Attaching limbs without joints

[Lisa-Marie]

Hi!

As I am not experienced in using joints, I wondered if I could attach the limbs to the body without the use of joints, but still obtain the form of the shoulders?

Is it possible for me to make all the body parts separately and then just stitch the arms and legs to the body? Or is that just ridiculous?

In short, I want my teddy to look as though his arms and legs can move, but they don't.

Thank you anyone who replies! Much appreciation x x

[Rich1988]

Hhmmm good questioning.
First of all how big is the bear?
As you may be surprised to hear that smaller bears (as in 1-3 inch size bears) are quite often made with what is called thread jointing.
That is you run thread from the inside of one arm to the other, in between the body, the thread will then twist and act as a joint (obviously the thicker the thread the better).

The problem is on bigger bears is that the arm is so much bigger so you would have a huge gap around the edge and therefore thread jointing is not possible.

However, with the right placement and if you really don't want a bear to move, I see no reason why you couldn't ladder stitch a limb into place. However, you could have to be careful how you placed this and careful which part you stitched to ensure that you had enough shoulder left to keep the form of the body the same. In that situation it may be more suitable to design a pattern with the arms already built into the design?

Would be interested to see what you come up with here. I noted on your other post your concerned about money and I can only empathise that bear making ends up costing a small fortune! However, joints really are worth investing in in the long run and if you buy packs of 10, you will soon have a large collection that lasts you for a variety of designs.
Perhaps a pack a month, that's around what I do.

Richard
x

[Coraleen]

Hi there. I agree with what Richard says about ladderstitching the limbs in place. I don't think I would try it though as, knowing me!!!, I would probably sew them on uneven and have a deformed teddy in the end. I have a lot of trouble placing the ears properly, imagine if I had to place arms and legs as well!! LOL
Coraleen
:6028:

[Lisa-Marie]

Thankyou Richard and Coraleen!

I appreciate both of your replies very much! I've never been on a forum before and expected no one to reply!

The bear I would like to make is a medium size bear and yes I agree Coraleen! I am worried about stitching them on wonky! or just the bear not being able to move much.

I think maybe I should focus on using joints at the moment and then trying to stitch limbs on securely on a different bear because by the sounds of it, it is easier to just use joints which isn't what I thought the case was.

Thankyou both so so much! You have made my first experience of a forum lovely!

x x

[Judi Russell]

Hi Lisa-Marie, welcome to the forum. I have given some thought to your question, and the only other way of making a bear that has 'almost' seperate limbs, is to cut the whole bear in one piece and then machine or stitch a line between the body and the limb. That way, when you stuff the bear, the arms and legs will be able to fold forward and back without actually using joints. So wish I could draw what I mean, but I hope that you understand what I mean. Judi :)

[Lisa-Marie]

Thankyou Judi!

Yes I understand what you mean, I have bought a Teddy Bear Making book that includes quite a few kinds of bears such as the one you mentioned, however the reason I don't prefer this type of bear is because the shoulders and hips don't look the same as the ones that are made with joints, I think that the shoulders are made flat by doing this. Although I may want to make a simple Ted like this in the future, the finish I wanted was for it to look as much like the jointed bears as possible, but thankyou ever so much! I had forgotten about this method so now that you've reminded me, hopefully I can make one like this for my little sister! Simple but very affective ay! x x

[Coraleen]

Hi Lisa-Marie
It sounds like you are well away with the bear making. This is a lovely forum and I'm sure you will always get a reply, I've asked some dumb questions and there is always someone with the answer. They are a great bunch. We would love to see pictures of your finished bears.
:6029:

[Lisa-Marie]

I know I am still surprised how lovely everyone is! This is definitely a major learning tool for me and I look forward to using it further!
x

[michellebear]

Hi Lisa-Marie, and welcome. :6034:
You are so right :), I haven`t been here long either, and everyone is so, so friendly and helpful here. No question is silly, and there is always someone to give you advice and help.
Look forward to seeing your creations soon :) xx

[Lisa-Marie]

Thankyou Michelle! I look forward to seeing yours and everyone's as well! It's nice how everyone is at different stages and knows different things, and then everyone comes together and gives each other a helping hand, I hope when I'm more experienced I can do the same for someone else =) x x

[dutchy.bears]

I have to agree that everyone is lovely on here and you can learn a lot from some answers to questions, Judi mentioned the "folding joints" ( wouldn't know what to call them) my first Teddy I got has them and my mum is ( very slowly mind) making a bear the body and limbs are made from 3 pieces and after stuffing the limbs your meant to run a running stitch around where the joint would be tighten and tie the thread off so you have the illusion of a joint, its a pattern from sassybearsandfabrics called snuggled bear.
That's another way to get away with no joints.

-xxx-
Annette

[Lisa-Marie]

Annette that teddy looks adorable! I didn't realise that you could attach limbs by ladder stitch and it to look effective, I will definitely DEFINITELY use this =D saves money on joints ay! x x

[tiggere89]

Hi
I only just registered and ive been trying to write on here all day then it twigged that i might have to check my emails to activate it! Which obviously worked.
I know its a bit late but on the bear pattern that i got you have to stitch and sew the legs up and stuff them and sew the side seams of the body together (it has seams on the left and right rather than the middle) then you have to put the legs in the bottom of the body and turn a hem under and stitch it- i think that makes sense! Its for children and the legs move a little but not properly although mine turned out a bit pidgeon toed.
Also the arms are thread jointed which i had doubts about but figured that if he is on a shelf he will be alright :)
Anyway just wanted to say how my pattern suggested and i am now considering doing a jointed bear with cotter joints cos id like a freer moving bear are these simple to put together??

x