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| Traditional methods are
used at Steiff to dye certain mohair products by hand using a template in order to optimize the
plush structure and the markings on the fur. |
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| Sewing |
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The cut-out pieces are
sewn together on the wrong side. The pile from both pieces must be pushed through to the right
side before the seam is sewn with very fine stitches. |
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The sewn body or shell is
then turned to the right way round. Great care is required here to ensure that every seam is
shaped into the right form. |
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| Filling |
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Synthetic filling
material:
Compressed air is used to blow this material into the sewn body. The body is weighed first,
before being filled with a predetermined constant amount of material. Steiff uses synthetic
wadding or foam cuttings. These filling materials are machine washable, hygienic and
dimensionally stable. |
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| They are used for soft toy animals, Cuddly Animals,
Pets and Farm Animals, Wild Animals, Baby Products and many other items. |
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Wood shavings (excelsior):
Animals filled with wood shavings are always stuffed by hand. A stuffing tool is used to push
several strands of wood shavings into the shell, one after the other, making sure that every
corner is filled properly. The article is then shaped to produce the required form. Wood
shavings are the ideal choice of stuffing for contours or faces. This work is very demanding on
the person performing it as it requires a surprising amount of strength and a feel for the
material to ensure that the seams are not stretched beyond their limits. |
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| Wood shavings are used to stuff
replicas and Studio Animals, in particular. |
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| Fitting the joints |
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Joints are fitted to the
arms, legs and heads of jointed Steiff products and these are then permanently attached to the
body. Plastic joints are fitted into washable products, whereas metal joints are used for mohair
products. The joints are fitted before the main body of the article is stuffed and the final
seam is sewn by hand. |
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| Giving a product a personality |
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 with a voice |
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| If an animal is given a voice, it is usually fitted in its tummy or
body. The voices used at Steiff are |
| - squeakers |
| - growlers |
| - mechanical musical boxes |
| - pull-the-cord voices |
| The voice is protected inside the body of the animal, surrounded by the
respective filling material. |
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| with decorative
stitching |
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| This operation gives a Steiff animal a
personality and breathes life into it. The pile is trimmed around the eyes and muzzle. |
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The noses, claws and mouths of all
replicas and the majority of classical products are lovingly stitched by hand. |
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| A machine is used to stitch the mouths
of soft toys like "Teddy bear Petsy". |
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The whiskers are also sewn into the
mouth by hand to prevent these hairs from being pulled out by children. |
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| the way in
which the eyes are secured |
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| There are two types of eyes: |
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| Safety eyes |
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Drawn-in eyes |
| These eyes are secured in the shell
like rivets before it is turned the right side out. This type of eye is used for all soft-filled
toys. |
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A long needle is inserted from the back
of the head and secures the eye with thread. A tiny bead of adhesive is used as a supplementary
measure to fix the eye to the fabric. You can feel a slight indentation in the back of the neck
of an animal that has these eyes. |
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| The safety requirements stipulate that
an eye must be capable of withstanding 90 Newton (around 9 kg) tensile load. |
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with painting |
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| 80% of Steiff animals are given a special "make-up" treatment. This
involves a special airbrush technique in which the markings are applied by hand and gives each animal
its own individual appearance. |
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| See for yourself - the difference between an animal before
and after painting! |
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