Giving SNAPPY a face is the fun part of making any bear. It is also the most creative and the most complex -- especially on such a small bear.Look carefully at the photographs and the illustrations. You will want to enlarge them to see the details.
First, I will give you an overview of the process. The typical Teddy Bear has a sewn-in center section called a gusset which creates the bear's forehead and the bridge of his nose. SNAPPY is a center seam bear so we must "create" his forehead and the bridge of his nose. Then, we can embroider his nose and mouth.
Looking first at the photographs I will describe what is important to look for.
A and B show the SNAPPY head front and side view after being stuffed and the seams combed out and with the neck opening sewn closed. C shows the head with three pins put in place for the eyes and the tip of his nose. A piece of thread has been looped around the pins to create a pattern for the bridge of his nose. D shows how the fur has been trimmed down to make the bridge of the nose. Now look at the black and white drawing -- #1 is a drawing of this process.
Next you may want to tape down the fur to keep it out of your way when embroidering the nose. (see #2) I usually draw a small version of the nose with a pen or pencil (see F)
Thread the brown embroidery yarn on a thin needle. Put the tip of the needle at the base of the nose tip (see G and #3) pushing it up through the nose and coming out on the top left-hand side of the nose. Be sure to leave at least 4 inches of yarn hanging out of the tip of the nose (see #4) Bring the tip of the needle over to the opposite side of the nose and insert it into the nose -- push through until the tip emerges on the far side just under the first stitch (see #5) Continue this process in descending rows with each row being narrower than the previous one. (see #6) You may want to "outline" the nose by bringing your yarn around the shape of the nose. To do this you simply return the needle to the first position (see #3) bringing the yarn out at the same point that you started at. Then bring the yarn down along the side of the nose, go UNDER the loose piece of yarn at the nose tip, and insert the tip of your needle into the opposite top edge of the nose -- completing the nose outline. Do not push the needle into the nose too deeply yet.
Now for the tricky part. Take the loose piece of yarn from the nose tip and thread it on a needle. This thread will be used to define the center of the bear's upper lip. It should not be too long -- just enough to define it. Insert the needle and push it through to the base of the back of the neck. Do not pull it completely through the head yet.
Look carefully at illustrations 7, 8, and 9. Pins indicate the position of the upper lip and the inverted V shape of the mouth. Take the needle and thread you used to create the nose and push it through to the far side of the bottom edge of the mouth. Pull it through and then go UNDER the loop for the upper lip (see #9) and complete the mouth by inserting the needle into the other side of the mouth -- coming out again at the base of the back of the neck. You can now secure your threads with a tiny knot and trim off the excess "tail" of yarn.
This is a very simplified version of this process. In my book, THE TEDDY BEAR STUDIO, I explain this process over several pages. If you need more detailed instructions please send me an e-mail requesting the pages to download. Send request to SashaStreetNYC@aol.com
REMEMBER THIS:
A blog posts everything in a sequence that is LAST to FIRST so it is always important to read the previous post before starting to work on the present one.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? Just write to Ted at SashaStreetNYC@aol.com
(click on images to enlarge)
