Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Gail,
I couldn't find them first up either. Hope this helps

http://www.purelyneysa.com/nsupplies/eyes1.html

Thanks Eveyeryone,
it's pretty exciting becoming a grandmother for the first time. Now doubt, we'll spoil our little grandaughter rotten when she stays for visits.

Hi Neysa,
what a great idea.
I normally don't use plastic eyes on regular mohair bears because most plastic eyes are safety eyes so they have to be placed before the head is stuffed. I'm forever relocating eyes  till I get the expression I want, so I use glass eyes.

Just dawned on me that if I needlefelt the face, the eyes don't have to be sunk,the expression is added with needlefelting after the eyes are placed.

Some of the eyes on your site are so interesting.

Thank you Hayley ( haahaa)

Hi Dilu,
the smokey longpile is a bit pricey compared to some of the uphostery type mini fabrics, I managed to make the mouse & the bunny from one piece and I think I've still got enough left 2 make another couple of critters from the same piece. They're fairly small though.   I was half tempted to get  a 1/4 yard to save on shipping charges to Australia. Buying one small piece costs nearly as much for postage as for the piece itself.
Maybe you can talk hubby round. I usually try & wait for the right moment or I sell something and then he doesn't complain.  ( I figure what's mine is mine, what's his is mine too haahaa, hope he doesn't read this) 

Hi Dilu,
they're actually thin cotton thread, and to stiffen them up I used Fray Stopper

Matilda, What a "Rippa" ( Good old Aussie slang) haa haa

Hi Fran,
I've also got Barbara's Book, though I must admit I haven't tried doing a complete needle felted ted yet.
.Depends on what you're wanting to do. If you're trying to needle felt a complete small teddy ( or whatever), then the book will be helpful. If you're wanting to do needle felting of faces etc, ( which is what appeals to me) then you should consider Judi's next online needle felting class ( I gather there will be one, Judi???)

I was so excited about getting started in class, but I've had all sorts of interruptions , so I'm way behind. Shouldn't complain though, I've got a brand new granddaughter ( 9 lb 3 ounces , she may be an only child having been born that size ( haahaa),  and then hubby dragged me off for a weeks holiday up to Port Macquarie ) so I shouldn't complain.

Hi Fran,
you'd be surprised.The mini bear fabrics are easier to turn than mohair,the tools like haemostats , plyers , cotter pin turners , awls etc are available in small versions. When I first started making full size bears, I wouldn't have beleived in a million years that I could make a miniature, but it was something I really wanted to do. So I gradually went down in size from my 12 inch mohairs down to about 5 inches, then I swapped to upholstery velvets and went down from approx 4 inches to
my preffered 2 to 3inch size.  Some of my early ones were pretty awful,  but I luv miniature stuff so I persevered.

Wow, that's lovely Fran.
Do you actually make mini bears to put in it.
I used to buy the odd doll house miniature accesorie to go with some of my mini bears. Some of the doll house miniature hats used to fit nicely on a 3 inch mohair mini bear. I'm not much good at sewing as such , though I did teach myself enough to do the bears. The kits you mentioned sound interesting?
The house is beautiful.

Hi Eileen,
my cage is only 15w x 15d x 24 h inches with a top that opens up so that he can sit on a perch on top of his cage. My cockateil spends at least 8 hrs of the day perched on me somewhere ( either sitting on my lap , hanging off my shoulder or sitting next to me on my sofa while we make bears together ( hubby's about ready to get me committed  haa haa). I really only lock him up when I go to bed at night, or if I go shopping , in which case , he sits in the corner of his cage and sulks.
Even though my cockateil got on with my 16 year old Maltese, the bird used to sit on him and pull the dogs fur, the dog was amazingly patient) the bird has a hissy fit if he spots one  the neighbours cats hanging round outside. I'd be really wary as most cats and birds don't really get on, and cockateils stress out quite easily.

Sorry Judi and everyone ,
haven't worked out how to send messages privately. Sorry for getting off topic.

Hi Haley,
has a grid backing, like some of the uphosltery velvets, and not stretchy. I'm not really wrapped in fabrics that stretch.

Thank you Tammy.

Eileen, it's lovelly stuff.
It's not quite as dense as the old vintage uv longpile ( which is scarce as hen's teeth nowadays), but it does give the mini's a lovely furry look. I was so pleased when I came across it.  I bought both types in various colours , the one with the dark backing ( which the bunny & mouse are made from) plus the white variety. She's got so many lovely colours.

Thanks Everyone,
took quite a while, but I enjoyed making it. I find the music boxes a great way of displaying miniature bears.
Thanks again,

best wishes
Rikki

Thank you ladies.

The mouse is made from Sassy's Smokey Lonpile fabric

Hi Ladies,
thank you. Magical hands, BAD eyesight ( haa haa)

Eileen,
the mouse & bunny are Sassy's Smokey Longpile fabric. the bear is just an upholstery velvet.

Hayley, actually this particular micro mini actually has turned & stuffed limbs. He's totally thread jointed. He's made the same way i make the larger mini's. I've tried another version also with pipe cleaner limbs ( instead of stuffing the arms and legs, the pipe cleaner acts as stuffing).  Makes the arms and legs bendable.  This method I actually stitch the fabric from the outside.

Hi Matilda,
are you a bit of a bird lover too. My little baby is a 2 year old cockateil ( quarrian) He loves helping me with the bears. Takes me twice as long when he decides to give me a hand.  He's forever trying to chew up my pattern pieces , or he runs off with bits of stuffing. Actually he's a downright pest, but I wouldn't swap him for the world.

Your little budgie is beautiful.

Hi Shantell,
Thank you. Sorry , but I just got back from a week's holiday. No, I didn't reduce the head size. The only thing I noticed  that maybe the arms or legs might have ended up a bit skinny ( thin) so then I'd widen them a fraction.

Thank you Shelli,
first mouse I ever tried, and I was quite pleased. The smokey longpile  had a lot to do with how he turned out.

Hi Shelli,
depends on what you actually call a mini.  I never make a miniature mohair bear under 3 inches. The mohair gets too difficult to work with, plus the mohair looks too spikey for my taste
I normally string joint the limbs of bears that are 3 inches and under, but I always use cotter pin and disks for head & neck joints (except for my 1 inch mini's). On just say 4 to 5  inch bears , I use cotterpins & disks for joints as well.
A mini bear fabric like an upholstery velvet  is easier to work with than mohair on a small bear. I found it easier to turn. It is a bit harder to get a nice expression for the face. You need to possibly do a bit of needle sculpting.

You can get small glass eyes, or another option is onyx beads. They range in size from about 1 mm up to something like 5 or 6 mm.

You can buy tools like small cotterpin turners, small heamostats for turning, small plyers etc

I read in one of the  miniatures  books from way back, the defination of a miniature bear bear is. Miniatures are based on a
1/12th  doll scale. In short if your full size teddy is 2 ft tall, your corresponding miniature should be 2 inches tall. So, from that I basically slowly shrank my larger patterns till I managed to get them down to miniature size. It was a bit daunting at first , because I started off with 12 to 16inch bears. From there I  got down to 8 inches,  7 inches ,  6  etc till I managed to create my first 3 inch mini. Going down in size gradually made if far easier, than trying to jump from a 16 inch bear straight down to a 4 inch bear even though process of creating the bear  is the same. You've just got to think small.

Misty ( my avatar is a 3 inch mini mohair with an inset muzzle)

Candy is a 2 inch meduim pile uv  bear.
Mindi is a 3 inch mohair with a 1 3/4 inch uv baby.
Treacle is a 5 inch mohair with a 2 1/2 vintage longpile uv baby.

Hi
it's wonderful stuff. I've used it on a miniature mouse & bunny. Sassy's such a wonderful lady to  deal with. I had my package within  4 to 5 days, and all the way to Australia.

Hi Tammy,
gorgeous, I luv the recycled fur teds. They look so wonderfully cuddly.

Hi Matilda,
that's wonderful. I really luv the face. It's amazing the amount of character that you acheived with the needle felting. Sure hope I can get the hang of it myself. Great I've finally gotten to see a pic of one of your bears.

Wow Shari,
he's awesome. What a wonderful open mouth. Luv the grey eyes.

Wow,
that's incredible , 28 inches. He looks wonderful.

Thank you everyone.

Matilda, do you have a wbsite or some photo's on this site. Luv to see some of your bears.