How to Make a Teddy Bear - #8 Filling and Attaching the Head

When filling your bear’s head, ensure that the snout is very firmly filled as you need that support when you embroider the nose of your bear.

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One of the most popular contemporary fillings is hollofibre (synthetic), although the earlier fillings of wood wool and kapok are still used by bear makers today. Check that there are no 'hollow' or 'empty' pockets in the head where the filling has not reached.

Insert a cotter pin (and a washer if using a larger disc) into the disc, insert this into your bear's head at the neck area, just below the filling, with the head of the cotter pin facing the filling and the tail of the cotter pin facing outwards from the neck section of the head. Thread a needle with a strong thread and run a gathering thread along the neck edge of the head, within the allowed seam allowance. Pull the thread up tightly, to gather the fabric around the disc, ensuring the disc is completely encased in the fabric. End the thread off securely with a back stitch.