Skip to main content

Banner Sponsors

Past Time Bears - Artist bears designed and handcrafted by Sue Ann Holcomb
Shelli Makes - Teddy bears & other cheerful things by Shelli Quinn

CrawlyCreepies Posts: 89

Title says it all. Pattern testing is a seemingly endless cycle for me, I started wondering how other artists feel about it. I'm about to start version 4 of a pattern, and I feel like I can't see the end of the road at all, hahaha.

desertmountainbear desertmountainbear
Bloomsburg, PA
Posts: 5,399

I have done very little pattern testing over the years. I make the bear of fur. I take notes as to what I would like to change next bear. That has been the best way for me to work. Bears in the fur look very different from bears made of plain fabric.

CrawlyCreepies Posts: 89

Have you kept track of how your patterns have changed over the years? That would be really interesting to see. (I'm a big fan of your work by the way and the tutorials on your blog have been an invaluable resource, thank you so much for making them)

I'm a ludicrous perfectionist and reluctant to commit my designs to good fabric until they're PERFECT, which as you can imagine, never happens. BUT I've finally found something of a happy medium, I recently got some upholstery velvet samples that have the right backing and behave beautifully, but aren't quite as nice as Sassy fabric or mohair, ect. That makes it a lot easier to shrug off things that don't turn out exactly how I wanted.

Yeah, the difference between fur and plain fabric has definitely pattern testing a bit difficult (or unreliable at least). I've been making my pattern tests out of muslin or felt, which leads to a totally different silhouette. I'm getting tempted to try making pattern tests from cheap faux fur, but that stuff is usually has a knit backing rather than woven. I want to develop a lion pattern and I can't see any other way to work out the mane. Maybe I can back it with muslin to reduce the stretch?

desertmountainbear desertmountainbear
Bloomsburg, PA
Posts: 5,399

I have all the patterns as they have changed over the years. I used to make major changes, and draft a whole new pattern. I keep them in an envelope with the bears name on it. Once I had it pretty much figured out, I just changed one or two pieces and take the old pieces out. I still do that. I usually change something with just about every bear I cut.
All of the faux fur I use has the woven back, but some of it is looser than others. I use Solvy, it is a water soluble stabilizer. If you follow the directions it tells you how to dissolve the sheet in water and then you can paint it on the back of the fabric. I have given the looser woven fabrics a couple of coats of this stuff letting the first dry and then doing another. It helps a lot with the give and the stretch.

Thank you for the comments on my bears and my blog. I am glad it could be of help to you.

CrawlyCreepies Posts: 89

Oh thank you, that's a great tip!

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB

Banner Sponsors


No Monkey Biz - Domain name registration, hosting
Intercal Trading Group - Your mohair supplier