Fur Friday - Pinning and marking - Lesson 5

So now that you have your lining on your leather it is time to pin!

So you don't want to poke pins through your leather plus on some leathers that would be rather difficult so there are several options but here are two Nancy mentions in her book:

 You can use tape or paper clips!

I chose to use the paperclips as I was not sure about the tape fraying my muslin when I tried to remove it! It works rather well but I have not started to sew the bears yet so we shall see how they are to remove while sewing! I did do a test and feel it will work well and better with the plastic coated paper clips than the metal ones. The metal ones are tighter but stick more when you try to remove them so I guess this will be a matter of taste for each artist... so you need easy release for sewing or a good firm hold, possibly for a thicker more dense fur... just pins for thought.

Now as you all know I am going through a bit of health issues so I did not get a ton done but I did want to share this next step with you and I also want to share with you a way to mark your bear on the right side so you can see where you need to place your arms and legs etc.

My Grandmother used to do it like this so she did not have to try to find the markings on the inside after she had turned her bears to the right side... And I thought this worked especially well with the fur bears.

First take some nice thick upholstery thread in a contrasting color to what ever your fur or bear is and you want to tread your needle, find your marking and pull one piece through, like this: (I suggest doing this before you sew or pin anything together)

Once you pull the tread through to the right side of your work (the fur side) unthread the needle and make sure the thread that is left on the right side is a little longer than the fur or mohair or whatever you are working with so you can see it easily.

Then take the other end of the thread that is hanging on the wrong side of your work and thread the needle again and do the same thing on the other side of your dot marking. Like this:

In the end you should be able to see your threads sticking out longer than your fur on the right side of your working making it really easy to find your markings!

Once you are putting your arm or leg into place the thread is easily pulled out with a tiny tug! 

I hope to be back next week with more so stay tuned! 

Big hugs and thanks for your patience while I get used to my new medications!