Customer Reviews

A Quick-and-Easy Teddy Bear: With Full-Size Patterns for Clothing (Dover Needlework)

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Following the pattern in this book yields a very professional-looking teddy bear. The fabric you choose will really change the bear's appearance. My only concern with the book is the title, specifically the words "quick and easy." It normally takes me a day to put together a stuffed animal, but this bear took a long time, especially since it used joints that have to be installed from the inside. The joints weren't easy to use (I had to create my own, because the ones I bought wouldn't fit together).

If you have never sewn a bear together before, or want to make it easier, it helps to (1) use textured felt instead of faux fur (although it doesn't stretch/give, it's thinner and easier to sew with); (2) sew the limbs on instead of jointing them (in my experience, doll joints are impossible to put on!). If it's your first bear, these tips might help, and then you can proceed to the more advanced job of using thick faux fur and joints.

Have fun!

For the price you get a beginner level bare bones pattern, a beginner level explanation of bear making terms and full sized patterns for a bear, shirt, pants, and skirt to make a boy or girl bear. Also included is an optional bib top to put on either the pants or skirt for an added variation. The patterns lack any imaginative qualities that an experienced bear maker would like, but for a beginner making their first bear, it is basic, simple, and has easy to follow directions.