Meet Heather the Meerkat. Handmade and designed from scratch she really is very special indeed. Crafted by Ruth from Bigfeetbears, who has been making and selling bears since 2006. I asked Ruth about the process for designing and making Hea...ther and here is her reply:
"I started with a sitting meerkat. I worked from photos of real meerkats, and tried various ways of constructing the head to get the right face shape. Eventually I decided the only way to do it would be to start with a stuffed square base and add features onto it.
When I had the right shape, I then needle-felted over the top, which disguises all the seams and allows me to smooth out any corners.
The back of the head is added separately, then the jointed neck.
Once I'd completed the sitting meerkat, I wanted to try a standing version - it was a bit of a technical challenge, getting her to stand unaided, and on such tiny paws. The way it eventually came together was with two big loops of wire inside the body, which extend into the legs and tail, and are held in place by firm stuffing. For extra stability I used wood wool in the legs. The arms are like a little jacket, made separately and then stitched over the body.
She is made from mohair - and I hand-dyed both the mohair and the wool roving for the face with coffee. The whiskers are horse hair - kindly donated by someone on Facebook! " Heather has Glass eyes from Germany, and is approximately 47cm tall.
"I started with a sitting meerkat. I worked from photos of real meerkats, and tried various ways of constructing the head to get the right face shape. Eventually I decided the only way to do it would be to start with a stuffed square base and add features onto it.
When I had the right shape, I then needle-felted over the top, which disguises all the seams and allows me to smooth out any corners.
The back of the head is added separately, then the jointed neck.
Once I'd completed the sitting meerkat, I wanted to try a standing version - it was a bit of a technical challenge, getting her to stand unaided, and on such tiny paws. The way it eventually came together was with two big loops of wire inside the body, which extend into the legs and tail, and are held in place by firm stuffing. For extra stability I used wood wool in the legs. The arms are like a little jacket, made separately and then stitched over the body.
She is made from mohair - and I hand-dyed both the mohair and the wool roving for the face with coffee. The whiskers are horse hair - kindly donated by someone on Facebook! " Heather has Glass eyes from Germany, and is approximately 47cm tall.
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