Customer Reviews

Crocheting Teddy Bears: 16 Designs for Toys (Dover Knitting, Crochet, Tatting, Lace)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I like several of the bears in this book but one really stands out. The design for the Shaggy Bear is fantastic. He is a 14 inch bear done in a loop stitch. In addition to looking great he is stitched using a size "P" crochet hook! Quick to make for a last minute Christmas gift or to make in bunches for your favorite charity. I also liked the Panda Bear. The Honey Bear, the Koala Bear, and the Polar Bear are crocheted using chenille yarns and are also very nice. There are also patterns for fabric clothing to put on the bears. The clown suit is really cute.

This was exactly what I was hoping for. Great crochet patterns for teddy bears, some look like crochet and others look like fantastic sewn ones. Complete instructions and a bonus was instructions for sewing clothes for the bears.

Have you ever wandered into an estate sale or a thrift shop to pick up a handmade toy, crude yet obviously made with love? These bears remind me of those types of toys.

On the plus side, the crochet instructions for the loop stitch, the hook conversion chart, and the patterns for bear clothing are helpful. The shaggy bear is quite cute. I did get some ideas for my own projects from looking at how these were put together.

On the minus side, most of the bears are somewhat homely looking, and the construction techniques are outdated (book published 1984). Most of these patterns call for crocheting pieces which are stitched together like fabric, evidence of linear thinking which has been made obsolete by modern patterns which usually call for crocheting in spiral rounds (much easier for beginners and much less work). When I opened the book to begin the first pattern and read the instructions, I said "to heck with that" and made my first custom bear without any pattern whatsoever.

If you're a beginner looking for easy patterns to start making toys, I recommend searching on the Internet instead and not purchasing this book. If you're looking for "vintage" crochet bear patterns, this will give you a place to start. Otherwise I couldn't recommend this particular book.

Title of my review says it all. I wish I hadn't wasted the money. I won't ever make these fugly bears.

i really wanted to make the cute shaggy bear pictured on the front cover. when i got the pattern book, i found that i needed Unger's Gespa (fringe-like bulky yarn), two 3.5 ounce skeins. gauge 1 st = 1". Guess what? after searching the web for over two hours, i have decided that this type of yarn is no longer manufactured (this book was copyrighted 1984) and i can not find a substitute that will satisfy the gauge. The other bears just look like cheap crocheted toys. Nothing to write home about. Only one star because i can't give it zero stars, even though I can't even begin to make what i wanted to.