, with the turndown method highlighted... but absent any actual "bear" parts of any kind.

Obviously, in a real bear, there would be TWO disks, and TWO layers of fabric present, where body meets limb.  Like this:

This particular illustration shows a "wobble" joint, with two cotter pins joined up at the loop.  Obviously, you could use ONE cotter pin, with loop inside limb, and crown or snail curls inside body, for a firmer, tighter joint.

FYI -- The pen I use is not by Pentel but by PIGMA.  Here's a link to some photos of it.  I use the 05 size.

http://folkart.net/painting-accessories … icron.html

Actually, yes I have!  Occasionally I'll have some stray hairs poking thru my finished floss nose (I don't use a template underneath) and the Micron pens work beautifully to color over these little strays.  I also use them to trace the nose shape directly onto the mohair backing before sewing (that trace line IS my template) and sometimes, even to colorize the strand of floss that I use to encircle my finished nose, for a little extra color accent.

HI NANCY!  Gorgeous site, thank you... and sooooooooo good to see you popping back in here.  Hope you'll stay for a while!

Hugs,

The coat doesn't shed... it was just a huge mess when I was ripping out the seams, because little tufts got ripped out at the edges along with the stitching.  It really looks like a brand new coat and I couldn't get any fur to pull off anywhere I tried.  It was fairly cheap and should make 2-3 bears in my typical size range (14-20") so it was a worthwhile experiment.  I'm keeping fingers crossed.

I am grateful for the explanation of the "granules" because they were all over my tabletop after I pulled off the backing and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what all that "sand" was!!!

Ooh... I did NOT know they had special Shrinky Dinks that run thru the inkjet printer!  That is tres cool information, because you could customize every bear's label in that way!  When I first started out I made little opaque, ivory, circular Shrinky Dink tags, but I couldn't figure out how to get an image on them because there either wasn't any such Shrinky Dink available, or it just wasn't available at my local Michael's (I didn't investigate online.)

I learn something new here each day.  Thanks, Lisa!

You bring up a good point, Eileen.  I need to backtrack a little bit and log the important disclaimer that I've never used oil paints on pelts -- on real animal skin that actually has fur sticking out of it (I have used it on suede and leather footpads, tho) -- so I can't speak personally to the way oils work, should be brushed on, etc., with pelts per se.  I'll be making my first real fur bear sometime in the next month or so and will let you know but I may only have limited news to report since the fur I'm using is deep, glossy, black, and won't show paint effects nearly as well as a lighter one might have.

As for mohair, tho... yes, you can go right down to the backing.  In fact, I sometimes purposely avoid the hairs and go for ONLY the backing with my oils -- for example, around the eyes.  Then, when you use that stiff brush, you can pull some of the pigment thru the hairs, for a very nice and soft effect.

Hi again all.  I'm just busy as a bee "seeding" this forum with questions.  But the truth is, I can learn from any and all of your responses!  So please, do contribute if and when you can.

So my question is... How, exactly, do you get that wonderful "striped nose" look? 

I imagine that it involves a second color of floss... :D... so I'm okay up to that point.

After that, tho, I'm wondering whether there is a specific method you use.  Do you count strands of floss and insert the stripes at regular intervals?  Do you add the stripes after, or during, the initial embroidery? 

Just always looking for the "best" way to do things.  (PS  Yes, Laure; among others here,  I'm talking directly to YOU with this question.)

Thanks,

You know, I used these very pretty wrought iron plant stands for my bears at my Nevada City show.  Admittedly I'm a totally green newbie when it comes to shows, but it brought my bears up to eye level very nicely, and gave them a nice stagger to boot.  Any chance you can design somethign in the three-foot-ish range that sits on TOP of your exhibit table?

Jody, you're my new favorite person.  Thanks so much for explaining this so clearly.  My only question would be about the attaching part.  You said to handstitch the non-fraying toe and heel pieces to the mohair pawpad, leaving a small opening for stuffing.  Do you do this from the "wrong" side?  And which stitch do you use?

Visual people like me do better with pictures.  Maybe I'll have to ferret out Jennifer Laing,m or one of her books (do you know which, if any, might showcase this technique?) for myself...!

Good question, Hayley.  I don't mix and match the head pieces; they travel as a "pair" from one bear to the next.  The other pieces, though, get mixed and matched.  I like to mix up the proportions!

Once folded closed they measure about 2x2 inches.  I'll try to remember to snap a photo and post it here next time I make one!

Here's a quick illustration of one way to create wobble joints.

Anybody have a different method?

I love using ribbons to finish off my bears and have purchased several books on more elaborate ribbonwork (flowers, leaves, etc.) which I hope to incorporate into my work at a later time.

Does anyone (meaning YOU, Winney!) have any tips or pointers for working with ribbon?  By that I mean...

Ways to tie so that the bows are even and symmetrical?
Tips on finishing off ribbon ends so they don't fray?
Types of ribbon that are best used for teddy necks... and types that are worst?
Resources for ribbon (vintage, especially unusual, etc.)

I found a wonderful store in Berkeley, California -- LACIS -- that sells lots of vintage ribbons by the yard, as well as ribbonwork medallions.  I'm not sure you can order these types of items from them via their website, but they do have one:  http://www.lacis.com/

If you're ever in the area it's a worthwhile stopover.  The shop is lovely and has tons of craft books and, of course, all those lovely vintage ribbon pieces...!

Here, a photo tutorial on creating your own armature using ring terminals and wire.

Kristine Holmberg (Raspbearies) provided the instructions and Laura Lynn, the webpage and hosting.

Thanks ladies!

http://teddiesbylauralynn.com/bearmaking/armatures.html

I'd love to learn more about LocLine as I've seen it in action at the Nevada City show (Lori Leeper, who makes real fur and mohair bears, uses it a lot) and it does provide a wonderful range of motion.

Anyone know where to find an illustrated tutorial on creating LocLine joints?  It's pretty easy to visualize snapping off the correct linear length of armature.  What I have a harder time visualizing is how to attach/joint it to my bear!

I've yet to make a real fur bear but have Nancy Tillber's excellent resource book, TEDDY BEARS WITH A PAST, as well as my first-ever vintage coat -- I bought a nicely priced one, with lots of useable fur, in rabbit.  That was on the recommendation of Nancy, who said rabbit is excellent fur for a beginner.

I'm hoping those of you with experience in real fur bears will address some or all of the following:

1)  What is your favorite real fur for bearmaking?  Why is it your favorite?
2)  What is the hardest real fur you've worked with to date... and what made it so difficult to manage?
3)  What fur will you simply NEVER work with again... and why?
4)  What special tools, needles, or aprons (cause MAN, does that fur fly!) do you recommend when working with real fur?
5)  What did you learn THE HARD WAY that you can help beginners like me avoid on my first attempt?

Thank you in advance for anything you can offer!

I like making teddies with armatures but am in the baby stages of learning how to fully utilize their functionality.

I create my own armatures using plastic-coated copper wire, strong pliers, and something called a "ring terminal."  (see photo.)

The steps are remarkably easy:

1)  Cut the wire to size for arm or leg
2)  Insert one end into the hole in the ring terminal
3)  Crimp the ring terminal closed
4)  Push your joint bolt thru the hole in the ring terminal, so that the ring terminal is touching your washer.
5)  Complete jointing as usual

Kristine Holmberg of Raspbearies first taught me this method and it works like a charm and is IMMEDIATELY available.  THANKS KRISTINE!

I know there are flexlimbs (coated with a spongy material) and LocLine available for armature use as well.  Anyone use those?

I have no "method" to speak of for pulled toes and am looking for a technique to follow, step by step, myself.  I have done separated tootsies on occasion but honestly can't remember how I even did them.

Anyone have something to share on this most interesting of subjects?

Oh, no.  Cardstock is just thicker paper, and is frequently used in scrapbooking.  It just adds a little bit of weight to the pattern; it's a little less thick and stiff than, say, a manilla file folder.

You can get it by the sheet (very expensive) or in pads or reams (less costly per piece.)  I tend to get it in pads so that I have several sheets of each color which I can use in my pattern making.  Then I can label my patterns, "BROWN," or "PURPLE" or "LIME" according to the paper I use.

Haven't run out of colors yet!

I am embarrassed to admit that I have no idea what type of brushes I use; I have zero formal training in art and don't make much note of that kind of detail.  The ol' brain only holds so much information, ya know. ;)

Instead, my process at the art store is to browse the brush aisle for brushes marked "oil" or "any" for paint type, and which suit my needs size- and stiffness-wise.  I do this using the high-tech and sophisticated method of picking each brush up and ruffling my finger gently thru the end of it.

You can layer colors right away if you want them to BLEND.  If you want to literally layer one color, in pure form, over the other, drying is necessary first.  I never work that way as blending usually gets me where I want to be.

I have often layered light (cream, white, beige) over dark (deep brown and black) and gotten a lightened result, even when painting one layer IMMEDIATELY after the other (or a close approximation thereof.)

Since you are using so very little paint, drying doesn't take long at all.  I haven't measured it precisely but I know that an hour later you can still rub some paint off (especially on footpads, which are usually felt or leather) but that after a day, I've never been able to rub anything off at all.  That's significantly less time than an oil PAINTING would take to dry; I've never done one but my understanding is that, if the paint is thick enough, you can still be waiting for the "all clear" on a painting a full year from the date of completion!

Hope this helps.

Micron is a felt tipped pen; yes.  But it's not what you think of when you think "felt tipped."  It's got a very, very hard little tip that probably measures about 1mm or less in length (from where it exits the pen barrel to its endpoint) and is even less wide than that!

It IS possible to crush the tips out of shape; my kids do it to my "special" pens all the time (doggone little turkeys!)  But when I use them -- gentle soul that I am -- on fabric, they've never shown any inclination to crush or bend out of shape.  They're very "sharp."

Re: gel pens.  I should mention that I use those too, in white, gold, or silver, for marking the back of dark fabrics.

I had hangtags custom printed from a design that closely matches my business card in terms of color, logo used, paper, etc.  I handwrite the specific details of each bear... add a photo of the piece... and sign my name, before laminating the entire thing, folding it in half, and threading it with crochet yarn for attachment at the right wrist.

What, if anything do YOU use for a hangtag?

I ordered about a gajillion tushtags from a printer.  They were fairly inexpensive (given that there are a gajillion of them, and all) and work well.  They are not as high quality or pretty and satiny as I would have liked, but the advantage to this kind of papery-type fabric is that I can use one of my permanent Micron markers on the back to write the date the piece was completed (month.year format), the name of the piece, and my signature.  Pretty as they are, the satiny, ribbon-type labels just can't take that kind of treatment, as the ink tends to bleed.

How do YOU mark your work... if at all?