Bringing old and neglected bears back to life

[bearlyunique]

Although I love making bears, I think I enjoy restoring poor old ones even more.
They come to me in the most dreadful state - abandoned in sheds or chewed by dogs and I get a special joy in helping them "live" again.
Sometimes they remain quite fragile, but will be very happy to sit quietly on a shelf for many more years to come.
I have attached some pictures of three bears I have restored.
When Fred, a little Chiltern, arrived he was a very sorry sight. He had been found in a shed. He was damp, stained and rotten in parts. Mice or rats had attacked him chewing off one of his feet.
I managed to get the worst of the stains out. Then I performed extensive surgery, including patching his leg, giving him new felt paws and finding him a matching old glass eye. Dressed in cosy hand knits, he is now happily living with his new family.
Hans, as I will call the German bear, had lost his muzzle in a dog attack. He had one arm torn off and a leg almost severed. An acquaintance who had owned him since childhood, had been thinking of burying him in her garden until she found out about my hobby and asked if I could do anything. It is always difficult being presented with a bear that has been damaged beyond recognition. How long was his muzzle? what shape was his nose and mouth stitching? It feels like a heavy responsibility to take on the task of repairing someone's precious bear, which is why I prefer to restore bears I have bought myself rather than those belonging to others!
However, with the threat of an early grave beckoning for the poor fellow I agreed to rise to the challenge! After much research I found a picture of a bear that seemed to resemble him in shape and stature and made up a new face typical of German bears of his vintage.
My friend said that although he was not quite the same as how she remembered him, she was happy nonetheless to see him back in one piece.
The final bear pictured is a huge old Merrythought. He didn't look too bad in the picture on eBay, but when I received him I discovered that every seam was completely rotten and he just fell apart!!
However, apart from that, he was in good strong condition with almost 100% mohair coverage, so I took him to pieces gave him a good clean and sewed him back together again using the original stitching holes as a guide. He is now just about as good as new. He is a splendid fellow and has pride of place in my hug! He makes me smile every time I look at him, which to me is what restoration is all about!
He is an exception to the rule. Most bears that come to me show their age and have often been nearly loved to death. I never try to over-restore them, but do just enough to preserve them for a well earned retirement. I think some restored bears look horrendous - overstuffed and repaired with unsuitable modern fabrics.
Obviously it is a matter of opinion, but I firmly believe that "gently does it"
should be every bear restorer's motto!

[Honeysuckle Bears]

How wonderful, to see old teddies brought back to life and looking so happy for it! They look fantastic! :very happy:

[theprofessor]

How much does restoring teddybears effect their value? I know with other collectibles it is a big no no to to touch old antique items. What are your thought on this? Jacques

[bobbybaer]

I think, if you can repair an old bear the way to preserve the original character and the bear's personality, it's ok to touch even an antique item.

[oldbearsandfriends]

Hello All, I have just joined, I live in Australia and been collecting lovely old bears and toys for about 17 years and am still going strong. I am very happy to find a place where there are like minded folks to share our passions.

PS: Lovely job on the poor old teddies bearlyunique:)

[elize]

:welcome:, I think once the "beary bug" has bitten one can not stop collecting. Everyday I see more bears on this forum that I would like to add to my collection:happy2:

[bearlyunique]

I think when it comes to restoring antique bears I would hesitate to set to work on a very valuable Steiff or similar bear without very careful consideration. I have seen the value of bears considerably reduced by well-meaning but ill-judged restoration work, that has completely destroyed their original character.
I take a very gentle approach and most of the bears I restore are desperately in need of help! I think I hopefully add value by restoring them just enough to conserve and prolong their life.
One thing I really cannot understand is how anyone can part with their childhood bear.
I didn't have a bear (alas!) but I did have a pyjama case dog which I would never dream of parting with! I feel really sad when I see people selling their bears on eBay.
I love threadbare old teds. They have such character and one can only imagine the adventures they must have had to end up in such a state! Their worst enemies seem to be dogs, speaking of which reminds me I need to put some of my old bears away as they will soon be within reach of our miniature schnauzer puppies.
Rosie, their mum is totally trustworthy, but I hate to think of the carnage if the puppies get their piranha-like teeth into them.
The bears normally sit in an old doll's pram but they will have to go onto a high shelf for the forseeable future.

[elize]

I took my childhood bear in to get new foot & paw pads and to get a bit more woodwool stuffing. The foot & paw pads were replaced neatly but the face of my bear were really stuffed too much. When I look at him I feel like opening him up and remove some of the stuffing in his face. Can anyone tell me if the mohair would have stretched a lot? I am worried that if I remove some of the woodwool he will be worse off? (I have never stuffed bears with woodwool as I was told it is so difficult and you must do this and that and so on...) He is the one next to the Panda.

[Elizabeth]

Elize , I can see the fellows' head/face is stuffed much more than the other bears. I am sure you can remove some of the stuffing.:Winking:

[Us Bears]

It all depends on the Bear and it all depends on the reason why he has become disheveled.

A Bear who is worn because he was loved by a human does not want to be repaired. Those worn spots on his fur and those frayed ears are BADGES OF HONOR for a Teddy Bear! That means he has done great service taking care of his human. He was there through good times and bad.

A Bear has a very long memory. He knows how every last mark on his fur came to be. Every one of those marks tells a story about the time when his human needed comfort or just plain wanted to hug. Removing these "Love Spots" is like erasing a Bear's memory.

Now... If the Bear has seen abuse or neglect, it is probably all right to repair him. Reattach those arms and legs. Give him new eyes. Sew his ears back on. Restuff him and patch his fabric. These are all good things that every Bear who sees neglect or abuse WANTS to have done.

Our humans have adopted several Bears over the years who have been abandoned, gotten lost or who have seen abuse. The first thing they do is give them a nice cleaning with a "just-damp" cloth and a careful rubbing so as not to damage the fur. Once the top layer of dirt is off, then they decide where to go from there. In many cases, the Bear is brought back to nearly original condition.

But, with special, expensive or rare Bears, it might not be wise to bring him back TOO much. A Bear is like a history book. Even the memory of his neglect can be treasured if it is followed up with him finding a new human to love again.

Bottom line: All Bears want to be repaired but it is wise to ask the Bear how much he wants to be repaired before jumping in. You might be surprised at the answer you get.

[elize]

'Us bears' I feel bad for having him repaired. :ashamed:

He was good looking and the person who did the repair was over eager with the stuffing.

One day I'll open him up and make him look like his Ark family of bears.

[Us Bears]

Talk to the Bear. Ask him what he wants.

Sit down with him and share a glass of milk and some cookies with him. If you listen closely enough, he'll tell you what he wants.

If the Bear is simply disheveled from being loved by his former human, he probably wants to stay like that. If the Bear is damaged from neglect or abuse, he probably wants to be fixed up. It is our guess that your Bear has a mixture of dishevelment and damage.

Have a chat with him. Tell him that you'd like to fix him up. He'll probably tell you that he'd like to have new eyes and to have his mouth sewn up again. If his ears are a bit frayed from being nibbled on by his former human, he probably likes that. If he has a bare tummy from being hugged "just a little to tight" he probably likes that. But if he has damaged fabric and if he needs to have limbs reattached or something like that, he would probably be very grateful for you to make him all better.

Here's an idea! What if you fixed him all up and left only a few "love patches" so he will be able to keep his "character." Then, if there is fabric to be replaced or stuffing to be restuffed, you can make a little packet of the left over materials you took out of him and wrap it up in a piece of plastic. When you restuff the Bear, put that packet inside him so it will always be there.

Put it where the Bear's heart would be.

Just make sure that any materials you stuff inside are clean, dry and bug-free so that they will not spread decay through the Bear's insides. Wrap them up in plastic to be safe.

We think your Bear would really like this idea but, just to be sure, you'll have to ask him.

(Besides, he probably would like to have a cookie! ;) )

:paw

[TushTeds]

my goal is to nurture old teds back to health - not give them a total face lift, making them unrecognisable!!

the charisma of the bear may not be tampered with... ears can be sewn on, but the position should not be changed... claws shouldn't be added, if there weren't any to begin with.... unless one is absolutely sure about the bear's original maker, and has an original bear to compare appearances with - eg: number of claws, thread colour & strength, paw pads (felt, rexin, leather, cotton, linen) colouring, ear position, form/shape of nose + mouth stitching, eye size, position and colour, etc...

i think many antique bears cannot be retraced, because either the "new" nose stitching is misleading, and/or the ear position and the eyes are incorrect. many old bears i've seen may still look antique and quite becoming, but it's clear that "something is missing" in the overall flair and charm of the teddy.

i found this ted (i named him helmuth günther) at a fleamarket - and only paid 4 euros for him. ALL i did (after the obligative wash&brush&freezer treatment) was to give him new paw pads (the light pink leftovers of the originals were still visible underneath), re-did his claws (which were partly still there), give him "new" old glass eyes (in the original holes) and fastened his ears. additionally he got some extra wood shavings in his arms. t

he hardest decision was whether to give him a new nose and mouth. since i had no idea what his nose/mouth originally looked like, i only added a few stitches to the remains of his nose. I decided to refrain from giving him a new mouth, after i'd tried several different shapes.... and asked him what he preferred! the answer was loud and clear!!

now he's a very happy bear, self confident and full of mischief!

[elize]

This is just unbelievable,helmut günter still looks old and well loved but also has got loads of character.:applause::applause::applause:

It is sometimes best to ask a bear what he wants.

[TushTeds]

"happy6: DANKIE, hoor!!

having the "before" and "after" pics and being able to admire him daily, is what makes the early mornings, the bargaining, the intensive searching & the hours of work all worthwhile ... having a happy ted in my hug ...

... that just warms my heart ... jeez, i love my hobby!! :laughing: (although i have plenty of other fulfilling hobbies too...)

[elize]

I also have lots of other hobbies but when I see a before and after picture -like yours - I realize how much I enjoy this hobby.

Bears are so special "happy6:

[TushTeds]

I also have lots of other hobbies but when I see a before and after picture -like yours - I realize how much I enjoy this hobby.

Bears are so special "happy6:

yes they are! which is why this forum exists and why so many people come to share their "beary treasures" with the rest of the world... thanks elize, for bringing this forum to life! :thanks:

[elize]

yes they are! which is why this forum exists and why so many people come to share their "beary treasures" with the rest of the world... thanks elize, for bringing this forum to life! :thanks:

It is great to know there are other people who also enjoy and love their bears/hobby.

Doing this forum is just a pleasure:cloud9:

Thanks for all the wonderful contributions to the forum.