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Bear making
Bear Making
For over a hundred years the teddy bear has been one of the most loved toys. It is thought that the first teddy bears were made in about 1902. One story about the origin of the concept is that it came from a cartoon by Clifford Berryman called ‘Drawing the Line in Mississippi’. The article appeared in a Washington newspaper in November 1902. It depicted President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt refusing to shoot a captive bear cub during a bear hunt. It has become not just a child’s play thing but a treasured collector’s item too. This has brought about a huge hobby of bear making. There are Bear Artists all over the world, creating different and endearing bears.
It is a wonderful hobby to be into, not only is there the pleasure of creating something that you get with all arts and crafts but at the end of it you have a face shining up at you with its own personality already there!
The number of patterns available is unbelievable. You will not find it difficult to get just the right one for you. The only problem will be stopping at just the one! Bear patterns and kits also come in a variety of difficulty levels. There are plenty out there for the beginner and also for the more advanced. Do keep in mind though if you are making the bear for a child that you must use both safety eyes and joint, if it is for a particularly young child then keep to un-jointed and sewn features. There is also the size of bear that varies enormously, from huge bears to tiny jointed bears as small as 1 inch sometimes even smaller. You can even get music boxes or growlers to put inside your bear and give it a voice.
Materials
The materials used vary considerably from inexpensive acrylic fur to the more expensive mohair. The range of materials is now huge and the best way to get into it is to just dive in and start where you feel your price level is.
Mohair
This is a natural material and is made from the fleece of the Angora goat. The straight fibre is hard wearing, takes dye easily and looks like real fur. It is woven onto a backing, which is usually made from cotton and therefore does not stretch out of shape. It is however fairly expensive as the fleece is not readily available. The weaving process is also long and complicated and therefore takes a long time. This is the most widely used fabric for ‘artists’ and ‘collectors’ bears. It is easily available in a large variety of colours. It is also sold in a variety of pile lengths. The pile is the length of the fur itself; you can get anything between a very short pile to a long shaggy pile. The longer the pile of the fabric the more expensive it tends to be. The pile has various finishes and can be straight, curly, sparse, tipped or distressed.
Synthetic Fur Fabrics
The major benefit of this type of fabric is that it is relatively inexpensive and very easily available. When buying synthetic fur you do need to take the type of backing into account. The more expensive will have a woven backing that doesn’t stretch. The cheaper synthetic furs have a knitted or jersey backing and you will need to take the stretch into account. Some synthetic furs will also over time be susceptible to matting so if possible do test the fabric for matting and for shedding.
Velvet
This is the material that tends to be used for the miniature bears. It can be bought in a huge range of colours and quality.
Bears of course can be made from whatever fabric you choose maybe even patchwork; this is just an outline of the most popular.
Paw Fabric
Some Teddy Bear patterns require fabric for paws. These can be made from felt, leather, suede, velvet or suedette. All of these fabrics are readily available and come in a large variety of colours.
Threads
Four different types of thread tend to be used in the Teddy Bear making process.
1. Tacking thread, this is a cheap thread that you use to temporarily hold your pieces in place, and is unpicked and discarded once the bear is properly sewn.
2. Sewing thread, this can be polyester or cotton which is strong and durable. It is suitable for use in a sewing machine and is used for the seams. You should choose one that matches the backing of the fur fabric.
3. Strong Finishing thread, which is considerably heavier and thicker. This is used for the final closure of seams after stuffing and for attaching glass eyes. Also in the case of small bears it can be used to make thread joints. It is important that you use a thread that is too strong to be broken by hand. If you decide to hand sew your bear then you would be better off using this thread for sewing the seams as well.
4. Embroidery thread, which is used for embroidering any facial features such as the nose and mouth.
Fillings
Polyester Stuffing
This is the most commonly used filling. It is easily available, easy to use and inexpensive. The fluffier the stuffing is the better.
Wood wool
A long time ago this is what was used to stuff the majority of bears. It is very thin, finely shredded wood and looks very much like straw. It is of no use if you are making a bear for a child as it tends to have high dust content. If you want to make a traditional collectors bear then it is great, especially for stuffing the head as it gives a really solid feel to it.
Kapok
This type of filling is made from vegetable fibres and tends to be used in upholstery. It feels extremely silky. The downside to this filling is that the fibres can become easily detached and float around so it advisable that you wear a dust mask when using it.
Pellets
Lots of people like to have a saggy character to their bear and to achieve this they use pellets as well as stuffing in the tummy. Pellets are small rounded beads of plastic and give the bear a good heavy feel.
Types of Joint
Not only is there a choice of whether or not to make a jointed bear – but there is also a choice of what type of joints. There are a number of types of joints available on the market. The best thing to do is to consult your pattern and follow their suggestion. Each type of joint comes in varying sizes and will need to be the correct one for the size of bear that you are making.
The most common types use Cotter Pin Joints, Nut and Bolt Joints and the plastic Safety Joints. You can also joint your bear using thread or buttons.
Eyes
The four main types of eyes used in bear making are as follows:
Boot Button Eyes (Glass Eyes) – these are the type that were used on early bears and are the most used for the traditional look. They tend to be made from glass and are on wires that are then sewn into the head and the thread pulled out the back. These are not suitable for anything other than a collectors bear. You can buy them with either a pre-looped wire in the back or straight wires that you need to loop yourself.
Plastic Safety Eyes – These are the sort that you need to use if the bear is for a child, unless the child is under three where you would need to embroider the eyes. Once the safety eyes have been fitted they cannot be removed.
Beads – For the smaller bears quite often beads will be used for eyes.
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