Teddy Bear Making Tips

Jan 1, 2011 | A day in my life, Blog, Toy-making TIPS & TUTORIALS

If you’re new to bear making, these tips and hints from experienced bear artists will help you with your teddy bear making!
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OK, Let’s Go…

A tip for turning your bear – use TWEEZERS or HEMOSTATS to make an indent/well at the end of your limb or body (furtherest away from the turning opening) and gently use your TURNING TOOL (I like to use my wooden chopstick!) to push this out the opening you’ve left for turning.

Take your time with a bear nose. After all, it’s one of your bear’s most obvious features. Beginners and experienced bear makers know the frustration of embroidering that perfect nose. It is a pain, but take the time to unpick it if you are unhappy, and do it again, it WILL make a big difference to the look of you bear!

For taking the fur out of the seams, use an EYEBROW BRUSH/COMB – these can also be used for brushing up the bear’s fur. A TOOTHBRUSH is also great for brushing up long-pile or shorter Upholstery Fabrics.

A great variety of materials can be used to make a bear besides the traditional mohair and fake furs. Knits, corduroy, terry cloth, velor, velvet, synthetic suede, even denim.

Think twice about using foodstuffs to stuff your bear! Barley, rice and lentils may seem like good fillers – Beware! Insects such as beetles and moths may find your bear very tasty and ruin your beautiful creation!

For most collectible teddy bears use glass eyes. If the bear is intended for a child, then use safety eyes. Trim the fur pile around the eye placement areas so you can see the eyes clearly, and to help your bear see better! 🙂

Most eyes are hand made and there is a wide variation so ALWAYS MATCH the eyes when you buy them.

Positioning eyes takes time. One easy way is to use 2 black glass-headed pins. Keep on repositioning them until you achieve the look and expression you want. Then you’ll know exactly where to position your eyes for the look you want!

Pull the eye threads tightly so that the pressure pulls each eye into the head a little bit and creates the look of a natural eye socket.

Use dental tape instead of thread for the eyes as you will need to pull them in really tightly and even upholstery thread can SNAP.

When making a jointed bear, it’s best to tighten the joints as much as possible because they can loosen quite a bit after stuffing the bear, and you’ll end up with a bear with a very wobbly head, or wobbly arms and legs. (thanks to Irene from mystuffedteddy for this teddy tip)