Settling in

There’s not much going on around here these days. Though we are both pretty well occupied most of the time, there’s not a great deal to get excited about. But today was a little different.

I think I left my worktop looking something like this, with various bear body parts strewn across it. I worked a little on his nose and mouth, fitting his neck joint before deciding that his face wasn’t quite right. I chose to use traditional glass eyes too, which means they are sewn in place and fixed with a long thread tied at the back of the head. I had tied them so tight (determined they wouldn’t come out) that there was a clear dimple where the thread was finished off. Time for some work.

In the last week or so, I restitched his features, sewed on his ears and began to put him together.

I used the same pattern and construction method as I did for Sid. The stuffing is done in stages; each limb is partly stuffed before attaching the joints, so at one stage there was a bear with four half stuffed arms and legs attached to an empty body. As always, the big question is, how can so much stuffing fit into such a small space? No matter how much I pack in, there’s always room for more it seems.

I used the traditional cotter pin joints on this bear too. Though I bought a smaller size this time, I think I could go one step smaller again. Still, they went in easily and I was able to tighten them well using the right tool for the job.

I finished stuffing each limb once it was in place and sewed up the join using ladder stitch and extra strong thread.

Once I’d stuffed and finished all four arms and legs, I held him up and he seemed to look down wondering where his body was.

Not only was his body stuffed next, he got his voice too.

With one last run of ladder stitch to close the final seam, he was nearly ready to make his debut.

Albert (or is it Al-bear?) enjoyed a little brush up, had his seams fluffed out and chose a ribbon before posing for his photograph.

He has a sweet face, a cheerful smile and sits nicely.

He seems very much at home here.