I'm doing my first bear rug this year and was wondering what type of adhesive works best to attach the felt to the back of the skin? I plan on covering the entire back side with felt. Would you sew around the edges also? Also, what type of provisions are put on for hanging it on a wall? I was thinking about trying some small modified I-bolts on the underside of the paw, through the thick part of the pad.
Thanks,
Any suggestions would be helpful.
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All you need to do is sew all the way around. I use devcon on the pads
to the felt. I staple the first layer of felt to the head, and use spray glue to put both layers of felt together, only on the head. You don't need glue anywhere else. I use thumb tacks, to attach to wall.
Hope this helps, others might have and use something better. That is
what is nice about this site you learn something every day
WHEN I did rugs myself, I used the same methods that the professional ruggers like B&J and Jordan's Bear Den does. Glue doesn't fit into the equation. The felt is doubled under the head mannikin and the hide is covered with polyfill sheet first. I "tack" the polyfill to the skin with 3M adhesive spray, but I lay the felt into place and begin tack stitching the felt every 6 inches. When I work toward the edges, I folded the felt under and hem stitched the entire perimeter. If fringe was desired (I always discouraged it), I sewed it over the hem. The 6 inch square tack stitches keep the rug together, keep the polyfill from bunching up, and keep the rug from "ballooning."
There are a lot of different ways to go about this,here's my way.
Almost all of my customers expect a double felt border.Those that don't are the exception.
First of all, we have a table we built with a cut out for the head so things lay flat.After trimming,I attach the pre-sewn border with hot glue(don't get excited yet George LOL) then use a spray adhesive to stabilize the foam padding.Final felt backing is applied,trimmed and sewn around the entire bear.Once done with that,turn him over and SEW the border to the edge of the bear hide.The only reason for the hot glue is to keep the border in place until the back is finished.For me it's much easier to sew it up if I'm not trying to keep it in place.
I use cafe curtain rings sewn through each pad and a small hanger screwed to the head for hanging.On a really large bear I'll add another ring in the center of each side to stabilize the center.