Thursday 26 April 2012

The Joy of Bear Making

There cannot be many artisans that get to work with such fabulous materials as bear makers!  I adore natural fabrics such as mohair, alpaca and silk.  There is something about the softness, silkiness and pure luxury that these materials  afford.  The way the fabrics can be moulded into three dimensional teddies and other animals seems to me to be almost magical. 

I luckily managed to accumulate a decent stash of materials before I retired.  Whenever I start a new project, I drag out lots of different fabrics before I choose the one that I feel will work best. Alpaca is wonderful, dense fur for realistic bears.  Thick, wavy or dense straight mohairs are great for classic teds.  Curly and matted mohairs are great for aged bears and other animals.

Some ladies like shoes...others love handbags.  I love fabrics!  Anyway, I don't think I will need to buy more for a while! 








I am very busy at the moment producing bears and other animals for summer shows.

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12 comments:

  1. Debora Hoffmann26 April 2012 at 20:37

    Oh, I LOVE seeing your stash. Such beautiful and tactile fabrics for bears. I so love sinking my hands into mohair or alpaca...would love to try silk someday. Maybe you'll share your source (you can e-mail me). :o) Enjoy your creating!

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  2. Atalia /Natalia26 April 2012 at 21:23

    This is treasure chest for not heart fainted teddy bear maker, my heart pumping like I was running, like child wait open Xmas gifts, SO SO GORGEOUS COLOURS - TEXTURE. Lovely bear waiting to be born out from this luxury.
    hugs

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    1. Sue Jennings27 April 2012 at 07:25

      Hi Natasha
      Thank you for your comments. I am not alone in my love of fabrics!

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  3. Katy Cameron26 April 2012 at 22:41

    Oooh, can I come round and play? I just want to roll around in it :oD

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  4. Kays Kids26 April 2012 at 23:31

    Oh! how I could snuggle into that lot. You mind must be going at a hundred miles an hour imagining what to do with each piece.
    Hugs

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    1. Sue Jennings27 April 2012 at 07:29

      It often feels like a responsibility to do it justice by trying to making something lovely! I have to fight the urge to sit on the floor like Gollum surrounded by 'my precious'. :)

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  5. Les Ours de l'Autize27 April 2012 at 06:55

    Wouah! What beautiful fabrics hou have! I am looking forward to see them in Teddy bears!

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  6. Joanne@ Desertmountainbear28 April 2012 at 05:07

    I feel like I am actually almost drooling, LOL.
    Such a pile, all those textures. Oh what a treasure you have accumulated.

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  7. susana12 May 2012 at 18:31

    you got plenty to work on, the white seems attract you most.
    i' m going to start preparing the show in Sept too, looking forward to meet you, or my bears visit yours :)
    enjoy your bear making days, i guess it would be cooler in UK than us, very difficult to sew long pile fur in our hot summer daysss, actually, our temp climbs up this month to 34°C.

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  8. Sue Jennings12 May 2012 at 18:44

    Thank you, Susana! Hope to see you at Hugglets!

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