Machine-sewing shearling? For a teddy bear

[JHLeatherwood]

I'm about to attempt my first teddy bear made out of shearling. The pattern is from Springfield Leather, if that matters, and allows for 1/4" seam allowance on the pattern. I'll be sewing on a Cobra class 26, most liekly with 92 thread.

I haven't found any videos that show tips on working with shearling, so that's my first question.

Other questions:

• How far back from the edge should I trim the hair/wool, and how close should I cut it to the skin so the seam doesn't show as "bare" skin?
• Any tips on managing the fur "squeezing out" of the seam as I sew? Since it's going to be inside the final product, does ti matter?
• Any tips on managing the edges as I sew? I mostly glue edges before sewing to keep the pieces lined up, but that's not going to work with fur.
• Any other tips or gotchas I can avoid?

I have previously used shearling on a couple of pistol caddies, but it was glued to the vegtan shell and I trimmed the edges pretty closely to avoid any fur sticking out of the finished edge.

 

[Northmount]

@JHLeatherwood moved to Fabrication - Leather Sewing Machines

 

[Michiel]

I often start with some small test pieces to see what works best

To keep the pieces in place while sewing: for me a stapler sometimes works (between the sewing line and the edge so i can pass them while sewing and than remove the staples afterwards)

[JHLeatherwood]

I hadn't thought of staples. Definitely going to practice on the scraps after I get the pieces cut out. 

Thanks