Making New Cuddlies for 2014 - Part Three

Hello Everyone:

 Cy Bear back again, and this time we're determined to finish this post about the Replacement Brown & White Rabbits - because Christmas is rapidly approaching, and we want to get the information out to you all, so that Isobel can post about some other things that she's planning for 2014 - for both the shop and the blog!

Etsy Listing #60491625

Here is the Brown Plush Rabbit, completed with her apron and carrot safely stitched into the apron pocket.  The latter is only stitched to keep it from falling out every time the Rabbit gets moved or played with.  Isobel tells me that anyone can unpick the stitching if they decide they don't want to have the carrot there.

This is the rear view, obviously, of one of the Brown Plush Rabbits, showing how the apron has been tied around the white furry Bobtail.  The tails' final shape determines how they get  fixed to the Toy, and thus how the apron ribbons get arranged as well!  It's all part of making the point that our toys are all HAND MADE by Isobel, and thus are individual as well.  She is incapable of making two of us EXACTLY the same!

You'll notice a label on each of these Rabbits - this was so that MrsEB in Australia could choose which one she wanted us to send her.  And you can see that there was a slight variation in the way the collars were decorated.  No 1 had a Chain Stitch decoration around the edge of the collar, with one orange French Knot at the corners.  No.2 had alternate orange and green French Knots all around the collar. Their apron bows are also slightly different, because No. 2 is made with  shot-silk ribbon that Isobel had in her stash:  while No.1 has green satin ribbon, which we've recently purchased to do this project - and any slippers/toys that may require a green trimming in the future They look like this from the front.

  MrsEB originally ordered a White Plush Lady Rabbit, but during the course of the order being produced, changed her mind and decided to go with Rabbit No.2.  Yesterday, on the www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES site, MrsEB wrote a review to this effect, which also tells us that everyone who travelled in the same parcel to Sunnybank Hills, Queensland, Australia have arrived safely

"We actually bought the brown rabbit, and she is gorgeous and beautifully dressed in her green gown and apron. Many thanks Isobel have a lovely Christmas and I will send photos as soon as practical".

Just to round off the post, here are similar views of the White Plush Rabbits, together with their respective labels.  Obviously, we'll include the pictures as and when they arrive - it is dependent upon the arrival of a Little Girl sometime in the New Year, we understand.

Etsy Listing #721688846

The material Isobel used to make all the aprons is a very stiff organza, and the off-cut from which all four were produced had a white satin edging at the hem. It is stiff enough to enable the Rabbits, who normally prefer to sit, to be able to stand, if they are carefully arranged - as in these pictures.  Isobel used mauve and green seam bindings to finish off the sides of the respective aprons, did some buttonhole stitching to applique the pockets to the aprons and just finished off the tops of the pockets with some stitching - machined in the case of the Brown Rabbits, and white embroidery yarn - to match the chain stitching on the Blue Collars of the White Rabbits.

So there you have it - how the first  2014 Rabbits have been made.  Because there are additional items on these models, there is going to be a slight increase in the cost of each Toy.  (The first such rise since COLDHAMCUDDLIES started operating  in 2010).  Isobel plans to spend the days between Christmas and the New Year adjusting these and has decided that with effect from January 2, 2014  all Coldham Cuddlies Toys are going to be listed in Great Britain Pounds (GBP) instead of  USD.  The Etsy folks continually suggest that this route is followed:  so, we're going to give it a go.

If we don't post again before Christmas, both Isobel and I wish all our Followers and Friends a really great festive season - whether it's Hannukah, Christmas or Hogmanay - may you all have a wonderful time.  We'll be back soon.

Making New Cuddlies for 2014 - Part Two

Good evening everyone - Cy Bear taking over for this second installment, which may yet go into a third, depending on how my description of the process goes, and the number of pictures we use to illustrate the story.

Isobel left the last post at the point when everything needed to be put together:  so the next step is for all the bodies to be stuffed.  In the case of all Dressed Lady Cuddlies (whether they are Rabbits or Foxes so far in the www.ColdhamCuddlies.etsy.com story or new models in the 2014 pipeline) they all have two seams sewn at the point where the legs become hips in a normal person.  The first one at the top of the legs is a straight one and the second (about half an inch up the body) starts and finishes at that point on each side, and in between becomes slightly curved.  It means Isobel then can stuff the legs from the bottom upwards, and the body is then stuffed from the neck down!  Apparently that's a much easier (and faster) process than when she has to make the Men Toys. They have to be stuffed from the neck downwards, right to the bottom of the legs - which obviously have to be very stiff so that the finished Toy can stand tall and upright, hopefully without being propped up.

In the case of the Lady Toys, it means they can sit down easier too.

Once the shoes have been sewn on, the pantaloons are fitted.  In the case of the Brown Rabbits, they were made in light green poplin and edged with a cotton white trim.  Each pantaloon leg was gathered around the ankle using embroidery yarn, which was tied and knotted tightly.  Then Isobel gathered the material at the waist, arranged the fabric evenly around the Toy's waists and sewed the pantaloons in place at the waist as well.

Our Cuddlies are not made to be undressed - which we believe is the secret to their longevity.  Long-time Followers of this blog will recall the treatment of  Madame Lapin and Mons. Reynard (toys that Isobel made for her sister-in-law who lives in France nearly 40 years ago.  They both were treated in our Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185) and their therapies described in our posts (for Mme Lapin these were dated 19/02/12 and 20/02/12 and Mons Reynard featured on 04/03/2012 and 07/03/12).  The only reason they became Patients with us was that they had both become dusty, and Mons. Reynard's stuffing and boots needed attention.  Now, after a bath and clothes wash for Mme Lapin and re-stuffing and brand new boots for Mons Reynard, they look as good as new, and are back in their accustomed positions on MmeIM's dressing table in Normandy.

Reverting  to the present:, the next photo shows one of the two White Lady Rabbits at the same stage - with the Black felt shoes in place and the pantaloons - this time made in white satin and trimmed with pink lace and gathered at the ankles with a purple embroidery yarn.  (She was actually being propped up to stand for this photo!

This shows Brown Rabbit with her trimming and gathering in place as well.  The pastel shades of both the trimming and pantaloons do not show up truly under electric light, as well as they do in daylight -  however, think you can get the idea!

Then come the dresses.  Each skirt actually comprises fabric that measures 10 inches (c.20.6 centimetres) from floor to waist and 36 inches (90.15 centimetres) wide.  That is quite a lot of material, which has to be gathered at the waist and sewn onto the bodies of each toy.  Before the gathering gets done though, Isobel makes a one inch hem and this time used the sewing machine, with a zig-zag stitch setting to make the hem, and at the same decorate the dress as well.  At the same time, the ColdhamCuddlies label is also stitched into the dress at the back seam.

Then the bodices are attached.  The arms have to be stuffed first of all, and then the bodice of each dress is fitted over the waists of each Rabbit, the seams turned under - quite a tricky move for someone with arthritic fingers such as Isobel at times - and then she sews the two pieces together at the waist.

Right, I've been told by Isobel that we're going to have to stop posting this story for tonight, because the space allocated by Blogger for the pictures is getting to the point that she will not be able to upload more of them and see what she is doing to get them onto the blog.  She says that there is probably a recognised way of doing this but to date she has not been able to fathom it out.  So, you'll have to wait until next time to see what happens  - but meanwhile, here is a photograph showing Brown Rabbit, waiting for her head, apron, carrot and collar to be attached - just to whet your appetites (I hope).

Until the next time - when I think I'm expected to carry on the story, while Isobel performs the actions in the background.

 Good Night.  Your Friend - Cy Bear

Year end in sight: time to make new plans. Part One - Two New Cuddlies are here!

With Christmas 2013 almost upon us and the last Etsy orders fulfilled, and hopefully en route to reach their various destinations in time, it's now time to think about what is going to happen to www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com in 2014.  With that in mind, and realising that most of the Cuddlies models have been replaced/made in the same way since we started four years ago, - our anniversary is February 2014 -  when we had to make another Mrs. White Rabbit (Etsy Listing # 72168846) and a Mrs Brown Rabbit (Etsy Listing # 60491625) I decided that there would a modification in their appearance - to include a juicy carrot in a pocket in their respective aprons.

So, while undertaking this re-make, Cy  Bear and I decided it would be a good idea to show you how we went about this new project and this is how it went.

Each individual toy has 16 different pieces - from the skirt and top - including the arms and paws, via head (ears and all), the body- which is made separately from the clothing, and finally the apron, pocket and carrot pieces.  I decided to cut out four sets - two for the White Rabbits (seen in the back ground of the picture) and two set for the Brown Rabbits.  Readers will recall that this replacement was needed as we had an order to provide either a Brown or White Rabbit for MrsEB in Queensland, Australia.  I decided to make two of each, so that when the choice had been made, there would still be at least one of each in the Shop, before a further replacement was needed for fortunate Rabbit who had found a Forever Home.

The Brown Rabbits were to be dressed in Green Candy-striped Poplin and the White ones were made up in a Purple and White Striped/Floral Pattern which has been used for both our White and Grey Rabbits (Etsy Listing #63379098) to date, but will shortly not be available - because there is no more of it to be had!  These will have Green Felt Shoes to match the former's dresses, while the White Rabbits are going to have Black Felt versions.

(Running out of fabric is an occupational hazard when one is using off-cuts provided from my usual source in Frome, Somerset - The Fine Quality Feather Company, who are soft furnishing manufacturers with a seemingly endless supply of unusual plush faux furs and other interesting materials.  But it does also mean that one can vary the look of one's Toys as one goes along as well.  I've been lucky to date to have had the option of making several similar versions since first registering on Etsy).

To begin the construction process, and because I was making four sets of the same thing I actually decided to use my sewing machine.  That certainly sped up the process of producing the bodies, pantaloons, bodice, skirt and aprons. (It took me an evening to make the four sets, as well as the four bodies). Here the first two of each pair of Rabbits can be seen with their various bits sewn together before they get made into a finished Toy - first are those for White Rabbit.  (Once all the straight seams were done, I then reverted to my normal hand sewing activities.  It's much easier and far quicker that way!)

Next here are the same pieces made up for the Brown version.

You can see the clothing pieces are arranged on the left of the picture, with the body in the middle (with the carrot pieces ready to be stuffed and attached), then on the right of the photo are the head (rear), two ears, two shoes and the white fluffy tail.

This time around I decided to make the bodice in such a way that the paws and arms were slotted in once the front and back of each bodice had been attached at the shoulders.  The furry paws are sewn to the arms first, and then the arms are sewn in at the shoulder seams.  Then it is possible to sew the under-arm and side seams at the same time.  It results in a smoother look in the end.  You can see from the Brown Rabbit photo, that the pocket has been appliqued on to the apron, and the ribbon waistband attached.  I tidied up the side seams of the aprons with seam binding in the matching colour and when I made the skirts for each Rabbit, I attached the "Coldham Cuddlies" label at the back seam. (I cheated a little when doing the hems for both apron and skirt - by using the machine and stitching it with a wide button hole stitch, rather than hemming each item (a process I find extremely tedious when having to do it by hand!).

There is actually only one seam for each skirt, and I usually turn up the hems before attaching the skirt to the body, once that has been stuffed. The calico body has two seams at the place where the legs curve to make the hips.  One seam is a straight side-to-side and then - starting about half an inch (5cm) on each side from that straight seam, I sew a seam with a slight curve in it.  This ensures that the Lady Rabbits sit down, rather than stand - although in these cases, the material used for the aprons was sufficiently stiff to allow them to stand upright (at least for as long as it was needed to photograph the finished toys, anyway!)

Then comes the fun part - putting the various pieces together.  Now as I'm doing four Rabbits at the same time, and I don't want this post to be too long, I'm going to finish this post now - and complete the description of how the Mrs Rabbits are put together next time.

Until then - Good Night and Bless you all.   Isobel