What's your favourite aspect of Bear Making?

[Melanie Jayne]

Hi Guys.

I thought I would get a thread started for the bear makers out there........So I was wondering what is your favourite aspect of bear making, what do enjoy the most? & What aspect of bear making is your least favourite?


I love to work on the faces of my bears; I enjoy spending the time putting the details into the bear faces which I believe brings my creations to life. I also really enjoy finishing a new bear design, its completion is the moment of truth as to whether or not my design has worked and achieved what I had hoped for.

I don’t really have anything that I do not like about bear making, but I do have an ear issue. I always leave the ears until the last and often a fully completed bear sits with it’s ears pinned into position until I finally get round to sewing them in. I don’t actually dislike doing the ears, I just don’t do them for a while. :)

Love to hear what you like or possibly dislike about bear making

[gotobedbears]

I HATE doing the ears Mel so i'm glad that i am not the only one who leaves them until last. I know you don't dislike doing the ears like me but they are blooming fiddly ain't they?

I LURVE doing the faces too and i like sewing up the back - it's so cool the way the ladder stitch pulls together as if there is no join there at all. clever stuff.

Penny :p

[Jenny]

Faces...I love doing faces (doesn't everyone?)..scissor sculpting for hours on end!!. Designing new patterns..making outfits for bears..making accessories..stuff like that.

Notice I didn't mention ears..that's because I loathe and detest doing ears with passion.

[Melanie Jayne]

Oh dont get me started on the ladder stitch I use to worry that people would be able to see one or two closing up stitches, but I have got to say that so many bears later and after working for the shows I think I have finally mastered an invisable ladder stitch which closes up the bears perfectly, so now I love this part of bear making too and take great pride in it too.

Nice to see on board Penny.

[shebob bears]

Hi,

My favourite part of a bear's head is definitely inserting the ears. I NEVER stitch them on afterwards as the first ear is perfect and the second one never matches perfectly.

Want to know more?? I will continue tomorow morning and try to explain how the ears are actually stitched into the bear's head first before any peices are seamed. Sounds crazy, but it really works and once you have tried it you will see how super efficient it is and the ears never work loose.

Will continue in the morning.

Sheila
(Shebob Bears)

[Vicky Allum]

Hi Melanie

Like you I leave the ear bit until last (I have 4 bears currently waiting for their ears), I don't particulalry dislike the job, I think I just have a bit of an aversion to them for some reason. Again I love doing faces, particulalry the shading part, but not when they go wrong - very frustrating. I'm still slightly nervous about doing noses and have this thing where I think I sew better noses when I'm on the phone:confused: Another favourite part is laying out a new piece of fabric and drawing out the pattern, the vision of your creation is there in your head before reality comes and spoils it ..........:(

Penny ladder stitch is great isn't it? My daughter loves it - she calls it the magic stitch.

Sheila, will check in tomorrow, to hear about stitching the ears in!

[Jenny]

I am intrigued Sheila! I tried Ted Mentens method of half stitching the ears in..the ear has a kind of tag on it which you insert in the head seam.
Trouble is , for me, the ear position has a huge effect on the bears personality..so I on the chop and change where I put them depending on where they look best on each bear!!
But I'm interested in any technique that makes life easier!!

[Melanie Jayne]

I am intrigued too, I am like Jenny and believe that the ear position makes the charcter of the bear, I also often change their position. So I would like to see how it's done

[shebob bears]

Hi everyone,

Well now, I have traced my template for my way of inserting ears, then I photographed it, edited it etc, saved it to my computer, and I hope my 'Guardian Angel' will show me how to get it all on to this page!!

Anyway, here is what I do. Firstly, take your pattern piece for the side head of your bear. Decide the size of the ear and the curve you would like the ear to be. On your side head template, draw a curved line the same length as the base of the ear. Now cut your drawn line.

Now for the ear itself. The ear needs to be straight on the base, and if my drawing makes an appearence on this page (if not, then email me and I can send it to you as an attatchment in an email) you will see the ear has a little extra bit at one side.

Because we are inserting the ear into the side head, we need to allow extra depth to the head piece to compensate. I generally take about 1/8" seam, so add a 1/4" to the back of the head (i.e. two seams).

Draw the curve from your template onto your fabric, and cut down this line. I suggest using fraycheck on this line before you cut it. Trim away the fur up to what will be your stitching line Now stitch the ears as normal. Turn right side out and oversew the base and the little extra bit.

To insert the ear. Starting from the base of the curve in the head, slip the base of the ear (right sides together, of course) into the slot. It is easier to sew this seam in two parts. So you need to join one side of the head curve through the entire ear. Keep going till you get to the top of the head, and fasten off. You now have that little extra bit sticking out. Now sew the other side of the head through the entire ear. At the top of the head, simply fold the little extra bit towards the bear's face, and oversew it. No need to backstich this as you will be doing this when you sew in the head gusset.

This certainly guarantees that both ears are identical, and they can still be needle sculpted quite easily. An example of the ears can be found on my Exhibitors page under Shebob Bears.

I do hope this makes sense, but do get in touch with me if it sounds like gobbledygook. I am now going to see if my drawing will upload!! If not, any advice would be most welcome.

Regards,
Sheila.

p.s. I tried uploading the picture, thought I had succeded but where has it gone??? Have to wait till Robert, my husband, gets home. He is the computer whiz kid.

[Jenny]

That's an interesting technique..not unlike Ted Mentens one that he has in his book..Teddy Bear Studio.

You have convinced me it's definitely quicker and more accurate but since I am the kind of person that pins the ears on and then leaves them for a day or so to see if I still like the ear placement in two days time and 9 times out of 10 I end up changing it..I think I 'd better stick to my wonky method!!

I used to measure them from the nose tip but now I do it by sight only and if it looks right that'll do for me! I am not generally a 'that'll do' person but I just think that if the ears are part of what makes the bears face come alive and one is a bit 'off' then so be it...that's what being made by hand is all about.

It's nice method though and very slick and looks easy. It certainly takes the monotony out of pinning and stitching them on.

[Chowlea Bears]

Faces are my hangup :( - I'm so scared of how it will turn out I leave a sort of headless Nick alongside a featureless head on my desk for weeks not hours or days. I even resort to the ironing rather than getting it done - How sad is that. At least this accounts for the fact I'm so s-l-o-w at finishing. I seem to manage the nose without much of a problem, the eyes are getting better, the scissor sculpting :eek: - that's the killer for me................... Jenny - can I borrow your talent?

[Jenny]

Sandra thanks for the compliment!! I've cut peoples hair since 1973 so I ought to be good at scissor sculpting really..if I wasn't I'd have been out of a job since 1974!!
I still takes me ..well, I started scissor sculpting a bear at 5pm and I have not finished yet..so it's slow process, 5 hours later!! My haircuts are a bit quicker these days though!!

[shebob bears]

Hi Jenny,
I have loads of teddy bear books on my shelves, but not the one you mention - The Teddy Bear Studio, so I was quite surprised when you said my method was similar. Oh well, they do say that great minds think alike.

My problem used to be getting the second ear to look as good as the first. I started by marking the position on the back of the fabric and run a tacking stitch in a contrast colour along this line. Then make the head in the normal way. I then had perfectly matched lines to follow for ladder stitching the ears. I think I just took it a stage further by cutting the fabric on the head to insert the ears. The character of the bear is still easy to achieve by a bit of needle sculpting which I have to confess I frequently did when attatching ears in the normal way.

You certainly have no problem whatsoever, Jenny with expressions on your bears. I have been a great admirer of your creations for a long time.

Regards
Sheila
(Shebob Bears)

[Jenny]

You are right Sheila..great minds do think alike. I experienced that when after finding my way of making bears teeth..(thinking I was very smug and clever too, I was!!) I sent off for a book on polymer clay sculpting only to find 'my' method was featured!! It made me think that whatever we come up with soemone somewhere has probably done it!!! Ted Mentens book should be obligatory in all bear makers libraries to my mind. He is so good at making difficult things simple.and explaining why the things that go wrong happen. Recommended reading!!

[Steffi]

Hi there

I am much like Jenny when it comes to ears, I judge them by sight and most of the time I am happy with the result. I actually don't mind sewing ears on, however I do sometimes struggle with the nose on a bear.

If I had to state a least favourite it would have to be sewing feet. Why is it that however I try I can't do them on my machine, not even effectively on larger bears? I tend to use ultrasuede as much as possible as I like the paws in that fabric, but hate sewing it in. Many a time I have threatened to leave a bear without legs, but so far haven't done so.

Hugs Steffi

[All Bear]

.. banking the cash? :o

It's not as callous as it sounds, I promise! For me, that's the proof of a job well done. It's the final part of the whole process that says, 'well done, you did good girl!';)

[Eric-Claude]

.. banking the cash? :o

It's not as callous as it sounds, I promise! For me, that's the proof of a job well done. It's the final part of the whole process that says, 'well done, you did good girl!';)


Coff Coff Paula..... "Banging the Cash" I have nearly thought I might add a comment being something as "Typical female" but I am not telling it, I was just thinking lol

I may get in trouble very soon lolol:D

ERIC

ps : A nice fight does not hurt ;)

[All Bear]

Careful with the spelling Eric ... I said banKing the cash!! :D

[Eric-Claude]

Opps sorry Paula lol

It is because I am getting under your charm again and I am lost for words lol:D :D .

Well back to work now

Good Day to everyone

ERIC

[Geralye]

Sandra said faces were her hangup...

Well, mine too! I have to psych myself up to doing the face - it can take weeks just to get the courage to start!

I love starting a new bear, cutting out and sewing, but then somehow the final result is never quite what I had hoped - especially the face!

cheers,
G

[Judi Russell]

Hi Sheila

You did upload your diagram and I have just printed it off, no need to wait for the faithfull husband. Girl Power! Will give it a try but like Jenny I tend to do it by sight, but anything for an easy life.

Judi :)

[shebob bears]

Hi Judi,
I finished a bear last night (well, the head only) and I tried a variation on inserting the ears. Before stitching anything, run a line of tacking in a contrast colour on the marked ear position. Make the head as normal. Then the ears as normal. Turn ears right side out and oversew the open ends.
Then you have a perfect guide line to ladder stitch the ears on to the bear. If you pin them on and do not like the look, then it is really easy to adjust the position and you can measure from the tacking stitches and be certain both ears are the same. The little extra pointed bit, I just curled over towards the face and ladder stitched it all round. I found it easier to start at the base of the ear and work up to the top and down to the base again.

If you are cutting into the head to actually insert the ears first, then extra allowance must be made for the back of the head, but for the way described above it is not necessary.

I think I prefer this way with the contrast tacking stitch instead of inserting the ears first. That way you can play around with them until you get the right expression.

Good luck, and let me know how you get on.

Best wishes
Sheila.