Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Sheree,  I think it's not unusual for ABC to be later than the scheduled date. It's frustrating when you're hanging out for the new one  :doh:

I'd say your bear supply places in South Africa will stock pencils/markers etc for shading with. Of course in time you'll probably want to experiment with other things, but for a starter, I'd say they will be able to supply what you need.

Can't have you bored Sheree! 

I always sew the head first, then legs, then the rest in whatever order.. I hate putting in footpads so i get them out of the way early.
   Then stuff (head first always lol) joint and close arm and leg seams (for cotter pins), then assemble..
   For the face, I put ears on first, i had to start doing this as I was prone to losing them lol... Then eyes then nose. With my newer 4 or 2 piece heads though, I've had to place eyes, do nose, then set eyes then attach ears, as with these heads I don't have the gusset seam to use as a reference.
    I don't often finish a head without having the rest of the body finished.
     Will be fun to see how many different ways everyone does it!

Oh Jane, sorry to hear you've not been well and an accident? Gosh, I hope you are well on the mend now! Poor thing! :hug:
   It was so lovely to see you at the show and looking at your wonderful photos brings back such nice memories now I'm home and trying to settle back in to more bearmaking   so many fabulous pieces I didn't get to see!
    I'll be thinking of you all in September!

Aww thank you Sheree, that's so kind of you.  :hug:

Aww thanks Gabriele... Really it doesn't worry me, i just shrink away a bit lol..... And just reinforces that everyone is different and has different tastes   I wouldn't have nearly as much fun with my bears if I couldn't dress 'em up, even my elephants usually have a hat lol..

Lol I always want to hide in the corner when this comes up... 90% of my bears are dressed, I love dressing my bears, making hats for them etc, but I always second guess myself when so many people say how they dislike it lol.
    I must have found the few collectors who like dressed bears as my dressed pieces sell better than my pieces that just have a ribbon etc ( unless it's a panda- pandas I rarely dress but I usually sell all I take to a show)
    Even tho I second guess myself with these threads, I love dressing my bears, I've got my 'niche' and I'm quite happy there regardless

Another vote for stuffing and closing the limbs before assembly on cotter pin jointed bears   on the rare larger bear, I do as Becky does and stuff the leg halfway before jointing. I find this helps me with the ol' twisted leg syndrome, where both feet point the same direction, if I stuff  the feet after its jointed

I weight all my bears, tiniest ( 2" ) to biggest, in feet and tummy. I like the feeling of a weighted bear, makes it more 'real'

Was a wonderful day. Sadly I didn't get time out to look around or shop, til almost 3.30! There was still so many people around I didn't want to venture out from my table. Not complaining tho!

What personality you put into your bears, Ann-Marie! Wonderful! Good luck getting redy for the show

You might want to check the section below this one on the index page, 'miniatures and creations from thread' for more crochet bear artists.

  Here's my entry...
    SO many fabulous pieces! Good luck everyone, tho I'm sure most of you, like me, are so over the moon with getting this far, anything else would be a bonus 

Whee! Thank you for posting the list Joanne! Looks like the rush was worth it lol. Congratulations to everyone :bday: congrats especially to you Brenda, How you could have been overlooked in the past baffles me! Your work is so special and unique.

Thanks, too, for posting the Facebook link Krista.

(begin whine) I wish they wouldn't rely on everyone checking Facebook to find out tho (end of whine lol) 

Mine are girls, almost always... Maybe once a year or even less I make a boy trying to make a couple of boys for Hugglets tho....

Jeez I completely forgot about the TOBY announcement, I knew I'd been distracted but I guess that's proof! hehe. I had decided not to enter and then changed my mind when they extended the deadline.... Good luck to everyone waiting to hear!  :hug:

Originally yes, I think the term centre seam referred to a gusset that was cut in two lengthwise. I've heard that when Steiff was laying out their patterns on the fabric, to have less waste, every 10th or so bear had a gusset with a seam in the middle. So because there were fewer of these bears they became desirable to collectors... How true all this is I don't know!
     I dont think there's a hard and fast law whether your 4 piece head idea can be called a centre seam, it *does * have a centre seam so to me, you can call it that..l I don't think anyone will haul you over the coals for it.
     I designed a head similar to what I think you're describing, in 4 pieces, it was a bit of a challenge to get it right and it took a couple of revisions but I am pleased now. One thing I found was the head pieces needed to be bigger in proportion to the body, than the head pieces for a traditional 3 piece head. It's fun to add another look to your collection tho, and I'm glad I persevered.
     As far as the short nose is concerned, I don't think the gusset itself would make your snout too long, if you make the snout piece on the gusset the size you think you want and make the head sides correspond, you should be able to make the nose as short as you like.
     Relly, I don't think there's any "right or wrong" way to do things as long as it doesn't affect the workmanship- if you want to do something and it works, go for it

Hehe funny Lenora, a big 10" bear would try my patience way more than a mini... So funny how we are all different

Hi Chelsea, at least as far as the stuffing/head shape is concerned, I think you hit the nail on the head- you really do need to think about where the stuffing is going. A good thing about tinies is it won't take you long to restuff it
    You need to backstitch the seams,  keep your stitches nice and firm. Have you tried looking on YouTube for demonstrations of the stitches? There seems to be everything else on there lol..
    As for seam allowance, in general yes you need to stay close to the edge for most mini fabrics. One of the important things about mini fabrics is that they don't fray, and Emily puts good suitable fabrics in her kits, so I'd say you're just fine in that part. Do you have any scraps of the fabric? If you do you might Like to practice a bit and see just how close to the edge it's safe to stitch. Your eye pulling through could have been you pulling too hard, but without seeing it, it's hard to know, it could have been you went a bit close to the edge just there, or it could have been one of those things that happens now and then
     Slow and steady, you'll get there.

Beautiful Heidi! You must be thrilled and raring to give him a body how did you find working with the real fur? Asking as an intimidated wannabe lol.

Hi Chelsea, honestly that's excellent work for a first go! For the gusset, I'm not entirely sure what you mean, by the  top of the jaw piece coming to a point? Do you mean the top straight edge of the snout on the head side pieces coming to a point at the chin seam? Because that's ok, just stitch the head gusset in place, starting at the centre front/chin seam, and the stuffing will round it out.
   Seam allowance, that will usually be stated on the pattern, and sometimes depending on the fabric you may need to take more. The most important thing is that you are consistent with it and take the same amount on every seam.
     The head shape, when you're stuffing it's important to remember you're not just filling the head, youre also sculpting it as you fill. It looks like your kitty could do with a little more stuffing in the snout, making it more round, and the same with the head when you look at it from the front. Push your stuffing tool into the middle of the head and push the stuffing outwards, this will make the head rounder, and you then fill in the centre where you pushed outwards.  For the snout slide stuffing into the side of the snout, this will round it out more.
    The indent-or lack of- can be because of your stuffing. Again with the sculpt as you stuff idea, don't push stuffing up into that area if you can. the indent can also be emphasised with needle sculpting- I think there's a section on that in the Library section.
     What are you using to stuff with? Hemostats, tweezers or something? Because with minis you really need something that you can move the stuffing to the right spot, takes away a lot of the frustration.
     I hope that doesn't come across as critical, because you've done a wonderful job! And you've done very well to pick up on the areas you need to work on, excellent first try! Just a bit of tweaking with your stuffing is all that you need

Yup what Jenny said

:dance: High five Bobbie, there's almost never an occasion for tossing a head in the bin!:) or maybe I'm just a cheapskate lol, hate to see mohair wasted

Don't toss it til you stuff it! You only truly know once it's stuffed

I don't think you will find bear supply stores in New York/manhattan. I used to go there every year for Toy Fair and I never found a shop selling that stuff. The only thing I can think of to recommend is M&J Trim if you like ribbons and buttons, on 6th Ave, and the street that M&J is on the corner of runs to 5th Ave, it has some nice ribbon and trim stores too. The only thing is a) we aren't talking cheap lol, and b) the selection is HUGE, so it can be overwhelming. Tinsel Trading is on that cross street and has some lovely- but sometimes expensive- trims, ribbons and flowers (beautiful flowers!). They are very famous and Broadway and movie costume designers and fashion designers shop there. They have a ribbon and trim shop across the street from their main store too. Hyman Hendler also on this street has lovely ribbons, many vintage.
    This part of 6th Ave ner M&J also has a lot of bead shops if you like beads/charms.
   Sorry I can't remember the cross street number, if you google M&J Trim or Tinsel Trading you'll find the address tho.