I never had a Teddy Bear as a children i had a rabbit that was actually a moose, but I loved my furryfriends. It wasn't till later that My mum brought a book on bear making that I thought I might try and make one. I had always loved crafts and making things and a bear seemed a really good start. My first attempt my beloved Bear Alfonz is no where near perfect only to me I wouldnt change a thing. I soon learnt that there is a huge difference in fabric and the more you pay the better the fur and the less it stretches. A reach problem when stuffing, I learnt to use Cotter pin and safety joints, sew a nose position joints and eyes ladder stitch which is the stitch you use to close seams.Before long I had brought a good selection of books visited a bear supply shop and got some good advice chosen fur and pattenrs and was readying myself for my first fair. My bears were all selling well, the first show I had done and I was nearly sold out and it felt so good that something I had made other people liked too. From here on in I moved to more advanced patterns made 50 or more bears in different colours and furs and patterns some brought through magazines some through the internet or bear shops.Then Mohair fur (a natural material made from angora goats)a far more expensive fur and more difficult to use and handle where preparing the lay out of the pattern pieces is vital and it could be an expensive mistake if you go wrong. The fairs you can go to vary in price from 25-300 pounds depending on size and venue etc. There are plenty of places to sell your work and I did through Teddy bear magazines, craft shows, bear shows, even auctioned at Ebay. Later I designed my own patterns and with in a 18months my standard of work had come on in leaps and bounds. There are competions and shows on most weekends and anyone inteerted should loook in any Teddy Bear magazine ti find where there are. Its a brillaint interest and hobby for anyone and the results are very rewarding.

P
ros for Bear making
Results are very rewarding making your first bear or more.
Chance to sell your work and make money.
Meet new people and visit interesting venues.
Enter competions are be rewarding for your skills.
Plenty of Sites, books magazines to enjoy.
Some Bears become quite Collectable when in limited numbers


Cons Out lay when you set up for fur and small amount of tools needed, joints, eyes, stuffing suede (for the paws) Etc
Space need for Fur, sewing machine equipment
Lots of Bears around your has to be slightly different to every one elses
Some times people prefer commerical made cheaper made bears and dont understand the work that goes in to hand made bears
Some Snobbery at Bear fairs and competing levels
Time comsuming
Do need reasonabvle sewing skills for hand finishing. I went from a single bear to full time working on them, so can you