Technique Tuesday: Making and Attaching Antlers

Mule deer, elk, pronhorn and bighorn sheep are icons of the American West.  When I make cloth figures of these species, they are always popular.  For many viewers, character of these figures is derived from the antlers as well as the details of the face.  Years ago, I experimented with different materials to make antlers and horns and settled on a variation of the technique I use to make hands.  I've developed patterns for each species, use t-shirt fabric as a base material, and sew them onto heads.  Making antlers is easier than hands and fingers because of the larger size, although occasionally I have problems with elk antlers (see this post for my fix).

Shown at right are examples of deer, pronghorn and bighorn sheep antlers/horns, before and after stuffing. The process is straightforward.  Unlike fingers which are not filled with anything (but are wired), antlers must be stuffed very firmly.  This takes time because the fabric tube has a small diameter and must be stuffed a small amount at a time.  Some artists use wires, but I don't.  What you see is just cloth and stuffing.
 

 
The antlers are sewn on, not glued. I complete everything else on the head before attaching antlers. It is a good idea to have pictures of your model to assist with placement of ears and antlers because your mental image of a deer head is likely to be pretty different from the real thing.  The first step is tucking the ends of the fabric tube under and making sure the antlers are about the same size.  I don't try to match too much because in nature it is very common for an individual to have different sized or shaped antlers. Use two or three pins to audition positions easily.

On this pronghorn, I've placed the final pins.  The image is a bit misleading, because it looks like the horns are just sitting there, happy, waiting to be sewn.  Not true, they are straining against the pins with a great deal of force.  If you jump back to my previous post about attaching heads onto dolls, you can see images of my pinning technique.  The horns (like the doll necks) are extremely firm and stuffing is on the verge of popping out.  This firmness is what keeps everything sturdy and upright over time.  I'll be honest, pinning the antlers is difficult and you need very strong pins.  Usually I use T-pins, but for clarity I've shown glass-headed pins here. Use as many pins as you need to keep things in place while sewing.


As with heads, I use a slip stitch and upholstery or button thread to sew everything together.  I go around each antler or horn twice, digging deep into the head to catch the underlying wool as as well as the exterior fabric. The completed antlers or horns are firm, but flexible and will hold their shape and position if moved around a bit.

 



The final result looks pretty good.  Quite a handsome fellow! 

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