STUFFING YOUR BEAR

 

Although what the outside of your bear is made of is very important, what you put inside your bear gives him or her a shape, personality, huggability and the ability to stand or sit correctly.

 

Here is a bit about a few of the stuffing options to guide you.

 

Polyester Fiberfill

The standard stuffing for teddy bears today is polyester fiberfill. You can generally find it in craft, hobby or fabric stores. The different types of fiberfill will allow for different results. Polyester fiberfill is made from liquid polyester that is extruded from tiny holes (like a shower head with very tiny holes). The fibers dry immediately. Some fiberfill is coated with a chemical that makes it more slippery. This makes the fiberfill spring back and not stay packed into one place. If you want your bear to be soft and squishy, this is ideal. If you want your bear to keep its shape and be more hard stuffed, choose a fiberfill with uncoated fibers that will packed more tightly. The two brands I have used are Mountain Mist (uncoated) and Fairfield (coated). If you aren't sure which brand to use compare the ones available to you by rubbing them between your fingers and squeezing a bit of each in your hands. See if the fibers matt and stick together or slip and slide and spring back into shape and then choose the stuffing based on the type of bear you want to make.

 

When stuffing your bear, be careful not to get clumps and balls of stuffing; spread the fiberfill evenly throughout the bear. Check your bear for empty spaces and lumps; fill the spaces and loosen the lumps. Edinburgh carries stuffing sticks in a variety of sizes with a T-handle which makes hard stuffing much easier on the hands. Using a stuffing stick also allows you to reach any spaces you need to fill. Be sure to put plenty of stuffing in the areas around the joints. You don't want to be able to feel the joint hardware through the fabric of your finished bear. Even if you want your bear to be soft and squishy, be sure to stuff the head firmly enough to support any facial stitching you will be doing. If you will be doing any soft sculpting on your bear (eye sockets, bridge of nose, paws) remember to stuff those areas less firmly to allow for sculpting.

 

Excelsior or Wood Wool

This is what was used to stuff the old classic teddy bears. It is made of fine wood shavings and can be packed tightly for a very firm bear. Today, there are different grades and a better quality of excelsior. The finer (thinner) excelsior is used for smaller bears and the coarser in larger bears. Excelsior is also used in modern bears to achieve an antique look and feel. For example, you can get the look of an older bear that has been worn by leaving a bit of excelsior showing through a hole in the paw pad. Stuffing the nose area and paws with excelsior is also common in modern bears. Many artists find the excelsior easier to stitch through when stitching the nose or claws. Firmly packed fiberfill is difficult to get a needle with embroidery floss through and loosely packed fiberfill tends to make the nose too soft to support stitching. A disadvantage to using excelsior is that over time it tends to break down and lose its firmness causing the areas it was used in to cave. To help prevent this from happening, use good quality excelsior and keep it away from excessive moisture and dry heat. The poorer quality excelsior can be brittle, hard to work with and can crumble into sawdust more readily. Slightly moistening the excelsior prior to stuffing makes it a bit more pliable and easier to work with but remember not to over moisten since the excelsior should not get wet. Using a stuffing claw (a 2 pronged metal stuffing stick) makes stuffing with excelsior a much easier task.

 

Plastic Pellets

Plastic pellets are a popular filling for many modern bears and animals. They are used to give a floppy "beanie baby" feel. The better plastic pellets (like the ones Edinburgh carries) are smooth and slide over each other easily giving the animal a more fluid feel. A common beanie-type animal would have the head stuffed with fiberfill to give it shape and the body and limbs filled with plastic pellets for that floppy look and feel. A funnel is a great tool use when filling your bear with pellets.

 

Glass Pellets

Much smaller than the plastic pellets, glass pellets are generally used for weight. Because of their size, they are ideal for using in miniature bears. A miniature bear in the palm of your hand that has been weighted with glass pellets has a much nicer feel. The illusion of realty is enhanced with a miniature that has some weight to it compared to one that just tips over when you blow on it.

Glass pellets are used in all size bears for weight and balance. If you fill the bottom of the feet of a standing bear with glass pellets and then firmly stuff the rest of the foot and leg with fiberfill, the weighted feet will allow the bear to stand more firmly. Also, the pellets in the sole of the feet will allow you to flatten and mold the bottom of the feet on the standing surface which will also help your bear balance and stand more solidly on that surface. If you want your bear to sit up straight and maybe have the legs dangle over the edge of the table, glass pellets in the bottom of the bears body (and not the feet) will weight the bear and help the bear to sit without falling over the edge of the table.

 

Using a combination of fiberfill, plastic pellets and glass pellets can give you a variety of different effects. Many artists will use plastic pellets for a floppy feel and add glass pellets to them give the animal a bit more weight. Padding the paws, feet or belly with a bit of fiberfill before adding pellets will avoid feeling pellet "lumps" through the fabric. When stuffing with pellets, placing a bit of fiber fill into the opening so the pellets won't fall out allows easier closing of the seams.

 

Stuffing Safety: It is always a good idea to wear a mask over your nose and mouth if you are doing a lot of stuffing. The polyester fibers (especially brands that have shorter fibers) can become airborne and be breathed in. Excelsior dust can also get into the air quite a bit. Needless to say, this is not good for your lungs!

Any kind of pellets are not recommended for bears being made for small children. If you are using pellets, be sure your stitches are small enough that the pellets cannot come out of the seams between them.