Connor

Good morning!  Thank you to everyone who has bought my teddy bear pattern!  I am hoping I will see some of the results, but it's difficult to keep track of customers sometimes.  Some people like to chat; others I never hear from again(!)  

This little bear is called Connor, and he's from the same pattern that I have up for sale in my Etsy shop - just in a different mohair.  I made him a while ago - when I was timing myself to make 10 bears, to try to work out the costs.  I must have got distracted whilst making him because one of his legs ended up higher than the other.  He has been sitting on my desk all this time looking sorry for himself.  I finally got around to fixing the leg last night, so he is now ready to go!  He is destined for the Brett Gallery at Monks Eleigh, Ipswich.

I have also finished another bear - a little white viscose polar bear called Orville.  I haven't had the chance to take photographs yet, but I did post a phone pic on Instagram the other day if you'd like to see him!  You can follow me on Instagram @bigfeetbears.  If you are an art and crafter yourself on Instagram (or just have particularly fabulous pictures!), let me know and I will follow back.

It's been a really strange time recently.  I am still all about the bears, but I have been thinking about food a lot too lately.  That's hardly unusual - I'm always thinking about food! - but I mean about actually cooking and baking food.  I am considering doing some kind of course on the subject, so I have been trying to read more, and practice more.  I don't know whether to post the pictures on here, or to start a second blog for food-related posts.  On the one hand, I'm aware that my 11 followers might not be interested in cooking and baking.  On the other, it's hard enough sometimes keeping one blog updated - I'm not sure I could manage two!

Pattern launch!

My teddy bear pattern is now on Etsy - woohoo!  

Click here for the pattern, or alternatively here for the kit (this includes the pattern, the mohair, the joints and the glass eyes required).

First teddy bear pattern!

I think my teddy bear pattern is finally ready to go - yay!

You notice the words 'I think' though - ever cautious!  I'm giving myself until Saturday to recheck everything (for what seems like the hundredth time) before I put it in my Etsy shop.  There will be two listings - one for an instant pdf download of the pattern, and one for a pattern and kit, containing the mohair, joints and eyes required.  The pattern is £6.  The pattern and kit together are £24.  I have barely put any mark-up on the kit, since buyers will be paying postage too.  If you want to choose your own mohair and source the hardware yourself, try Christie Bears or Bear Basic (both in the UK).

In addition to rechecking everything, I also wanted to spend some time advertising it.  I'm planning to post on Facebook and Instagram every day this week - and I'm slightly nervous in case I end up annoying people and, by Saturday, everyone is thoroughly sick of my pattern!  Hopefully not!

I was listening to one of Tara Swiger's podcasts on launching a product and she suggested that, in the run-up to the launch, you should first establish what the benefits of your product are (in terms of the way it makes people feel), and then try to provide a sort of 'taste-test' of these.

So, I've been casting my mind back 10 years, trying to remember what it was like making my first bear, and what I got out of it.  If I remember rightly, I was studying law at the time.  I was really enjoying the course, but it was all very dry and theoretical and I was looking for something a bit more creative to do on the side.  My mother has practically an entire room full of craft books and, when I was looking through these one day, I found several books on teddy bear making.  They looked quite fun and some of the patterns even appeared possible with my limited sewing skills.

I chose my first bear partly for cuteness, but mostly for the simplicity of the pattern.  He turned out charmingly boggle-eyed, but very imperfect, so of course I wanted to try again - this time with something more advanced.  The second pattern I attempted was a jointed bear with a sort of traditional, Steiff-ish look about him - with a long muzzle and a hump back.  I don't have these bears anymore; I wish I'd kept them!

For me at the time, it was refreshing to have actually made something when, academically, I seemed to be treading water, working as I was towards a long-term goal.  I still find that now: when other things seem open-ended and not entirely satisfactory, making something - and making it well, and actually completing it - feels good.

That's not the only reason I enjoyed it though.  To me, teddy bears have a cheerful, stoical, unfussy appeal - and great heritage of course!  I liked the idea of creating a little character entirely from scratch, using traditional techniques, and I liked the idea that mine would be different from anyone else's.  Teddy bears have a very personal, sentimental feel to them, but they do also have a practical side, and I guess that appeals too.  Obviously I don't make bears for children, but I always feel they retain that potential anyway.

So this is what I hope you will feel when making my pattern!  It will be a good project - substantial but not complicated - and you will end up with a very special, unique little bear who might have a few small flaws, but whose character will shine through anyway.  I hope that you will feel a sense of achievement when you get him finished, and that when you gaze into his eyes(!) you will see a bear of substance and history - not just the perfect, glazed smile of a manufactured soft toy.

Tips for novice teddy bear makers

Hello - welcome to my blog!  I am writing this post in conjunction with a sewing pattern for a little 9" teddy bear which I hope to release soon.  Here I offer 6 tips to help people who are new to bear-making, and show a few of the fantastic bears made by my pattern testers.  I hope you find it helpful - good luck!

When I had written up the pattern for my teddy bear, I had to find some people willing to test it for me.  The whole process was more complicated than I thought it would be, but I have had some fantastic results back.  However, a couple of the people I asked - really good sewers - didn't finish.  They assured me there was nothing wrong with the pattern, so I can only assume that some motivation was lost along the way.  

I have been thinking about the problems that I had when I started out - motivationally and otherwise - and came up with a list of things that I think would have helped me at the time.  I hope they will be helpful to people who have a go at making my bear.

• Keep in mind, they do take a while to make.  After 10 years, I can just about make one of these bears in a day - and that's when I'm giving it my full attention.  If you're not familiar with bear-making - and indeed, if you have anything else to do with your time - this may take a couple of weeks.  Don't expect him to appear just like that!

• It really helps to have the right tools.  Whilst you don't want to be splashing out on expensive equipment before you know what you're doing, take it from me: it's well worth making sure you have spanners in the right sizes, rather than trying to improvise with pliers!  There are two joint sizes in my pattern, and you need two spanners or nut-drivers for each.  Also, you will absolutely need a doll needle.  These are generally available in haberdashery stores, albeit usually in sets of 3 different sizes.  The one you want is about 5" long.  Strong thread is also really important; it will be an irritating, off-putting faff - not to mention unsuccessful - if you're trying to make do by doubling up ordinary thread.  

• Whilst some aspects probably seem self-explanatory, it's really important to follow the order of things set out in the pattern.  One of my testers stuffed the bear before jointing, which doesn't work because you need access to the inside of the bear to attach the joints.  Another tester fixed in the eyes before attaching the head - then had to take them out again.

• Teddy bears often don't look 'recognisable' until the very last moment, when their facial features go on - and even then, it can take me, at least, a while to get to like them.  So don't panic if your bear is looking very strange, midway through.  Making is always a messy process and, to some extent, when you start out, you just have to keep pushing on and see where it takes you.

• If something goes wrong, remember that 99% of the time it can be sorted,  although this might involve undoing some of your hard work!  Feel free to email me if you get stuck with my pattern.  Tell me the problem, send me a picture, and we'll get it sorted!

• Teddy bears are very forgiving creatures, and small flaws do really add character.  Sometimes its difficult to appreciate this when you made something yourself, and are mad that it didn't go perfectly, but I look back now at some of the bears I made when I first started out, and think how charismatic they are - even with their obvious mistakes.  That's not to say there aren't mistakes which are not particularly charismatic of course, but for those I refer you back to the previous point - 99% of the time they can be sorted!

So, let me introduce the bears which were made by my lovely pattern testers!  These were all people with no experience of bear-making (although Katherine's doll-making skills would have come in handy, I'm sure).  I was really pleased with them and I hope the testers were too.

  

This first one was made by Andy and Heather of Avocet Arts - friends from the art and craft centre, where I have the bears.  Provisionally named Murf, he is made in the Ipswich FC colours, interfaced fleece with a scrap of mohair for the muzzle.  He has a slight tilt to him, and a minor bagginess about the chops - none of which matters, since he's so sweet!  

 Next in was this little pink patchwork bear, made by Lynne, my aunt - maker of beautiful knitted lace shawls!  This bear is made from mohair remnants, and the two shades to her face are very distinctive.  Her loose limbs and heavy head gave her a very appealing fragile, antiquey feel.

 And finally, this one, made by S Katherine Sanders, a doll-maker I met on Facebook, who very kindly agreed to test the pattern at the last minute.  I sent her some of the mohair I usually use.  Her bear has very interestingly little frown lines!  I didn't get to see this one 'in the fur' unfortunately - too far away - but I would imagine that the lines are something to do with the stuffing of the head (although Katherine hinted that she did go off-script at one point, at least).  Anyway, I think they add character and individuality.

I hope this has been helpful.  If you would like more information on the different fabrics that are suitable for bear-making, have a look at this post.  And if you don't do much sewing at all, have a look at this post - which introduces the stitches you will need for my pattern.