| By Art Rogers
For a simple project that uses some of the hottest techniques, try Smudge. With his huge eyes, dangling limbs, and needlefelted accents, anime-style Smudge can be a fun necklace or ornament. Or, skip the holder and simply add him to your collection — he’d look great tucked into a bigger bear’s arms. Art Rogers’ easy-to-follow instructions will have you shading and needlefelting like a pro!
MATERIALS
• 7” x 14” piece of short pile mohair, medium to dark in value
• 7” x 4” piece of short pile mohair, light in value
• Twelve 1” x 1/16” cotter pins
• Three 3/4” x 1/16” disks
• Eight 1/4” x 1/16” disks
• Two 13-mm glass eyes
• Polyfill
• Upholstery thread and sewing thread to match fabrics
• Brown or black carded wool
• White or cream carded wool
• Black and brown fabric markers and pencils
• Lightweight sinew
• Length of decorative cord to hang finished bear |
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
Tracing paper, thin cardboard and glue, or stencil plastic; fine-point permanent pen; basic sewing kit; 5” doll needle; needlenose pliers or cotter pin turner; small forceps; small awl; felting needle; pet brush; stuffing stick, such as a chopstick
SMUDGE KIT: We’ve made it easy to get the materials you need to make your own Smudge. A kit containing all of the materials, plus shading pens and a felting needle, is available from Edinburgh Imports. Contact Edinburgh Imports at 805-376-1700 or www.edinburghimports.com for more information. |
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Patterns: Trace pattern, including all marks, to tracing paper and glue to cardboard, or trace to stencil plastic. Cut carefully just inside the lines.
Find the nap of the fabric by stroking it — the fabric should lay flat and smooth when you stroke in the direction of the nap. Place the fabric with the fur side down and the nap pointing down. Lay out the pattern pieces on the back of the fabric with the nap arrows of each piece pointing down. Trace all pieces using a fine-point, permanent-ink pen. Pattern pieces marked, “Cut 1, Reverse 1” must be flipped over (right to left) and traced again. Note: Trace five pattern pieces onto lighter fabric and trace 15 pattern pieces onto darker fabric.
Cut all pieces just inside the lines. Snip carefully, keeping the scissors against the backing so you don’t cut the fur pile. Use an awl or ice pick to poke joint holes as marked in the inner arms, inner legs, and body.
2. Sewing: Note: All seam allowances are 1/4”.
Head: Sew from A&G to B&I. Sew from H&D to I&E to C&F (this is the front of the head). Sew the front of the head to the back of the head, leaving a 1” opening at the bottom.
Ears: Match one light ear piece to one dark ear piece and sew each pair of ears together. Sew only bottom corners of each ear, leaving bottom of ear open; this will make it easier to handsew bottom of ear closed.
Arms & Legs: Match inside arm to outside arm and sew, leaving 3/4” opening along one side for turning. Repeat for second arm and for both legs.
Body: Sew two light-colored body pieces together along long straight edge (body front). Repeat using the two darker body pieces and leaving a 1” opening in the center (body back). Sew body front to body back all the way around.
3. Turning: Using pet brush, brush all seams. Turn pieces right side out with the aid of the forceps, being careful not to puncture fabric. Brush seams again.
4. Jointing: Note: Each joint of this bear uses two cotter pins connected to each other at the pin eyes. The point where the cotter pins are joined (the eyes) will remain visible and allow the body parts to dangle. This double cotter pin method allows the body pieces to move freely, giving the bear an animated appearance.
Place one 3/4” disk into the head, sliding it up to the top and back of the head. Use an awl to find the disk hole and gently poke a hole through the fabric. Insert one cotter pin through the fabric and through the disk. Using a cotter key or pliers inside the head, twist the pins away from the center until they touch the disk. Outside the head, place a second cotter pin through the eye to keep it from disappearing inside the head. Note: After completing the bear, you will replace the second cotter pin with a decorative cord and hang the finished bear from the attached cotter pin.
Using small pieces of polyfill and a stuffing stick, stuff the head firmly, but not hard.
Connect two cotter pins together at the eyes. Insert the pins of one through a 3/4” disk and twist the pins down. Insert this disk into the bottom center of the head opening, allowing the second cotter pin to dangle. Using matching thread and a ladder stitch, sew the head opening closed, keeping the cotter pin centered. Use an awl to gently poke a hole in the top center of the body and insert the dangling cotter pin. Place a 3/4” disk onto this cotter pin inside the body and complete the joint. The head should now be attached to the body.
Referring to the pattern pieces for placement, attach the arms and legs in the same fashion, using one 1/4” disk inside each arm/leg and one 1/4” disk per arm/leg inside the body.
5. Stuffing: Stuff the arms, legs, and body firmly but not hard, using forceps to maneuver polyfill into hard-to-reach areas. Using upholstery thread and a ladder stitch, sew the openings in limbs and body.
6. Ears: Note: Be sure the ears are turned right side out. Using matching thread and a slipstitch or blanket stitch, sew the bottom edge of each ear. Do not cut thread — use it to sew ear to head. Sew the ear to the head along the seam line at the side of the head, starting at the head gusset and working down. Using a ladder stitch, sew along both the front and back of the ear.
7. Needlesculpting: Note: Knot the end of a 24” piece of sinew and thread it onto the 5” doll needle. Do not cut the sinew until you finish needlesculpting the head.
Eyes: Refer to the pattern pieces for eye placement. Sew from eye socket to eye socket, slowly pulling them in to the desired depth.
Nose: Use the sinew to draw a square nose. Poke the needle in through the eye socket and out at the bottom corner of the nose. Pull the sinew through and horizontally across the bottom edge of nose. Insert needle into the other bottom corner of nose and come out at one of the top corners of the nose. Draw the sinew horizontally across the top of the nose and insert into the other top corner of the nose. Pull gently on the sinew to help a square nose bump appear. Drawing vertically with the sinew may also help. Repeat until a square nose takes shape.
Mouth: Insert the needle into one corner of the nose and come out where you would like the mouth to be. Pass the needle back and forth between the mouth and the nose corners, gently pulling up each time until the mouth has taken shape.
Cut the sinew.
8. Eyes: Tie one glass eye onto the center of a 12” piece of sinew. Thread the 5” needle with both ends of this sinew. Use an awl to poke a hole where you want the eye to be. Insert the threaded needle into the eye hole and come out at the base corner of the ear on the opposite side of the head. Tie off, pulling knot snug to hide it under ear. Repeat with second eye.
9. Needlefelting: Using small pieces of brown or black corded wool and a felting needle, cover the square outline of the nose. Poke the wool thoroughly to ensure it is attached securely. If you like, build up layers of wool to make a more pronounced nose.
Add crescents under each eye by needlefelting white or cream carded wool under each eye. Work slowly, being careful not to scratch the glass eyes with the needle.
10. Shading: Using just the tip of a fine black fabric marker, gently outline around each eye, around the nose, inside the mouth, and along the seam where each piece of lighter mohair meets the darker mohair. Repeat this step with a brown fabric marker. Note: Outline gently; do not overdo this step. Use a black pencil to lightly shade along these areas and help blur the lines to give it the look of an airbrush. Brush the entire bear generously — avoiding the needlefelted areas — to further blur the shading.
11. Finishing: Remove the dangling cotter pin at the back of the head and replace with a decorative cord. Wear your bear to your next bear event or garden party, or hang it as a decoration. TB
Share your finished bear! E-mail an image of your Smudge to Art at geoart1@swbell.net.
“Smudge” designed by Art Rogers (C) 2007. Pattern intended for entertainment and educational use only; sale of pattern or finished bear is prohibited.
|
