Bear Making Workshops

Join me to create your own unique artist teddy bear in a fun, supportive environment. Workshops take place in Lindfield, West Sussex, England.

Learn Traditional Skills

Join me on a two-day workshop and make your own heirloom-style, fully-jointed mohair teddy bear. All materials, including high quality German mohair, will be included in the cost. There will be four spaces available, and each student will have their own complete set of tools to use during the workshop. Sewing machines will be provided, unless you prefer to bring your own.

We will be making a 25cm mohair teddy bear, which will be similar in appearance to the bears in the gallery below. Note that these bears are all made to a very similar pattern, but different mohair, paw fabrics, and muzzle embroidery creates varied characters. Mohair shade and style varies in different workshops, but will always be a traditional colour. Please give plenty of notice if you have any particular requests.

Craft Your Bear

We will be using a mix of traditional and modern fillings, so you can learn how to achieve the feel and weight of bear you prefer. Learn about using wood-wool, wood shavings and polyfibre for different effects. Make your little bear your own by choosing which kind of nose you’d like to stitch (tip: if you’re worried about creating a neat muzzle, go for a vintage threadbare look!).

Use placement eyes to choose eye position and decide if you’d like a serious faced bear, or a smiley character. Choose the colour of paw-pads you prefer and learn how to stitch claws. We will all sew the same pattern, but your bear will take on it’s own personality as you bring it to life.I have produced a detailed, fully illustrated sewing guide for you to take home, which is exclusive to my workshops

We will cover everything you need to know to make a beautiful heirloom-style mohair teddy bear, including:

Cutting mohair; pinning and tacking; sewing, by hand and using a sewing machine; stuffing and adding cotter-pin joints; placing glass eyes securely; stitching a nose and adding claws if desired.

Home-baked cake or biscuits and plenty of tea and coffee will be provided throughout both days. Please bring your own lunch and let me know in advance of any allergies or dietary requirements.

Unleash your artistic side while learning traditional techniques in a friendly home studio setting.

Skill level: Although bears can be sewn beautifully by hand, this is very time-consuming, so we will sew some parts by hand, and some on the sewing machines. In order to attend this workshop, you do need to have some basic sewing machine skills.

Please note that this workshop involves some small-scale hand-sewing. It will be more challenging for anyone with hand dexterity or strength issues. Cotter joints need to be made very tight, but I’m happy to assist anyone who finds this difficult.

Important note: Heirloom-style bears are not generally considered to be suitable for children to play with, due to the type of fillings, jointing, and glass eyes. If you wish to make a bear for a child, please let me know. We can use safety joints, safety eyes and child-safe fillings. It is a slightly different experience but you can observe others using the more traditional techniques.

If you need to cancel your booking, with four weeks notice I will refund £160 (this is less £5 administration fee). With less notice I will only refund if I can fill the place.

Please take note before booking:

Examples of the style of bear we make in the workshops

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