Adventures into open mouths!

I have been reading up on all the different methods of creating open-mouthed bears. Since I mostly make bears of less than 4" in height, I had not really considered going down this route before, thinking that they were far too small to try this with. However, I do like a challenge, so I decided to try it and see what happened. After reading lots of information, I decided to try the insert method, whereby a section is cut from the side head pattern and a small gusset is inserted creating the top and bottom of the inside of the mouth. I was quite pleased with my first attempt but felt I could improve it with maybe a little adjustment to the pattern for the inserted mouth piece. This resulted in attempt number two, which is again OK but I felt it needed more needle sculpting to get the shape even better. I have also been reluctant to try this technique as I really dislike the look of some open-mouthed bears which look a bit mean and scary, I want my open mouthed bears to look happy and smiley.

I think my third attempt is quite smiley but I think I will have to make a few more to see if I can duplicate the effect. I think that different fabrics and different amounts of stuffing will also change the effect I can achieve. You can therefore expect to see a few more open-mouthed bears soon, so watch this space!