Inserting glass eyes

It has been said the eyes are the windows of the soul and of course, this is true for bears too! A teddy bear's eyes help create his personality, so making the right choice of eye for a new design is vital. I like to keep a wide selection of good quality glass eyes in many different sizes and colours. There are many colours and styles available to choose from these days, ranging from plain black matt or gloss, through to realistic styles with veins and pupils! Aside from those offered by suppliers, it is also possible to purchase clear glass eyes and paint them for a personalised result, one of my favourite things to do!

As eyes are such fiddly little blighters and so that I can see what I need at a glance when I am working, I like to keep them organised like this ...

Inserting glass eyes can be fiddly, but the process isn't terribly difficult. As the end result will be responsible for bringing a bear to life, a simple but effective method should help to guarantee a professional finish.

This is my favourite method:

1. Holding the bear's head level (I like to balance my bear's head between my knees!) use two coloured head pins to mark each eye placement. I like to set mine just outside the head gusset seam, but this is a personal choice and will vary from maker to maker. Take your time to decide exactly where you would like your eyes to sit as this is an important factor in determining the bear's final expression.

Tip: I find it helps to have embroidered the nose before placing the eyes, to ensure the eyes are level.

2. Cut two long lengths of extra strong thread (carpet thread or bonded nylon will do very nicely). Each thread should be approximately twice your own arm's length. Using one of the threads, fold it in half and slip the eye onto the doubled thread. Tie the doubled thread tightly in the middle, so that the eye is caught securely in the knot. Repeat the process using the second thread, so that once both threads have been tied, the eye is secured in the middle and eight threads hang loose.

3. Using an awl, make a hole in the mohair backing where your first eye is to be positioned.

4. Using a sturdy doll maker's needle (in this case I am working on a 20" bear's head, so I am working with an unbendable 10" needle) thread two of the eye threads and insert the needle into the hole you have just made with your awl, exiting at the centre of the head, just above the head joint at the back of your bear's head. Repeat this process with two more threads, so that you have four threads hanging loose from the back of your head.

5. Using the same process, exit the remaining four eye threads on the opposite side of your bear's head, just behind his ear placement. (The ear will cover the finishing knots when it is sewn onto the head). Pull all eight stitches firmly until the eye post fits snuggly into the eye hole.

6. With your thumb to guide the eye into position, use a little pressure to create a 'socket' effect, whilst balancing the head between your knees and pulling on one set of threads from the base of the head. Then take one pair of threads from the base of the head in one hand, and the other pair in your other hand making sure you maintain a firm tension (this sounds tricky, but if you get comfortable it soon becomes an easy process! You may need to tilt the head forwards at this point to see what you are doing) and tie them tightly together, at least three times, to secure.Tip: try not to catch mohair in the knot, for a professional finish.

8. (At this point I usually repeat steps 2-7 with the second eye, ensuring that both eyes are secured at the base of the head. It is important to ensure you have pulled both eyes back into their sockets equally.) Taking both sets of threads from behind one ear, use tension to determine the final position of your eye. Note: This will raise the eye slightly from its previous position. When you are happy with the positioning, tie threads tightly as for base of head.

9. Repeat process for second eye.

10. Using a curved needle, weave all the remaining threads through the backing fabric several times, making sure you take the needle back into each exit point so that your stitches are invisible, then trim off all excess thread as close to the backing as possible.

11. Give your bear's head a good brush and using embroidery scissors, trim away any excess mohair from his eye area until you can see his beautiful new eyes gazing adoringly right back at you!

Inserting a traditional head gusset

The problems of wonky noses and uneven eyes can often be improved by going right back to basics and looking at how a bear's head is stitched together. This  basic tutorial is for a classic three piece head design, but I think would be relevant for most head patterns.

First a word about the head gusset pattern piece: it must be symmetrical. My method for achieving a symmetrical head gusset pattern piece is simply to draw my pattern onto folded paper and cut it out, paper still folded, before transferring it to card.

For the purpose of this tutorial, I am assuming you have already stitched your two side head pieces (furry sides together) from sewn nose tip to neck opening and neatly clipped the seam diagonally at the nose tip to remove fabric bulk.

Secondly, an important thing to consider before marking the head gusset pattern piece onto your chosen fabric, is the weave of the backing fabric. If you look closely at the fabric backing you will see how the backing threads are woven together horizontally and vertically. Take particular note of the weft (horizontal threads) when placing your head gusset prior to marking out. Try not to be too swayed by the way the pile lays on the face of the fabric ... pile direction can be changed with a little post-head making styling if necessary. So, I recommend placing the nose tip carefully across the horizontal threads, ensuring it is level with the threads; this will help greatly when it comes to sewing your perfect nose! (That subject is another tutorial!)

Finally, a little tip: cut your head gusset slightly longer than needed at the back head end - all will become clear in a moment!

Okay, let's get started:

As with my footpads (see 'Perfect paw pads' tutorial) I like to mark out my sewing seam at the nose end of the head gusset. I do this prior to cutting out the fabric. If you wanted to, to ensure even seams and therefore a perfect shaped head, you could mark out your seam allowance around the entire head gusset.

WORD OF ADVICE:  When marking your seam allowance on the reverse side of the fabric be careful with your choice of marker - I find a sharp lead pencil is best for this job because it won't bleed through the fabric into your bear's muzzle at a later date.

1. Fold the head gusset in half to find the centre of the nose area. Mark the centre with a dressmaker's pin, taking care to be exact, then take your side head pieces (chin seam already sewn) and pin straight through the very centre of the chin seam.

2. Following the line of your pre-drawn muzzle seam and using dressmakers' pins, secure the muzzle area in place by pinning vertically through the gusset into the relevant side head piece - take care to match your pins on opposite sides of the head gusset and around the muzzle area.

3. Because I prefer to leave most of my pins in whilst sewing the head gusset into place, at this point I pin the rest of the head gusset in place using small metal pins pinned horizontally (I think these are called household pins) - usually it's possible to sew past these little pins without damaging your machine needle.

TIP:  If you have cut your head gusset longer than necessary, when you have finished pinning the leftover fabric at the neck (back) end of your head should be even, not lopsided ... if it's lopsided I'm sorry but you'll need to un-pin and start again because your head gusset fabric won't be distributed evenly and this will cause your bear's head to be mishapen when stuffed. If your leftover fabric is even - great! Simply snip across to remove the excess fabric.

4.  Baste (oversew) around the muzzle area, removing dressmaker's pins as you go. Tip: You may find it helpful to secure the centre of the muzzle/chin together with a couple of firm stitches first - it may also help you to secure a small stitch at both of the muzzle indents, (the area before the shaping raise and curves to create the head/brow shaping) prior to basting around the rest of the muzzle.

5.  Starting at the back of the neck, sew your gusset into place - I prefer to machine stitch for a neat finish. Take care to sew along your pre-drawn muzzle seam line, moving the machine foot very slowly around the curves.

TIP:  I always machine stitch my seams twice for strength ... popping a seam when stuffing is no fun! Note: It's very important to ensure you achieve an equal seam allowance on both sides of the head if you want your head to be symmetrical when stuffed (this will help considerably when you come to positioning your bear's ears!)

6.  Now you are ready to remove the little pins and turn your completed head furry side out to begin begin stuffing! First though, check you have eased all the seams out fully ... particularly in the muzzle area (if necessary, use a chopstick or similar blunt tool inside the head to gently ease out the corners paying particular attention to the nose area)- it's best not to rely on the stuffing to push the seams out for you.

7.  Stuffing a bear's head can be tricky! For the purposes of this tutorial,  I am using a non-slip polyester filler.

STUFFING TECHNIQUE:  I prefer to start with the nose end and a smallish stuffing tool (I use the Barbara Willis doll makers' medium sized stuffing tool for this; please remember I'm a maker of big bears so I would say the tools I mention are especially suitable for bears over 10"... my BW stuffing tool comfortably stuffs a 20" bear head for example. The BW stuffing tool is strong and has a tiny head which really grabs the filler well to position it. I have found it much easier to use for head stuffing than my traditional bear stuffing tool ... but it does take a little more patience to fill a head! You will no doubt already have found suitable tools to accommodate the size of bear you are making, but if you'd like to try this BW stuffing tool for your very little bears, it is also available to purchase from www.joggles.com in a small size).

Taking small pieces of a firm, non-slippery polyester filler (something nice and 'crunchy' works well) and tugging at the filler to separate it so it doesn't 'ball', I ease it into the muzzle/nose area and when I have a few pieces in place, I give them a few firm prods with my stuffing tool to encourage them into place. Once the muzzle area is fairly well filled and reasonably firm, I add larger pieces of filler to the main head area ... I do this fairly symmetrically, so if I add filler to the left of the head, I will then add to the right side and so on ...

Once the filler is positioned moreorless around the wall of the head, I add filler to the centre of the head, pushing it into place with my fingers and then my stuffing stick until it feels firm but not like rock. During this process I am also continually encouraging more small pieces of stuffing into the muzzle area, checking my centre chin seam all the while I am working and 'moulding' the head from outside from time to time. I also run my hands over the seams on the outside of the bear's head frequently to make sure they are filled with filler and not lumpy. It's all a bit of an instinctive process, difficult to put into words, but if you think of yourself as a sculptor, rather than as a stuffer (!) and continually check your bear's head, holding it at eye level to ensure you are filling the cavity evenly and feeling your work from the outside, you should eventually achieve great shape.

TIP:  If your stuffing feels overly hard and lumpy, don't keep stuffing in the hope things will improve, they rarely do! Remove and begin again, your bear's head is probably the most important element of your bear ... take your time to create a beauty!

There is a school of bear crafting thought that says bear heads should be rock hard - I'm afraid I disagree with this as I think they are better firm, rather than rock like ... it's personal preference of course, but my reasoning is that I prefer to work with my fabric, rather than battle against it and whilst generally strong, mohair was not designed to be impenetrable! A good quality mohair will cope well with firm stuffing, but may split with force.  A firmly stuffed head allows scope for needlesculpting and will accept indented eyes, it will also provide a solid foundation for nose embroidery. A rock hard bear's head may prove an unnecessarily difficult challenge!

Once my bear's head is stuffed, I sit a hardboard disc and cotter pin joint in his neck cavity (I like to make my bears the traditional way with gathered neck and cotter pin joint) and run a couple of rows of running stitch around the base of the head to gather the base of the head together in preparation for assembling him later. There are several methods of closing your bear's head and as I say, this is just one of them. I then trim away a little of the fur from his nose area checking to ensure the chin seam is dead central, pin on his ears and use dressmaking pins to determine where I would like to place his eyes and nose embroidery.

Voila, he is now ready for muzzle trimming!

This is my bear below, with his head gusset sewn in, stuffing completed, dressmaking pins to denote eye placement (see 'tips' link below) for eye insertion tutorial), muzzle trimmed and nose/mouth sewn.  (There is also a nose embroidery tutorial included in the link below)

FINAL TIP OF THE DAY:  Try sewing your bear's nose before placing his eyes ... I think it makes it easier to tell if his eyes will be level.

Making a teddy bear, the process

Have you ever wondered how a teddy bear is made?  Each artist bear maker develops their their own methods through trial and tribulations, so a few months ago, I decided to create a bear in 'real time' and photograph his progress, step by step to show you how I create my bears. 

This is the story of how 22" Caspian was created.

He was pre-sewn yesterday.

This morning: head stuffed, ears and eyes positioned and pinned, nose area trimmed, half of muzzle trimmed. Now it's time for lunch! 

Nose stitched.

 

Mouth stitched and left half of muzzle finely trimmed.

Remainder of muzzle finely trimmed.

Eyes next ... but first it's time for a coffee break!

 Eyes inserted but eye area needs a trim so he can see where he's going!

That's better ... eye sockets trimmed to show off his baby blues.

 A little shading to make the eyes really 'pop'.

A little more muzzle trimming and hey presto, one teddy bear head ready for its body!

It's 4pm, so there's still time to joint his head to his body and perhaps stuff the arms and legs before I have to cook dinner. 

 

 Now he has a body ...

... and a pile of half stuffed limbs!

 Measuring where the arms should be placed.

 Arms attached. He's starting to look more like a proper bear now!

 Arms and legs attached.

 Unstuffed - this bear needs a substantial meal!

 Get stuffed bear!

 Well, I think that's my lot for today. It's time to cook the evening meal before my family comes home from work and it's too dark to take any more photos.

Everything is attached and bear's tummy is full, he even has a growler. His arms and legs will have to wait until the morning for final stuffing (they are only half stuffed at the moment) and I think I'll fiddle with the ears tomorrow too because I'm not sure about their position at the moment. So, if all goes well, he'll have his ears sewn on, stitched claws and a waxed nose by tomorrow afternoon.

A good day's work so far ... this has been fun!

 

 Day 2 and here we go again!

First, bear needs to have his back seam closed. Ladder stitching does the job beautifully.

 

 See, now he has an invisible back seam!

 Bottoms up bear, it's time to stuff the top half of your legs ...

 Sitting pretty! Legs stuffed, arms next ..

 One arm stuffed, the other one still to finish ... and those ears!

 Arms finished but his ears are really bugging me now!

 Not quite the look I was aiming for ...

 Howsabout placing them slightly lower ...

 ... like this? Nah, too cutsie for this ol' growler!

 Isn't this where they were to start with?! Well, maybe not quite ... they do suit him better a little higher though.

Right, time to make the final decision and sew those ears on.

 That's better! A tiny bit more trimming into the top of the muzzle area and with a little gentle sprucing up he's almost finished ...

 Come on bear, give us a twirl!

Lovely profile ...

Yes, this side is lovely too!

 

Hey, you're a handsome chap ... but ooops, I haven't sewn your claws on yet! Better do that next - and get that nose waxed.

We're almost there ...

Back later - yes, it's teabreak time! I'm going to put the kettle on now!

 

 Now to wax his nose.  Waiting patiently while the wax melts ...

 First coat of beeswax ... yuk, snotty!

Initial buffing for first coat ... looks okay, but hopefully will be even better after the second coat.

Second snotty! Poor ol' bear! Atishoo!

But all that ucky snottyness was worth the effort, now bear has a smart shiny nose and yes, that's him, sat by my computer screen admiring his work in progress photographs as I type!

We're not quite finished though, I still have his claws to stitch, but Fo's due here for her cup of tea soon, so I may have to do that a little later.

Finally I'll have to decide whether to trim him, or leave him bare ... hmmmn .... what do you think?

And then tomorrow he can have his posh pics taken on my posh Canon camera ...

 

Almost teatime on Day 2 and bear's claws are now underway!

He's a classic bear, so I've given him simple stitched claws ... very neat!

  Is it time for my trim yet Mum? Look all my claws are stitched now ...

A ribbon bow? Really? Are you sure about this? Yes bear, I am sure. It suits your baby blue eyes!

And finally, after many practise shots, a lovely professional photograph of my finished bear.  

All in all, he took about three days to finish.