Felt Bunny

The first of several felt projects...

Bunny!

This is the first of the Bunnies, with more to come.

First Bear Ever

So I've finally completed my first bear... mind you, he's made out of what I could scrape together locally... which wasn't much.

Hopefully for future bears I will be a bit more prepared... but here he is, Bear #1, from a jennylovesbenny pattern. He's about 6 inches tall from footpads to the top of his head.

I'd love to start making my own patterns... I have to say though, gussett lineup with the side head pieces still baffles me a bit. How do I measure this out? What happens if I change the dips and curves? Did everyone learn this just through trial and error, or is there some great, secret tome of the Bear Maker???

Anyways, I'm calling this little guy "V", he's a bit "starey eyed" because I didn't have any good eyes to use... lesson # one, get better eyes... his nose is also not even, because I hadn't read any techniques when I sewed it, I just grabbed a needle and went to town *shudder* lesson # two, draw shape on first:

Getting Going

I've, since yesterday, found several helpful forums where a lot of my questions have been answered.

More than anything, I now have a list of books that I want:

1. Making and Dressing Miniature Teddy Bears by Julie K. Owen
2. The Encyclopedia of Teddy-Bear Making Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques by Alicia Merrett and Ann Stephens
3. Learn Bear Making: Easy-Intermediate-Advanced by Judy Maddigan
4. Teddy Bear Art: How to Design and Make Great Teddy Bears by Jennifer Laing

If anyone has any input on any of those books... or others you feel I should add to the list, please let me know!

I've almost finished my first bear... he just needs his back seam sewn up. He's... not quite what I figured, since I ended up not being able to find the correct joints... his poor little head is just sewn on and the joints I ended up using in his arms and legs (the smallest ones I could find in the area) were still way too large!
I also didn't have the right eyeballs or a good color floss for his nose! All in all... a bit of a disaster, and yet, I still love him. He's my first, so I'm not discouraged, I figure it can only get better!

I don't have a picture yet, I felt I should sew up his back first... but tomorrow hopefully I will have an image of my first little disaster bear! :)