“Extra neck joining technique"

There are 2 similar kinds of extra necks. The first is made by gluing a few discs together, the other is by cutting a piece of wooden dowel and drilling a hole in the centre for the cotter pin to go through. This technique will show you how to do the later, plus how to join it to the bear's head and body.

1. Start by cutting a piece of wooden dowel (the measurement should be the same diameter as the discs you'll be using to join the head to the body, and the height shouldn't be more than the diameter of the neck discs. Cut a piece of fur with the help of the template provided in the bear's pattern. To do this job, use only acetone based craft glue.

2. Apply a layer of glue around the curved side of the wooden dowel.

3. Wrap the piece of fur around the wooden dowel till the short ends meet (they shouldn't overlap... if they do, clip excess off). Leave enough fur on top and bottom of the dowel to glue fur to dowel in the next step.

4. Clip top and bottom of the fur to make it easier to glue it to the wooden dowel.  Apply glue to both ends and glue fur to dowel.

5. As the fur on top and bottom might interfere in the movement of the neck when the cotter pin goes through, clip fur off from top and bottom of the neck piece.

6. This is how it should look.

7. The cotter pin should be long enough to go through a metal washer and wooden disc (inside the head), then through the extra neck and finally through the body, a wooden disc and another metal washer.... and still have enough left over to turn the ends to hold the whole ensemble together.

8. Place a metal washer and a wooden disc through a long cotter pin. Run a gathering stitch around the neck of the head. Place the hardware ensemble into the opening with the cotter pin protruding out of the neck. Pull thread till the neck is closed, and tie a couple of knots to secure.

9. Put the cotter pin through the extra neck that's been covered with fur, then through the hole at the top of the body.

10. Through the body's back opening find the cotter pin and place a wooden disc and a metal washer on the cotter pin's legs.

11. With the help of a long nose pliers or a cotter pin turner, turn each cotter pin's leg away from each other and tighten to secure the neck in place.

12. This is the finished result.

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