Teddy bear eyes are the most expressive part of a teddy bears face, so you will need to decide what sort of eyes to use, what size and colour and where to position them. If the teddy bear is for an adult or a collector, glass eyes should be used.
Glass Teddy Bear Eyes
Glass eyes come in a huge range of colours and sizes and most of them are hand made, it's very hard to choose which colour although black is the most popular.
I love to use one of the many choices of blue eyes for bears that are white or light coloured. I like to also trim the fur around the eyes so that the eyes are more visible. I use coloured head straight pins to decide where to place the eyes. I prefer the eyes to be set fairly close together, but they can be wide apart if that's the right look for the bear. Move the pins around until you're happy with the position. I use dental floss to sew in the eyes as it's very strong and almost impossible to break. Pull the eyes in tight so that they make an indent in the teddy bears head. This makes the eyes look like they are in an eye socket.
Safety Teddy Bear Eyes
Safety eyes should always be used is the teddy bear is for a baby or a child. These also come in brown, black and many other colours.
Eye sizes range from 1mm for small bears to 30mm for large bears. Safety eyes are placed in the head before stuffing the head. Glass eyes are sewn in after stuffing. I find that putting larger eyes on a teddy bear makes the teddy bear look younger. Most bear makers tend to use black shiny eyes but I like to vary the eye colours and sizes that I use.
Where to buy Teddy Bear Eyes
Glass eyes can be bought from craft shops that sell teddy bear supplies or they can be bought easily on-line.
Happy Bear-Making!
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