I had some questions about the bears so I thought I’d share the answers here.
Two more bears were finished today and after trying several, I’ve pretty much decided these two are my favorite patterns. Keeping in mind I’m only trying out the super simple ones!
Both of these bears were enlarged from their original patterns because I wanted something that was a nice size for the doll quilts. Enlarging them was pretty easy.
After printing them on a full size piece of paper, I folded the paper in half and copied the top half at 120%
Flipped to the other side and copied it at 120%
Then laid them on the ironing board, lined them up and copied them on a piece of template plastic.
Both of these are free patterns but I did have to sign up for their newsletters to get the actual template.
The first one is the Baby Teddy Bear and you can find the pattern at this link. The first one I made for Mo was a smaller version and I followed her instructions sewing through the paper and doing the face after stuffing but I found that challenging so now I trace around my enlarged template with a blue water soluble pen with 2 layers right sides together. I pin and cut them out leaving a generous seam allowance.
I then unpin, do the faces and heart and pin them back together and sew them on the machine leaving the opening to stuff. I also trim the seam allowance narrower after sewing with pinking shears, leaving about 1/4. I’d seen that in my search for information about sewing these small stuffed animals.
You’ll notice that my face is different than the pattern. That’s just my preference. I do mark the location of the eyes and mouth on the template so I don’t get them too high (yep, did that once already and learned from my mistake).
After enlarging the pattern, my bear is about 11 inches tall.
The 2nd one I like making is the Love Bear and you can find the free instructions at this link but again, you will need to sign up for her newsletter to get the template.
After enlarging this pattern, my bear is about 10.5 inches tall.
I’ve been using leftover pieces of Cuddle fabric or flannel for my bears. I have lots of leftover pieces from backing quilts.
Thank you Mary
Thanks for the info &I ks! These cuties are next on my list.
I wonder if you could cut them out with pinking shears/wavy blade & sew them with the seam on the outside, this eliminating sewing the opening closed like you have to do now? I’m going to try both ways, I think.
Thanks again!
Love that you encourage people by providing I not only patterns but also lessons learned.
Thank you for the pattern links and suggestions. I agree with the previous reply, that I too appreciate your generosity and tips. I always find them to be succinct but very helpful.