Armature for mini bears"

1. To make armatures for the arms of a small bear, you'll need some wire (florist wire or a little bit stronger is fine), some masking tape, a pair of long nose pliers that also cut wire, the arm template of the pattern and a pair of scissors.

2. With the help of the long nose pliers, cut a piece of wire about double the length of the arm template

3. Follow the broken line drawn on the arm template to bend the wire with the long nose pliers.

4. It doesn't have to be too exact, just as long as the armature isn't longer than the drawn line.

5. Bend wire ends in and cut excess off.

6. Place armature on the sticky side of a piece of masking tape

7. Fold over and stick masking tape to masking tape, wrapping the armature in between.

8. Press masking tape together around armature.

9. With the pair of scissors cut excess masking tape around armature.

10. Place disc and cotter pin inside arm.

11. Then, insert armature inside the arm.

12. When ready to stuff the arms, make sure to put a little stuffing on either side of the armature, that way you won't feel the wire through the fur... and make sure not to stuff it too much, otherwise the arm won't bend easily.

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