Custom Order for Janis
one teddy using pattern #1
I notified Janis when she sent me this mink stole that it was definitely not in good condition but since she only wanted one teddy that I would try to salvage what I could to try to make one teddy.
This is my adventure of trying to find a teddy hiding in a mink stole that is already falling apart, as you can see from the first 3 photos:
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| These are the markings on the pelt skins. |
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| I cut my patterns first using a dense cotton fabric. |
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| If the pelts were in good condition I would be very happy working with this stole because they are full pelts rather than little strips of mink sewn together. |
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| The pelts are all shredding at the seam lines. |
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| shredding ... |
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| and some pelts are shredding in the middle of the pelts too |
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| I tested this pelt with a needle to see if it would shed ... |
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| you can see the different colors on the pelt cause by heat variations and moisture which weakens the pelts |
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| testing this pelt ... |
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| it shed throughout ... |
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| this is the unuseable shed pile |
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| totally useless and went into the trash ... this is more than half of the stole that was unuseable. |
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| this is the pile that did not shred when I tested it (by pulling) ... yes, it is enough for one teddy |
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| I glue my cotton pattern pieces to the pelt. I usually use only enough glue to hold the pattern on to the pelt but for this problem mink I used a stronger Leather Cement and I applied it to both the pelt and the pattern. While this makes the pelt stiffer I am hoping that it will also prevent the pelt from shredding after sewing and stuffing. |
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| I trim the sewing line of each mink piece |
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I need to hand sew the entire teddy because the pelts are so fragile. The true test will come when I turn a stuff this leg. If it starts to shred then there is no point in trying to complete this teddy ... so "fingers crossed" that the pelts will not shed.
UPDATE: Dec. 22, 2017
Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
Where has the time gone???
Some of you may think that since I have not updated this post for so long that I must have fallen over the edge of the world ... nope, I'm still here ... "everyday life" just gets in the way of me finding time to work on my teddies.
My "everyday life" includes focusing all of my energy and time in helping my daughter, who has Cystic Fibrosis, when she gets sick and has to go on IV antibiotics at home. Recently I had to devote several weeks helping my daughter which meant I had no time to work on my teddies, or truth be told, I had no time for much of anything else. The good news is that my daughter has recovered nicely.
I did some work here and there on this teddy and it is actually almost finished:
Poor little teddy is waiting patiently on my work table for me to finish it.
I am determined to make this little teddy my last teddy of 2017 ... so I will be working on it during the rest of the Holiday Season.
By the way, if you remember I was concerned about this teddy because the pelt was very fragile. Well, it seems like the precautions that I took worked and (as you can see) I was able to sew, turn, stuff, and joint this teddy with none of the pelt having a problem. Since I covered the entire pelt with glue to attach the lining, the pelt is a little stiffer than my usual teddies but this makes it stronger. I did not give this teddy any wire armature (which is standard for my teddies) because the pelts should not be bent.
My next post should be a new one with photos of this finished teddy.
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