Hi Everyone,
I finished my first sewn teddy. I started needle felting this last March and decided to give a sewn one a try. I made the pattern and feel I should've gone with an established one. Her legs seem a little thick and short. I pretty happy with this one but there are definitely things I would do differently. I used a fairly long faux fur so it really bulked her out. Secondly, I used hardboard disks and cotter pins and no matter how hard I pried them open she still is a bit loose. Any advice or criticism would be greatly appreciated. BTW, her muzzle and around her eyes was needle felted and her nose and lower lip are leather. She is 14 inches long.

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/5/3/7/4/3/webimg/186781039_o.jpg
http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/5/3/7/4/3/webimg/186851749_o.jpg
Thanks,
Robin

Very, very cute face. Reminds me of a baby bear- the face and the proportions. I really avoid the longer faux fur as it is much harder to work with and the length of the fur has a tremendous effect on the outcome. How big is the bear? I only use cotter pins on really small critters-6" and under. Otherwise I use bolts and locknuts. Edinburgh has 2 lengths of bolts and I use the short ones with smaller bears made with short fur. Some people use set screws with discs for the head because you don't need access to both ends to tighten. I use epoxy glue and glue a bolt and washer to a disc the put it in the head after its stuffed.
I've been making bears for more the 15 years and it has just been in the last 3 that I have really started experimenting with different methods and designs. I was afraid and now I've learned just about anything goes.

Hi Robin,
I think you should be very happy with your first sewn bear. I am constantly tweeking my patterns according to what fur I am using. I have found that when I want to see what the pattern is going to look like finished, I use a short nap so I can see if I have problem areas. The longer furs will cover up flaws more.
Like Nancy, I only use cotter pins for bears under 6". They just don't give you the control you need for posing your bears. I use set screws for all my joints. For awhile I was using the epoxy on the bolts but felt I was wasting precious time that I could have been sewing so switched to the set screws. If you want to continue with the cotter pins, experiment with crown joint versus the rolled joint and see if one gives you a better joint. You also might want to consider trimming away the fur where the limb and body meet to see if that will help get a tighter joint.
You are doing well, keep going!
Donna

Thanks Nancy and Donna, for the advice on jointing my bear! Nancy, she's 14 inches long and 8 inches tall standing on all fours. I think I'll try both methods on my next one. I'm drawing up a pattern for a 6 way jointed pig and am thinking of doing an adult bear next. With this little bear I tried wire in her legs. But they were so thick that they won't bend. The pig has thinner legs so they'll be able to pose better and shorter mohair fur. We'll see how I do.

WOW !!!! I see a very talanted artist blooming here !!! Very nice. I still haven't tried the felting, but I have tons of supplies to use when I do start !! Great bear, I really like him.

Thanks for the compliment on my bear. I'm having a lot of fun with this. I started out felting last March. It's very addictive. I'm sure you'll enjoy it once you start.

Robin It is so cute. You did a great job.

I'm lovin' your bear! I've never done needle felting, but have made mohair bears since early 90's. Your bear looks unique, which is what I would strive for.

About using an established pattern, don't! You seem to have your own instincts about what you want to see. Making your own patterns will keep you driven to keep going! It has for me! (My bears are JerAnimals, but I've been out of bearmaking for awhile.)