As the first bear I ever sold on eBay was a panda, I decided to make this set of two to celebrate three years of selling on eBay, as well as my new full-time bearmaker status.
Panda cubs are born really tiny - about the size of a mouse - and stay with their mum until they are at least 18 months, when they are almost as big as she is. They are very attached to each other and the mother often cuddles her cub and plays with it.
Both pandas in this mother and baby set are made of medium-pile upholstery velvet in cream and black, with pinkish-brown ultrasuede pawpads and footpads. They are made according to my classic panda pattern, which uses 29 pattern pieces - the body alone consists of ten different pieces of fabric! (This gives them their lovely round tummies, as well as white shoulders, like a real panda.) Like most of my miniature bears, they have string-jointed arms and legs and cotter-pin jointed heads. Their arms are wired to help them cuddle and hug. They are stuffed with polyfill and treated steel pellets to give them that real bear feeling.
Their faces are needle-sculpted to enhance their features. Both have large onyx bead eyes, with shading around the eyes. I embroidered their noses with waxed embroidery floss, and added another layer of wax to give them a life-like texture and a hint of shine. Their mouths are embroidered with waxed embroidery floss. Fingers and toes were needle-sculpted with black thread.
Mei-Mei is 3" tall standing and sits 2¼" tall, while daughter Mei-Lan stands 2½" tall and is a hair under 2" when she sits. (Mei-Lan means "pretty flower" in Chinese.)
