This guide provides a step-by-step guide on how to repair vintage or antique teddy bears, including the necessary tools, common mistakes to avoid, and historical repair. To begin, turn the teddy bear inside out to examine each seam for holes and thread, which may be present if the bear is very old, weak, or rotten.
Next, gather all necessary materials, pinpoint the tear in the stuffed animal, and measure the desired length of thread. Disembowell the stuffed animal by unpicking the string attached to its head, which originally turned the bear’s head. Home repairs are a good way to fix smaller pieces of damage, but if you are confident with a needle and thread, you can choose this option.
To repair a stuffed bear at home, follow these steps:
- Make the plan: Pick out materials, lay out and attach the patches, restuff the bear, and Embroider the edges.
- De-stuff and vacuum the bear: Wash and dry the bear before sewing and fixing it.
- Re-stuff the head: Re-stuff arms and legs: Sew and re-stuff the body.
- If the plush or teddy bear is not an heirloom, it may be acceptable to repair it yourself. Replacing an eye, especially if you have the fabric, is crucial.
- Lay a piece of fabric larger than the hole and extend it beyond the hole on all sides. This will help ensure that the teddy bear is repaired correctly and lasts for years to come.
📹 2 minutes to restitch your teddy bear when seams become open
Although we have added a reinforcing band in each seam, the thread is still likely to be broken by sharp objects, resulting in crack.
📹 HOW TO FIX AND REPAIR ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE TEDDY BEARS 101 | JOHN PAUL PORT *secrets from the expert*
Teddy Bear Repair straight from the expert! Do you have a vintage or antique teddy bear that needs a typical repair? You came to …
Rachel, WOW:)!! I have learned so much and I have taken notes:)!! John Paul Port is very talented and a good teacher:)!!! I unfortunately do not have very good sewing skills, my Late Grandma on my Mom’s side showed me how to sew holes and they always come apart:(. However, maybe I am just doing it wrong. My Teddy Bears are not antique and are in good shape, at this point. However, I have a Raggedy Andy Doll and he is in bad need of repair. I want to get him repaired, but I just do not know where to go in my area. And I so agree with John Paul Port about “moth balls”. My Late Dad had a Fabric Store and the moth balls smelled so bad!! I so agree moth balls they smell toxic. Also, sadly, Although I do NOT smoke, I live in an apartment and my downstairs neighbors do smoke. I hope that will not affect my Teddy Bears because sometimes I can smell the smoke. Also, I have a Mohair Bear, a 1999 Lincoln B. Bearington Boyds Bear, but I do not see any bugs on him, but he is not antique, just vintage. I really like the tips on how to clean the bears and use the flea combs as well as a plastic comb. Also, I was wondering, I have a product called Clean Boss, which has all natural ingredients, how does John Paul Port feel about this product for cleaning teddy bears? And what bar soap did John Paul Port use for his cloth to clean the teddy bears? I was wondering if he used Ivory Soap because it is all natural? Rachel, Thank John Paul Port for this very informative article on how teddy bears are repaired:)!
Hello, I have bought some bears through ebay, I particularly love bears with growlers. Two were listed with working growlers and both arrived with growler broken. Not sure if the tossing around of the postal service has broken them, but would you kindly provide a article of how to fix or replace the growler please? Thanking you in advance. Kerrie
This is going to sound weird, but I saw an old episode of Mama’a Family, the 80s sitcom where the main character was fixing the hair of a teddy bear by stabbing something into its head to repair the bald spot. is this needle felting? I have a 41 year old teddy bear I’ve had since I was a baby and he’s lost most of his hair. would that be a way to fix him?
Excellent article I learned so much I’m not a sewer I would have some else repair my bear. I do have a bear that has dry rot . I don’t think it can be fixed but I bought antique baby clothes and I put those on just to keep it in place .Thank you Rachel You’re putting this article out It’s always a pleasure to see John.
I have a Steiff teddy with his button still attached. He is about 12″ tall. I believe I figured out that he is from around 1909. He has lost a lot of his wood wool or excelsior stuffing and is very saggy, he has several bare areas in his mohair, and he was kissed a lot from his original little owner causing his sweet little bare nose to be very dirty. I have made a lot of bears and know how to construct/deconstruct them, but am not sure that I want to try to do all that he needs done. Do you still do repairs?