How to Whisker a Critter
I had an enquiry about whiskers from Annamaria, who manufactures woodcovers. These kind of questions delight me, because it's an opportunity to work a little bit outside my normal framework of toy design, and challenges my technical ability.
OK, for those of you who got stuck on the word woodcovers, I was wondering what these thingies were too until I checked out Annamaria's website. It's the cute sock-like covers that golfers put over their clubs. Not that I'm going to rush out and get golf clubs just so I can have woodcovers too, but I think it's great when there's synergy between golfers and toy makers. Especially when the golfers leave the house to go golfing so that the toy makers can make toys without interruption. Enough digression. I'm going to put my foot in it in a minute.
Attaching whiskers:
Annamaria says that she's noticed that commercial soft toys have their whiskers glued in. I have to confess that I've never had such a close look at how they do it, but I have a horror of glue on hand made textile products. If it can be sewn, it should be sewn!
My best method for attaching whiskers is to make the animal's head and stuff it. After that I thread a needle with a good long length of whisker filament and put a knot in the end, leaving a long tail. The tail will become a whisker. Thread the needle right through the head from one whisker spot to the other. When the knot stops against the fabric, give it a sharp yank to pull it inside the head. The knot will embed itself in the stuffing, and won't continue pulling through, but won't pull back out either. It is thus anchored. (see diagram 1).When thinking about how this method could be applied to Annamaria's product, I came up with two reasons why it might not be suitable. Most likely she is using fabric with a knitted backing (as opposed to woven fabric backings, which is what I use). This would mean that a knot might not pull into the fabric or break fibers when it is yanked, causing a run in the fabric. Also, she will not be fully stuffing the animal's head, and a thread right through the head would not work. After some consideration I devised a method that would work better for her:
Before assembling the head, mark the whisker points on the head pieces on the wrong side of the fabric. Cut a length of filament that is suitable for two whiskers, plus a little bit extra. Put a big knot in the center of the filament then strand a needle on to each end. Take the needles through the fabric from the wrong side on separate whisker spots on the same side of the head. Voila! You have two whiskers. When you pull on the whiskers from the right side they won't come out, because they have a knot stopping them inside the head (see diagram 2).
Whichever of the two methods you are using, after attaching all the whiskers tidy them by trimming the whiskers to the desired length.
What are whiskers made of?
Normally I use a thin nylon filament (fishing line/gut) to make whiskers for my creations. When I'm working with a very small critter I like to use invisible sewing thread. It looks quite life-like. Embroidery thread pulled over wax to stiffen it also works well, and if you like droopy whiskers, just use the embroidery thread as is. Think about this: anything that's a fiber could become a whisker!
Interesting fact:
In my early days of toy design I thought that whiskers should be arranged on an animal's muzzle in the same artistically random way I plant my flowerbeds. Just scatter them all over! A fellow artist pointed out that some things in nature are actually quite neat and ordered. Animal whiskers grow in straight horizontal rows. Now who would have thought that? Check your cat if you don't believe me.
Go to Top of Page
Go to Tutorials Page
Go to Tin Soldiers Home PageHome | Kits and Patterns | DIY Supplies | Needle Felting | Dolls House Goodies | Polymer Clay | Art for Sale | What's New? | Newsletters & Events | Workshops Tutorials Free Stuff | Meet Megan | Studio Scene | Contact |
