3 hours today … i am not in the mood for painting

 

first i put some clue onto the nuts

While i was waiting for the clue to get hard, i made a little bag for some glass pellets.
It is some strange fabric. it is also used in the bought bears to hold pellets.
In my fabric store they sell it as material for under skirts.
It is very soft, very slippery, and very tight.

Just perfect for little pellets :)

I put some filling in the back above the spine, some between the shoulders and some between the hips, closed the seam at the neck a bit further down, then i put the bag with the pellets inside.

Keep closing the seam and adding filling, the last 1 cm i fill the belly as much as i find suitable, and close the last bit.

I usually take some stitches, and make a few knots.
This makes sure, even when this seam breaks, not the whole seam breaks open.

Such nasty seams i like to sew with the bent needle.
It took me long time to find out how to hold it with the fingers, without the needle turning in the wrong way.
One way is for sure the pliers - like doctors do when they sew you up :P
i do it like this … hold it with THREE fingers, not with 2 :D

When all seems are closed, give the teddy a good brush

and a good shake :D

and then bend and twist the little fellow how you like

The little one still needs ears
He needs some shading at the face and the paws.
I will do this tomorrow - i think.
AND he needs a name … and i have no idea.

7 hours today

 

Today i worked mainly on the paws, the toes.
There are for sure many many ways how to do it … This is how i do it.

I just tried to get hold of the long fluffy hair at first with taping them away from the toes.
Then I put pins where i want to enter and exit with the thread.

I come here from the shoulder, exit at one corner of the toes.
Then i enter the needle at the first pin on the paw side, and exit on the hairy side.

Here i show you the angle i exit.
I have seen this from Joanne Livingston, and it make a lot of sense, because bears got rather long toes.
Lay the thread from the outside right back to the inside of the paw, to where you entered at first.
Pull hard, but not so hard you rip the thread (unless you got one which can’t break - mine is not that unbreakable sadly)
Insert the needle at the same spot again … and …

Remove the pin and this time you go UP to the toe tip … click on the picture to see it in large.
You exit right next to the thread.
Keep the thread pulled tight, and enter again just on the other side of the thread.
Exit where you entered earlier.

This will keep the thread in place.
Now you enter the needle at the second pin… repeat all the steps as shown for the first one.
I will make a tutorial for a complete feet soon (tomorrow if i finish the teddy tomorrow)
This is how it looks at the end.
This foot is far from perfect… for perfect pulled toes have a look here http://desertmountainbear.blogspot.com/search/label/pulled%20toes
Joanne makes the toes so pretty, so even … i can just dream about this.
My excuse is .. nature is not even :D

Here on this picture i show you one of the disadvantages from taping the hair … they are getting caught under the thread. So you need to carefully pull them out and then give it all a good brush again.

Here the back foot.
Enter again at the top, exit at the middle of the paw, enter needle at the same spot again and

…. exit at the corner of the toes.
And here i can you can see, why i actually prefer to fight with the hair.
I can just part them from the pin to the thread, and lay the tread right inside this line.

After you finished the toes, go from the corner to the middle.
Close but not to close to the stich you enter again and go right upside of the foot.
Part the hair again, so they don’t get caught in the thread,

Press the foot together and pull tight.
Stitch a few times up and down and then go up to the opening and tie off the thread.

There we are with brushed nice toes :)
All 4 limbs took me a little bit more then 3 hours.

Next i put some wool into the face, just to see what i want to do….

Because i liked the place of the eyes, i took out the placeholder … can you see the little hole in the first picture ? there is was …
Then i entered the actual eyes. I took rather big one this time, 16mm.

I pulled them really hard in and did with an other thread some sculpting of the bridge of the nose.
Now doesn't he look angry ? But i wanted a friendly bear

So i cut off some more hair between the eyes
Wrapped some of my Tee dyed wool around the nose and needled it in place.

I didn’t document the process, because i never know what is going to happen …
But i like the result :D This took me an other 3 hours

While i was watching TV i spent an hour to close the seems of the limbs.
Can you see the seam ? no ? good that is how it should be.

Then i attached the limbs.
First widening the spot where i want to enter.
Put the discs on the bolt - place the bolt
AND just screw it tight :D no holding on the other side, because - you remember ? It is clued :D

Then i filled the tummy temporarily with wool, made a rough closing and took a picture.
Tomorrow i will see, if i have to loosen the screws or keep them thigh.
When i found the right tension, so the limbs are turn able but not loose, i will secure the screws with clue again.

1 hour and 6 hours … we getting closer

 

This is what i did Sunday
I covered the wires and the spine in soft batting (years ago i wanted to make me a jacked out of this material, but never got further then cut the pieces out)

And then i took some 2 component clue and fixed the bolt to a disc and the wire.
Keep on watching this postings, and you find out why i do this :D

Today, Monday, i worked 6 hours
I placed the wire into the arms, legs and body.
Sewed the spine to the fur, you can see the black thread going zick zack over the silver ?
That's how i attached it … one side, 1 stitch, other side, next stitch….
You can also see, i opened the neck seam again, so it was easier to stitch the spine in place.

Then i remembered, oooops there are still the paw pads to fill …
Looked closer, and found something, which should not go unnoticed.
Some hair caught in the seam … so i spend quite some time to pull them carefully out again.

This is my tool i use for tiny openings - a knitting needle with some dents :)
It is perfect to catch some small amounts of filling

Then i started the filling … Little tip on the side, do it BEFORE you put the wiring inside :D
I started with wire and stuffing the arms already before i stuffed the pads, and had to take it all out again.

can you see how nice round it get ?
But if you do this … do yourself a favour, and fill the top pads and close the seam, BEFORE you fill the lower pads :D makes it a lot easier to sew.
But anyhow, you fill all 8 pads, close all the little openings.

And than, finally, i had all pads filled and closed, wire in arms and legs, stuffed them all,
closed the neck seam again and stuffed the head.

Then i attached some test eyes and cut the hair from the face.

Tomorrow i will work on the toes.