Found the Courage

My First Bear

Since I'm still presently making bears I want to start with them. I have been following the blog of someone who makes beautiful bears and I finally found the courage to make one myself. Where do you start with something like that? Well I always check locally first. You can buy adequate fabric but not joints and eyes. Where do you get patterns?

One thing you should know right now is I'm not making heirloom bears. I could not learn and practice on expensive mohair and costly parts. So like most other things I do I find a way to do it on the cheap. I also want anybody to be able to do these things regardless of skill level.

First thing I did was buy a book on teddy bear making. This book took you through the whole process and had patterns in the back. You can also find patterns free and otherwise on-line. You can't make a bear without a pattern!

Next thing was hardware. There are specific components of the joint that you can't find locally, unless you're like me and not afraid to modify! There is a press board disk with a hole drilled through that makes up the joint along with a screw, washers and a lock nut. The screws, washers and lock nuts are easy enough to find in the hardware store but not the disks. I looked around the hardware store for anything round, of the right size that either had a hole or could be easily drilled. We even had someone in hardware helping us. My husband was thrilled when I told the guy we needed hardware for teddy bear making but he was very helpful.

I tried flat washers, wall protectors for behind pictures, anything round. The thing that worked were the felt pads that you put on chair feet to protect the floor. At this point I wouldn't use anything else. You do have to make a hole in them though.

And that's why I ordered myself a new ice pick. My daughter asked me if I was using it to clean out the basement freezer. She's normally sleeping or at school while I'm crafting so she has no clue. I have a block of wood, a hammer and nail and an ice pick that I use to make my holes. I haven't tried drilling yet but my set up works.Obviously there's lots more stuff involved but I'm going to go over the whole thing. You're either saying lame, over my head or strangely interesting. My goal would be for that person who thought that they could never do something like this might, like myself, find the courage.