Helene, part 1

Mohair: 35*50 cm (1/8)

Material for palms and feet (ultrasuede, felt, plush, any other fabric)

Eyes 12 mm

Disks for securing the legs, 35 mm: 4 pcs

Disks for securing the head and arms, diam. 25mm: 6 pcs

5 strong cotter pins

10 Cotter Pin Joint Washers

Embroidery yarn for the nose

 

In addition, you will need:

Stuffing material: approx. 300 g of fiberfill

or 300 g of sawdust

Granulate of your choice: glass, plastic or mineral

Scissors with sharp points

Forceps

Awl

Needle-nose pliers or cotter key

Threads for sewing parts together, matching the color of mohair

Needles

Wooden stuffer

 

 

 

 

 

Pattern pieces:

ü  Body - 2 pieces

ü  Head (side) – 2 pieces

ü  Head (middle part) – 1 piece

ü  Arms – inner part – 2 pieces

ü  Arms: outer part - 2 pieces

ü  Palms - 2 pieces

ü  Legs - 4 pieces

ü  Foot Pads  – 2 pieces

ü  Ears – 2 pieces

ü  Tail – 1 piece

 

 

 

Pattern cutting and layout

Start with transferring the pattern onto sturdy cardboard, then cut out the pattern parts. Next, lay all the parts on fabric, with the fabric pile direction taken into account. The pile direction is specified on the pattern with arrows.  Outline the parts keeping in mind the need to leave a 5 mm cutting space; this is not included in the pattern! Important! The “darts” marked with dashed lines on the body and head (gusset) pieces are not to be cut out: these must just be folded and sewn together

Along the lower seam of all the three parts of the head, a larger cutting space (1.5 cm) should be left. Double parts (body, arms and legs) should be outlined in their mirror reflections. All the marks – darts, points of securing the arms and legs, the place for the tail to be joined, a tack for future joining of the ears, stuffing holes – must be transferred onto the fabric.

Soles and palms are cut of a different material (not mohair). The ears should be cut in the shape of circles, fold them in two taking into account the pile direction and sew together. Then make a small cut, turn inside out – and here they are: the ears are ready. I sew ears to the bear’s head after all the other things have been done, so it is the last thing to do. Make 2 marks on the side parts of the head for the ears to be secured symmetrically.

The next (and a very important) stage is cutting the fur along the margins with small scissors. You may use any scissors with sharp points, yet the lighter they will be, the less weary for your fingers it will be. When trimming the pile, avoid damaging the base of the mohair. Though this is a somewhat tiresome process, do not ignore it: it will make your seams look much  neater.

 

Sewing parts together

First of all, sew together the darts at the middle part of the head, notch them and lay apart. The same with the body darts: sew together, notch and lay apart. Lay the side parts of the head together and, having pinned them, make a “chain” seam: this is very strong, indeed. Before we insert the middle part of the head, we first tack it with a blanket stitch, then sew with small stitches of the “chain” seam moving from the nose to the base of the neck.

Tail. Sew together the parts of the tail, turn inside out, add a bit of granulate, if necessary.

Body. The marks for fastening the limbs are made with a contrast color yarn: these are the points where the bear’s arms and legs are to be attached. This will make it possible to avoid asymmetry and attach the arms and legs easily at appropriate places. Before sewing the body parts together, place the tail to the marked location, pin the parts and sew them with the same “chain” seam. Larger parts, like the body and the limbs, may be machine-sewn, with a 2-2.5 mm long stitch. On the back, according to the marks, a hole must be left for turning inside out and stuffing. As for the bear’s head, I always sew it up on hands.

Arms. Sew the inner parts of the arms to the palms, then fold the inner and outer parts of the arms, fix them with pins, with a hole left for stuffing.

Legs. Sew the inner and outer parts of the legs together leaving a hole for stuffing. Then tack the sole with a blanket stitch from the heel towards the toe on both sides and sew finally with the “chain” stitch.