30.5cm Albert by Christina Harris Albert is a charming traditional bear who'd make an wonderful addition to any collection. He is fully jointed using Nyloc bolts and is made from German mohair. Once complete he stands 30.5cm (12) tall. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You Will Need 1/4 yard or metre of 1cm (3/8") pile mohair A small amount of wool felt for the paw pads Six 4cm (1 1/2") four hardboard discs Four 4.5 (1 7/8") hardboard discs Four 2.2cm (7/8") long bolts with Nyloc locking nuts One 4cm ( 1 5/8") long bolts with Nyloc locking nuts Ten metal washers to fit bolts A pair of 7mm glass eyes (black) Perle cotton size 5 (black) A good quality machine thread in colour or mohair Carpet or strong thread for closing the seams Polyester bear filler (503 - available from Oakley Fabrics) Step by Step 1. Read all instructions through carefully before you begin. All seam allowances are 6mm (1/4"). Pattern pieces should be transferred to medium weight art board and marked with direction arrows, placement marks and jointing hole marks. 2. Once you have established the direction of the pile, lay out the pattern pieces on the back of the fabric. Move the pieces around to find the least amount of waste. You should be able to get the pieces quite close together. Never turn a piece to save fabric, you will have the grain or pile of the fabric in the wrong direction. Draw around the pattern pieces using a ballpoint pen. Don't use markers as they may 'bleed'. Indicate all placement marks, jointing holes and openings. Cut out pieces using small, snipping movements under the backing of the mohair to avoid catching the pile. Before you start to stitch, trim around all the pieces of mohair about 3mm (1/8") in from the edge and smooth the fur to the inside as you pin the pieces together as this will ensure a good tight seam and prevent any trapped fur. 3. Stitch the darts in the head then join the two head pieces right sides together and stitch from the tip of the nose to the neck. Pin the nose first at the centre of the gusset to nose centre seam, then part way up each side of the head. Hand stitch this section of head, turn it right side out to make sure the nose is perfectly centred. Turn back to the inside and pin the rest of the head together. Now machine stitch around the head with the gusset facing you. When you get to the nose, keep checking that the underside of the fabric is smooth and that the seam is opened out when you stitch over the end of the nose. You can do this by keeping the needle in the fabric while lifting the presser foot and pivoting your work. The head is the most important part of your bear and it is well worth the effort to get it perfect, so take your time. 4. Stitch the ears together along the curve. Stitch paw pads to inner arms matching notches. Stitch the inner arms to the outer arms. Stitch the body fronts to the body backs at sides. With those pieces together, stitch from the neck around the tummy and hump, leaving the back opening for stuffing and a small 6mm (1/4") gap at the neck seams for jointing the head at a later stage. Stitch around the legs leaving openings at the front and the sole where the footpad will go. Match and pin the marks on the footpad to the toe seam and heel mark on the leg. Ease and pin around the rest of the pad. With pad on machine plate, start at toe and with seam open, stitch slowly and carefully around the foot. Now turn the foot up so that the pad is facing you and stitch around a second time making sure you have a nice symmetrical oval. When all your pieces have been stitched, turn them right side out and gently brush the seams with a cat comb to tease out any trapped pile. 5. Using an awl, push holes through the jointing marks on the arms and legs, and the body. Never use scissors as a cut can rip the fabric. Slip a washer and then a disc onto a short bolt, push the bolt through one of the limbs and through the body. Add another disc and washer and tighten down a bolt using a spanner and holding the other end of the bolt in the limb, with a screwdriver. (The larger discs are used for the legs, the smaller ones for the arms and head.) Repeat for the other limbs. This can take a bit of practice. Tighten to where you can just move the limb. It might feel too tight now, but once the bear is stuffed it will slacken off a bit. It takes practice to get it just right. 6. Because the pads are double stitched, it is nearly impossible to pull a knot through the seam when sewing the claws, pull a knotted length of Perle cotton from the inside of the paw/foot pad before stuffing, coming out where you want the first claw to begin. Stuff the legs and arms firmly. Start with small amounts of stuffing and work it well into the toe and paw areas. If you don't have a stuffing tool, the handle of a wooden spoon will work, but not as well. Continue stuffing until the limb is firmly filled. Pay particular attention to the area around the joint. Close the opening with heavy thread, using ladder stitch. Sew slowly making sure you don't trap any fur in your stitches. 7. Start with a small amount and push it into the nose area. Keep pushing small amounts of the stuffing in and moulding it into position with your hands until the area is firm and tight. The nose area is very important as this is where you will embroider and it must be very hard. Once you have a hard, smooth nose, larger amounts of stuffing can be added, but make sure you keep both sides symmetrical and firm. Add the stuffing to the centre of the head and push and mould with your hands to the sides. Add as much stuffing as you possibly can. You might like to leave the head to 'rest' for a while. You should be able to get a lot more stuffing in if you do this. Run a gathering stitch around the neck edge using carpet or strong thread. Fit the long bolt, with a washer and disc on it, into the opening with the bolt protruding out and pull the gathers tightly up. Make a few criss-cross stitches and secure. 8. Slip the locking bolt through the small gap you left at the top of the body, slip on the remaining washer and disc and tighten down the nut with the spanner whilst holding the bolt with pliers between the nut and the disc. When you get the bolt up as far as it will go, grasp the bottom of the bolt with the pliers, and continue tightening down the nut. Now cut off the length of the bolt leaving about 12mm (1/2") below the nut. You will need to use bolt cutters. 9. Start stuffing the body making sure you get the stuffing well into the hump, around the shoulders, into the bottom and around the leg joints. Continue stuffing until the bear is relatively firm. Close up the back seam as for the limbs, starting at the top. When you get half way down, push some more stuffing up into the hump and around the shoulders. Keep adding a little stuffing as you close up the seam. 10. Trim out the fur in the centre of each ear (front side only). Turn up about 6mm (1/4") and hold in place as you pin the ear into position. Use long glass-headed pins that cannot be lost in the bear's head. Move the ears around to find the right personality for your bear, and try to get a natural curve. Stitch in place using a ladder stitch around the back of the ear then back and forth through the head, , catching the front of the ear, reinforcing the curve. Make sure you take several stitches at either end so the ear is firmly in place. 11. Next trim the muzzle. Use small sharp scissors and take very tiny snips. Be sure you keep the pile evenly trimmed and symmetrical. Keep looking at the bear from all angles so you don't trim off too much. It won't grow back! 12. Determine the position of the eyes. They are usually best just to the side of the gusset seam. Make sure you get them even. Glass headed pins are helpful in determining the positioning. Make a small hole with an awl where each eye is to be placed. (Not on the seam). Take about 1 metre or yard of strong thread, double it and slip the looped shank of the eye to the centre and tie two knots. 13. Gently pinch the loop together using needle and nose pliers. Slip the four ends of the thread through a long 12.5cm (5") doll makers' needle and push it through the eye hole up into the head and out directly behind and as close to the opposite ear as you can get. Make sure the eye loop is pulled through the eye hole in the fabric and into the stuffing. Repeat to this point, the other eye. Remove the needle and pushing with one hand on the eye, pull the threads up tightly. Now separate the threads, two on each side and with a shorter needle, thread one side and take a tiny stitch from the exit point and come up about 3mm (1/8") away. Take off the needle, grasp each side of the threads, loop them twice around and pull tightly together while pushing on the eye. This will keep the threads tight, enabling you to make a double knot. Thread the ends back into the shorter needle, push down into the same area coming out further away. Cut off the ends and repeat for the other eye. 14. The nose is the most important part of your bear and usually the most difficult to execute. Using at least two feet of Perle embroidery floss, start at the centre top of the nose, just above the seam, and with close parallel stitches, work your way to one side of the nose, back to the centre and to the other side, or you may wish to work the nose, one stitch on either side, crossing back and forth under the fabric. Whichever way you choose, be sure the stitches are straight. Keep looking at the nose from different angles to keep it symmetrical. If you want the nose to stand out, stitch over a second time. The last stitch should come out at the bottom tip of the nose, ready to form the mouth. If you have sewn the gusset on straight, the stitch will be directly over the seam. The mouth is formed with an upside down 'V' or 'Y'. 15. Thread the length of Perle that you pulled through before stuffing, and stitch four evenly-spaced claws down through the pad and up through the mohair just above the seam. To secure, push the needle back into the mohair a fraction away from where you came out, bring it out across the toe, back in and out again, and cut off.