Make Teddy: An Introduction to Mink Bear Making
An Introduction to Mink • Inserted Muzzle Technique • Guided Face Trimming
Explore an inserted mink muzzle and practise shaping softly rounded cheeks.
You can explore the character of mink without making an entire bear from it.
Teddy combines an alpaca body and head with an inserted mink muzzle, bringing different textures together in one expressive face.
Teddy, Module Five of Beauty in Bear Making, includes the matching bear pattern, construction instructions and a photographed guide to assembling and trimming the inserted muzzle.
Created by Helen Gleeson of Bare Cub Designs, it shares techniques developed through years of making award-winning artist bears.
A defined starting point for fluffy cheeks
When trimming a full mink head, deciding where the cheeks should end can feel unfamiliar.
Teddy provides a visible guide: the mink muzzle meets the alpaca at the cheek boundaries.
That join helps you see where to shape and soften the transition, giving you a defined area in which to practise handling and trimming mink.
You can explore its dense fur and sculptural possibilities while using alpaca for the rest of the bear.
What you’ll explore
Preparing mink for the muzzle
Learn to choose and prepare the three mink muzzle sections, paying attention to fur direction.
The guide explains tracing onto the leather, supporting it with fine muslin and cutting carefully to preserve the fur pile.
Constructing an inserted muzzle
Follow the photographed sequence for joining the mink front sections to the alpaca back sections.
The six head pieces become two completed side-head pieces and one gusset, ready to assemble into the head.
You’ll also explore positioning the gusset and lifting trapped fur where the two materials meet.
Choosing scissors for face trimming
The featured tool section discusses scissors for shaping faces and keeping a sharp pair reserved for delicate trimming.
Discover how clean, controlled cuts can help you work gradually through the fur and refine the cheeks.
Trimming with the fabric join as your guide
Begin with the mink gusset, then work through the cheeks in small layers.
Use the boundary between mink and alpaca to guide the cheek shape, soften the edges and create a rounded transition.
The guide continues with clearing the eye area, defining the mouth channel and refining the face around the mouth embroidery.
A small lesson in shaping rounded cheeks
Before trimming, locate the join between the muzzle fur and the surrounding head fabric.
Turn the head and study that boundary from the front, side and underneath.
As you work, remove small amounts and comb the fur between passes. Notice how the cheek curves into the surrounding face.
Ask yourself: Does the cheek look rounded from every angle?
Looking from several directions helps you recognise areas that need softening before removing more fur.
Skills to carry into future bears
Teddy introduces the same facial areas you will consider when trimming a full mink head: the gusset, cheeks, eye area and mouth.
Practising within a defined muzzle section helps you become familiar with those relationships before estimating the boundaries yourself.
The inserted-muzzle construction also offers possibilities for combining suitable fabrics with different colours, textures or pile lengths.
For a more extensive exploration of recycled mink preparation and full-face sculpting, the Studio also includes Hershy, the bumper mink guide.
What’s included with Teddy?
A 19-page digital guide.
The matching Teddy bear pattern.
Tools and materials guidance, featuring trimming scissors.
Written bear construction and assembly instructions.
Step-by-step photographs of the inserted-muzzle construction.
Mink preparation and backing guidance.
Guided gusset and cheek trimming.
Mouth-area shaping and finishing suggestions.
The featured materials include tipped alpaca, mink for the muzzle, suede, glass eyes and disc joints.
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.
Learn a little at a time
Give yourself time to understand how the two materials work together.
One session might be for preparing the muzzle pieces. Another might be spent joining the head or studying the direction of the fur.
When you reach the trimming, begin lightly. Pause, turn the head and look again.
Each small decision helps you develop the observation and control you can bring to your next bear.
Find Teddy inside Beauty in Bear Making
Teddy 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 mink through a thoughtfully guided project, you’re warmly invited to look inside.
Bare Cub Designs by Helen Gleeson