the next 9 hours

 

Today the sun was shining, and it was so warm outside, i was sitting on the terrace while sewing for 2 hours :D

I started off with preparing the paw patches for the feet
Then pinning them into place

Sewing them on to the red line i stitched. And leaving a small opening for the stuffing later on.

Because i wanted the toes and finger part a bit loose, so i can stuff it better (more filling) i smoked (that's the word for it ? ) the edge with running stitch again, and secured it on to the edge

After 3 and a half hour all arms and legs where finished

Then half an hour for sewing the darts.

Then I spend an other hour to pull out all the red threads, pinning the parts together for sewing.
Just in time for TV “listening” i was ready to make me an other cup of coffee and settle down with my box of parts.

3 Hours later I had the legs on the back and the front and pinned the paws into place

The head, The body and sewn the head to the body.

Here you can see, i have the opening for the stuffing in the front, and also just sewn half of the neckline of the head.
That’s because it is easier for me to insert the spine later on, and sew the 2 “arms” on to the head seams and the rest to the back seam.

Here i show you why i spend a day cutting hair

Can you see … nothing caught in the seam line … which means no annoying pulling hair out of the seam line … which i sooo much hated.

Just give the whole thing a really good brushing  - i use a cat brush

Catch it somewhere and give it a good shake

No seam line to see :)

Still to do tomorrow :
Sew the arms and sew the pads into the feet

That's then again for a while with sewing …
Because the next part is the wirering (how is this spelled ? my dictionary doesn’t know, and i don’t know either) of the arms and legs.
Preparing the spine, covering wire and spine with something soft, and secure the padding so it stays where it is supposed to stay.

I don’t know how far i will get with it tomorrow …

7,5 hours cutting hair

 

Just as i feared, i spent yesterday all day cutting hair.
you might ask yourself … why is she spending a whole day for this ?
The answer is … I HATE poking hair out of the seem allowance.

And here some pictures :D

First … i need to find the sewed line, which sounds easier then it is

i keep working in about 3cm steps, a bit more then 1 inch

here is the picture about the really time-consuming part
the hair don’t are catched under the sewing line, and i need to poke them out.

Then i need to find a line in the middle of masses of fur
I part at about the place where i suppose the line is, and then i stick a needle through, to see if i found the right one….
Then off with the hair :D

Then i need to leave a few hair, and find the second line

and the 3rd line and cut between those

Same i do on the leg paws and at the disc spots on arms legs and body pieces.

7 - nearly 8 hours later :

I already prepared a few pieces for todays work.

First, i need to do the little patches for the paws.
I cut little slits into the seam allowance and then i use the running stitch to hold it all in place.
These 4 little pieces for the front paws took me half an hour to do.

Now i need to do the back paw patches… and then sew all the parts into place.

The next step is then to close all the darts, body and head
and sew the legs together.

Worked the first 5 hours

 

Yesterday i started to work on a new bear.

I started off with the paper work, overworking the pattern of Phillip, i changed the head, made it slightly larger, a bit longer from the side, and widened the gusset.
Then i worked on the body a bit, shortened the neck and the front paws got a little change, made them a tiny bit more square then so round on the toe part.

I also made the arms and legs a tiny bit wider at shoulders and hips, the last time the space for the discs was very thigh.

Then i got me some lovely faux fur from my closet and cut the pieces.
What do you think, doesn’t it look just sooo cuddly already ? :D

I also cut the pieces for the paws and soles

and then i did my running stitch all around the sewing lines.
and because the fur is stretching a bit (more then i like) i tried the first time to cover head and paws with diluted clue.

Today it’s really hard and no more stretching. But when i roll it between my hands, it gets softer again, and for sure it starts to get stretchy again too …
Well i will see how it works out when it is all done.

I guess today i will spend all day cutting the hair from the seam allowance and tack the seam allowance from the paw pads inside.

See you again tomorrow :)

A bit more about Phillip

 

Finally, after 3 weeks of testing sewing trying and retrying i finished the first good movable bear …
PHILLIP !
I really like how he turned out. There are a few things i want to make better the next one, but I guess this will happen every time i make a bear :D

This little fellow can move sooo much around, i am very pleased with this body design and the possibilities it gives.

I didn’t take many pictures doing him, after all there are a few postings where i show how it all is sewn and made and done. :D

I just show you a few bits and pieces here.
the first picture is showing all the parts cut out.
the 2nd how i did the paws.

Here i show you how i sew with running stitch around the sewing line
and the last one shows all parts sewn but not yet assembled.

This time i cut all hair off the spots where the disc are.

in case you cant find the postings of the finished Phillip … here is the link:
 MyTopTeddy - Phillip

Teddy Special edition - Phillip

Hello, i am Phillip.
I am a little bear of 30 cm, made of chocolate Schulte Mohair.
My paws are made of suede, sculpted and shaded with oil paint.

Face and paws for my test teddy

 

first i show you how nice flat the foot gets with cutting the long hair and heavy thread sculpting

yesterday and today i worked some more on feet and arms and face … here i show you what i got

first i felted on the toes then i made a little pad and attached it on the heel

can you see the hair i felted into the gap between 2 toes in the picture above ?

then i shaded them with oil paint … also shaded the minifabric …

here you can see the shaded feet, the not shaded arms… the arm is felted with darker wool

and here a quick felted face … looks more then a lion then a bear though :D