Wobble head

An easy way to create a wobbly head for your careworn style bears - suitable for medium/large bears.

1. You will need two hardboard discs (appropriately sized for your bear), two round headed split pins (cotter pins) and four washers. You will also need a pair of round nose pliers and a pair of long flat nose pliers.

2. Using your flat nosed pliers, ease open the top of your two split pins.

3. Link the two split pins together through the opened tops.

4. Slide a washer onto one of the split pins, then slide on a hardboard disc, followed by another washer.

5. Using your pliers (I use both types for this!) turn a traditional crown joint making sure you don't pull it too tight, so your bear's head will loll appealingly to one side when he is completed.

6. Insert the joint into the bear's head in the usual way, making sure the uncoiled split pin is left pointing out of the head, ready to be inserted into your bear's body.

7. Using strong thread (I prefer to use nylon thread) sew around the base of the head leaving the split pin dangling and pull stitches tightly together before fastening threads to close the head. I prefer to repeat this process twice to ensure the head is firmly closed.



8. When assembling your bear's head to his body in the usual way, simply add a hardboard disc and washer as normal and repeat the crown joint inside the body cavity.

9. Finally, when stuffing your careworn bear consider how floppily you would like him to sit and stuff/joint his limbs and body appropriately to create an impression of a well-loved, teddy bear.

Creating eye whites

A simple step-by-step tutorial for creating eye whites to help create expression for your teddy bear. There are tools available for precision cutting of fabric circles, but I prefer to use a steady hand and a pair of embroidery scissors.

To begin: You will need a pair of teddy bear eyes, a piece of white felt, an awl and a fabric marker pen and a pair of fine pointed embroidery scissors.

1. Make a small hole in the white felt using your awl. The hole should be just big enough to allow the eye post to pass through easily. Tip: Make sure your hole isn't close to the edge of the felt.

2. Insert the eye post through the small hole in the felt.

 3. Cut around the felt until you have the shape you want. When you have the shape you want, remove the felt and make a second eye white to match.

4. Using a fine tipped fabric marker pen (I've used black for my bear) carefully colour the edge of the white felt. This will help add definition.

5. Insert eye as usual. Tip: If your eye white is quite large you may like to use a tiny spot of glue to help it to stay in place.

6. Insert second eye, taking care to position eye white to match first eye.

7. Trim eye area of excess mohair carefully.

8. Using fabric marker pen, shade area from edge of eye white to blend subtlely into surrounding mohair eye socket area. Tip:You may prefer to shade your eye socket prior to inserting the eyes ... this is a matter of personal preference and technique.

Et voila! A simple but effective technique to add a little extra character to your teddy bear!

Finding your signature style

I do think collectors like to see 'identity' in an artist's work, but I don't think that needs to limit a bear artist's work in any way. My belief is that identity develops over over time - maybe that's as a result of discovering which techniques work best for an artist?

I have tried many different techniques and designs over the years and am told my work is easily identifiable. I tend to lean towards techniques I know will create appealing bears as I'm not particularly driven to make my designs overly complicated, simply to incorporate new techniques for the sake of trendsetting. I prefer to create from the heart and see where that leads me!

I've seen so many artist bears over the years which in my humble opinion, could have benefitted from their makers spending a little longer developing basic bear crafting skills, prior to launching into every conceivable technique and style ... I really believe the best bears come from makers who have taken the time to learn to walk, before running.

Over the years I've also become aware of the diversity of styles of artist bear ... classic, vintage style, contemporary, realistic, the list goes on - a talented bearmaker will often be able to create bears across a variety of styles and designs, whilst retaining an individual identity.

I think the key is to keep asking yourself what you can offer to your particular style of bear, to make it unique.

 I believe bear artists and aspiring bear artists are by nature creative, but as with all things, some are more innovative than others, tending to lead by example, whereas others may draw inspiration by what's happening around them - although the concept they are working on may not be their own (after all, how many bear artists can truly say they were the first to develop a technique or particular style of bear?) they are excited and inspired by it and want to try and develop it in their own style.

When you've been creating and studying bears for a good many years, you begin to notice that ideas which are heralded as innovative, have perhaps been put into practice in one form or another previously ... and there is rarely anything that truly hasn't been done before. The trick is to work hard to create an identity of your own for your work.

I also think it's important to study your subject as broadly as possible, because that way, not only will you draw inspiration, you will also being to discover where your own creative niche lies.

Consider the nose..

One thing that always marks out a good bear for me, is a beautifully embroidered nose.  I think the nose can make or break an artist bear.  It is so important for less experienced bear makers to take a critical look at their nose stitching, identify weak areas and try to work out what isn't quite right and how to improve.  

There are so many elements to take into account when to achieve a professional looking nose, starting with the symmetry of head gusset design and how it is stitched in.  If the gusset is even slightly adrift and not entirely central with the chin seam, nose embroidery will not be perfectly level.

Once gusset design and stitching is perfectly symmetrical, the next problem area is often stuffing the head and particularly the muzzle ... lumpy or soft stuffing will not provide a firm base upon which to embroider neatly. Also, no matter if the gusset IS perfectly symmetrical, if it has been cut at a slight angle to the weft of the backing fabric, that will also make it very tricky to stitch a perfectly level and symmetrical nose.

Thread choice is also important ... too thick may look clumsy, too thin may be hard to tension accurately to achieve a smooth finish.

Personally, I prefer to see the chin seam running down centrally from the nose ... I don't like to see it slightly to one side or another because it makes a nose look lopsided and also throws the mouth stitching askew.  Even a millimetre or two can make a difference.

There are of course exceptions, vintage style bears for example, can usually be forgiven less than perfect noses, but the overall rule of thumb is, an imperfect nose has to be a considered element of the bear's design, vintage designs need to be thoroughly planned ... a shoddy nose on an otherwise modern-ish bear does not make it 'vintage' in style!

Also, if treating the embroidered nose with wax, gloss or similar coatings, take note - they should be applied precisely with no messy areas ... the same applies to shading, don't overdo it and if necessary, you could always check your work under a magnifying glass.

Tension is hugely important.  Good noses can't be rushed!  Each stitch needs to lay flat, no wiggly ones and unless a deliberate element of the considered design, there should be no gaps in the stitches.  Also, I hate to see those tricky side stitches slipping away from the nose - that can happen if there are too many layers of embroidery, or the nose is too wide - not a good look for any self respecting artist bear.

To summarise, if your noses don't yet stand up to close scrutiny, best to keep practising!

Creating teddy bears in cloth

After working with Magnolia's fluffy, nose tickling, alpaca last week, I decided to have a break from all things fluffy and work with the other end of the teddy bear fabric spectrum this week ...

As regular readers will know, I love Harris Tweed, a beautiful pure wool fabric, woven in a fabulous array of colours and patterns and perfect for making creative cloth bears. For my current project, I have opted for a herringbone pattern, contrasted with a simple stripe (but I'm afraid you will have to wait for the colours to be revealed when he is finished in the next day or so!)

Designing and making a cloth bear is a slightly different process from creating their furry cousins and I tend to pick and choose techniques used in both cloth doll and teddy bear making, to create my own range of 'Tweedy Teds'. 

For anyone considering making a cloth bear, here are a few thoughts that spring to mind:

Keeping an eye on proportion at the pattern design stage is very important, as tweed has a looser weave than the usual mohair backing, which means a body and limbs can easily looked overstuffed and far too wide, which in turn can make poor teddy look very uncomfortable and far too big for his own head!

Closing seams and inserting glass eyes is also a challenge because of course, without fur, there will be nowhere to hide any finishing stitches ... and as any professional teddy bear maker will tell you, finishing work must be as invisible as possible! Nose stitching can be tricky too, as it's not easy to stuff the nose area as firmly as you can in a mohair bear, without distorting the muzzle shape, so the tension of your embroidery thread becomes all-important to achieve a perfect finish. 

When it comes to stuffing a cloth bear, care has to be taken to not only ensure the weave of this wonderful fabric (if using tweed for example) isn't pierced with the pointy end of a stuffing tool (easily done!) but also to make sure teddy isn't lumpy, is suitably firm to hold and won't have misshapen paws ... and speaking of paws, I line those with wadding so they have a nice smooth finish when stuffed. I prefer to add a few plastic pellets in the centre of teddy's tummy cavity to weight, whether furry or not, so I contain those in a separate bag to ensure they don't pop through the weave when cuddled.

Jointing can be done with hardboard joints and cotterpins/nuts 'n bolts, but depending on the cloth used, size of your bear and it's purpose, (ie., will it be a gift for a child* (please see note below) or  is it intended as an adult collectible?) you may prefer to reinforce the fabric at the site of the joint and line the joints. Alternatively, why not try buttoned thread joints? They are often used in doll making and can look fab on teddy bears too, especially if you make your own buttons!

Lollipop, an award winning thread jointed cloth bear 

designed by Paula Carter

For anyone wondering if making a cloth bear is easier than making a mohair bear, the answer I would give is a resounding 'no'.  In fact creating teddy bears from fur-free cloth is a great way of laying bare any teddy bear artist's true bear-making talents! That said, it is great fun to choose fabrics which reflect your own themes and ideas and have the freedom to create truly unique and original teddy bears! 

:-)

*NB: if creating cloth or fur teddy bears for children to play with, please do not use glass eyes or any parts which could be a choke hazard. Use plastic safety joints rather than hardboard/cotterpin joints to attach limbs. If preferred, you could stitch head and limbs to body with extra strong thread, rather than jointing. Don't include plastic pellets in the tummy cavity and most importantly, check very carefully that all pins have been removed from teddy before he is given to the child to play with.

Ahead by a nose

I know it looks painful, but the long needle is an essential part of the process. I like to work with the head gripped between my knees, I don't know how other bear makers sew their noses, but this position works for me.

I prefer to use a traditional block design for nose embroidery and like to work straight onto the mohair without a template, but you could sew over a felt template if you feel more at ease that way. 

This bear's nose will be a lovely rusty colour. Starting in the centre of the muzzle, I work first out to the left of the bear's nose in satin stitch, watching carefully where my needle is exiting each time, so that all the stitches are neatly aligned. There is a knack to sewing a good nose and it relies heavily on tensioning the thread equally for each stitch and ensuring all the stitches are the same length.

I use a traditional block design for nose embroidery and prefer to work straight onto the mohair without a template. This bear's nose is going to be a lovely rusty colour. Starting in the centre of the muzzle, I work first out to the left of the bear's nose in satin stitch, watching carefully where my needle is exiting each time, so that all the stitches are neatly aligned. There is a knack to sewing a good nose and it relies heavily on tensioning the thread equally for each stitch and ensuring all the stitches are the same length.

When I've finished the left side, I return my needle to the centre and repeat the process for the right side of the nose. This gives me a base layer of embroidery to work over. I can now see what size of finished nose will suit my bear before I complete my embroidery. By the way, a good stout thimble is essential to protect the end of your finger when stitching.

As you can see, the nose is now beginning to take shape but at this point, it's not really doing him justice yet. There is more work to be done if he's to have a nose he can be proud of ...

The next step will be to repeat the process with a second layer of embroidery but this time, ensuring the finished nose is exactly the right size and shape to suit the bear. So, I'm going to take the needle back into the centre of the muzzle, stitching to the left first, then to the right. This time the stitches exit fractionally higher on the muzzle so bear's nose will be the final size necessary to give him that all important 'bearsonality'!

Can you see it taking shape now? I used my thumb to tension each stitch as I sewed, so it is far from a speedy process, but definitely worth taking a little time and care over.

When I add a couple of finishing stitches horizontally across the top and bottom of the nose, the nose is almost finished.

Two little stitches lead from the nose down the centre seam of the muzzle, then this fella is ready for his mouth to be stitched in a traditional inverted 'V' shape. You can experiment with your bear's smile by placing a glass headed pin in the centre chin seam and moving the embroidery thread to achieve the width of smile you prefer.

Hey, hello Freddie ... he looks like a Freddie to me, does he to you?

So my new bear's head is now made and you've been the first to meet him, but he needs a body, arms and legs before he really comes to life and of course, please don't let me forget to sew his ears on ...!

Attaching the head to the body

Before we get started on fixing the head to the body, here's a pic of the tools I'll be using. I like to use two separate pairs of pliers for jointing, a round nose pair and a flat nose pair. The joints for this bear are traditional hardboard discs held in place with split pins and washers in the head and arms. I use nuts and bolts in the legs for extra strength. You can see a stuffing stick in the photograph, which is self explanatory, a tape measure and a thin headed chisel, which I use to make the holes in the hardboard discs slightly larger to accommodate heavy duty split pins and bolts. The phillips screwdriver and ratchet thingy are to tighten to nuts and bolts. I'll explain the wadding when we get to assembling the arms and legs.



Oops, I just realised I forgot to include the awl in the tools photograph above - good job I'm not writing a book here!

This bear will have his head attached using the traditional cotter pin and hardboard joint method.

I use the pointy end of the awl to make a small hole in the centre seam of the bear's chest, about quarter of an inch from where it meets the back. This is where the bear's head will be inserted.

Here I am inserting the split pin at the base of the bear's head into the hole I just made with the awl.

This particular bear needs a 2.5" hardboard disc to give his head the right amount of support. Here I am slotting the disc over the split pin which is now poking through into the bear's body.

I have added a steel washer over the split pin to protect the disc before I use the round nose pliers to begin tightly curling one side of the pin.

I find the flat nosed pliers work best to finish curling the split pin securely.

Once it's curled tightly on one side of the pin. I repeat the process on the other. It's important to get this as tight as possible to hold the head steady for years to come.

And it really is as simple as that! Freddie's head is now securely attached to his body and he's waiting patiently for his arms and legs ...