Make Blossom: A Mohair Teddy Bear with a Felted Nose
Straight Pile Mohair • Felted Nose • Soft Sculpting & Expression
Explore needle felting, soft sculpting and the details that bring expression to life.
A little wool, gradually shaped. A rounded nose that settles into the muzzle. Small adjustments that give a face its own character.
Needle felting offers another way to explore expression in bear making.
Blossom, Module Seven of Beauty in Bear Making, combines a straight-pile mohair bear project with a photographed introduction to creating and attaching a felted nose.
Created by Helen Gleeson of Bare Cub Designs, the guide includes the matching pattern, construction instructions and an additional lesson on stitching simple toes.
Begin soft sculpting with one small feature
A nose is a manageable place to become familiar with needle felting.
You begin by preparing wool and shaping it on a foam block, then continue refining and anchoring it onto the bear’s face.
The process gives you opportunities to observe how the fibres become firmer and how small changes affect the outline.
These are foundation skills you can build on when exploring more detailed felted features later.
What you’ll explore
Working with straight-pile mohair
Follow the preparation and construction of Blossom, including laying out the pattern with the fur direction in mind, cutting without shortening the pile and clearing trapped fur from seams.
The mohair provides the setting for a softly shaped felted nose and your own finishing choices.
Getting to know felting tools
Explore felting needles, a multi-needle pen and a foam working surface.
The guide introduces the tools and explains moving from initial shaping towards finer finishing, with reminders to handle the sharp needles carefully.
Preparing and shaping the wool
Learn to loosen the fibres, estimate the amount needed and begin forming a small, firm shape on the foam block.
Follow the photographed sequence, turning the wool regularly as you work.
Felting the nose onto the face
Continue shaping the nose on a well-stuffed muzzle, working around the top, sides and edges.
Learn why the fibres need to anchor into the underlying stuffing, and explore refining the outline and adding optional shading.
Stitching simple toes
An additional illustrated lesson introduces thread-sculpted toes.
Explore how even stuffing, stitch placement and controlled tension work together to define the paw pads.
A small lesson in seeing the whole face
While shaping a nose, pause regularly and turn the head.
Look from the front, profile and slightly underneath. Notice its width, how far it projects and how it relates to the eyes and mouth.
Ask yourself: Does this shape feel balanced with the rest of the face?
Checking from several angles helps you decide where to refine next. Give yourself time to observe between adjustments.
Skills to carry into future bears
Learning to prepare, firm and shape wool gives you a foundation for further experiments in soft sculpting.
Blossom teaches a simple felted nose. As you gain experience, you can explore how those skills might extend to cheeks, eye areas or other details on suitable projects.
The toe-stitching lesson also offers a technique to revisit, adapting placement and tension to different paw shapes and materials.
What’s included with Blossom?
An 18-page digital guide.
The matching Blossom bear pattern.
Tools and materials guidance, featuring felting needles and a felting pen.
Written bear construction and assembly instructions.
Step-by-step photographs of wool preparation and nose felting.
Guidance on anchoring, shaping and finishing the nose.
An additional illustrated lesson on stitching simple toes.
Shading and grooming suggestions.
The featured materials include straight-pile mohair, suede, glass eyes, bolt-and-disc joints and felting wool.
Materials and tools are gathered separately. Stuffing comparisons, the alternative button-eye method and optional clay-nose techniques are covered in other modules within the Studio collection.
Let your confidence grow gradually
Begin with the small nose project and take time to understand how the wool responds.
Pause when you need to assess the shape or rest your hands. Each visit gives you another opportunity to practise a controlled touch and develop your eye.
Enjoy watching a familiar collection of materials become a bear with an expression of its own.
Find Blossom inside Beauty in Bear Making
Blossom is one of twelve step-by-step photo guides with matching patterns included in the Beauty in Bear Making Studio.
The collection also includes nine additional patterns, three digital magazines, six mindful making companions and a four-hour mink bear-making video masterclass.
The Studio is available for a one-time price of AU$89, with lifetime access.
If you would enjoy exploring needle felting alongside traditional bear making, you’re warmly invited to look inside.
Bare Cub Designs by Helen Gleeson