How to Make a Teddy Bear - #3 Template Transfer and Cutting Fabric

It's important to match the marked pile direction on your template with the pile direction of the fabric.

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So before you start tracing out the shapes on to the back of the fur, do the following: With the fur side of the fabric facing you, slide your hand over the fur from the top to the bottom and from side to side. You will soon determine which way the pile is lying. If you reverse that action, you will note that your hand will not slide as easily over the pile and will push up against it. Once you have established which way the pile is lying, flip the fabric over so the backing faces you and carefully mark, with a gel pen, a small arrow along the edge (or selvedge) to indicate the pile direction. Then, match the pile direction on the template shape with the marked pile direction line. Place all your templates on the back of the fur before tracing, checking that the pile direction is matched, and butting the shapes up closely next to each other so as to utilise the fabric efficiently. Holding the template firmly in place wth one hand, carefully trace around the shape with a gel pen, ensuring that all the necessary marks are transferred, such as joint marks, openings, etc. Using a pair of small, sharp scissors and working from the backing side of the mohair, carefully cut each shape out on the inside of the marked line of each shape.You will be removing the ink line, (so, if you are hand sewing your bear, you won't transfer the ink line to your fingers and back on to the fur!). Once again, check that you have all the pieces cut out and store them in a zip-lock bag to avoid losing any pieces!

Tip: Carefully snip the backing only of the fabric (not through the fur) as you want to have some fur extending over the footpads, over the paw pads, over the top of the ears, etc. Practice with a scrap first!