I have had the pleasure of pattern testing this fantastic pattern for Monika at Happy Bear Crafts. As soon as I saw her designing this teddy bear I fell in love and the first version I saw was the one made with Chenille yarn, so I knew I had to use this yarn when testing her pattern too!

For those that know me, you won’t be surprised I fell in love with this design and for those that don’t it’s because I love Teddy Bears. I collect various teddy bears to display and because of this I am always drawn to a good crochet teddy bear pattern. This is definately a good teddy bear pattern, the design is adorable and the bear has such a lovely character. I promise you’ll fall in love more and more as you bring him to life.

•• It’s all about the Chenille ••

Now onto the details of this pattern and if you want to make the chenille version I can say you are going to love it. If you haven’t used this chenille before try not to worry as it’s quite different to the typical chenille yarn you think of and it’s really nice to work with. I didn’t even find it too hard to see my stitches or the loops so I could count my stitches and check them etc. I think you’ll be surprised and that it’s easier than you think. I would say that it might take you longer to make the bear in this yarn but if it does I can say it’s totally worth it. It really isn’t too bad to work with all at, the main thing you need to do is keep an eye on your tension and try to stay consistant.

•• Using the best hook to get the best looking result ••

For my bear I used a 3.5mm hook and you need to make sure you use the right hook for you as you don’t want to have too many gaps in your work as that will affect the look of your bear. If you crochet loose you might need to go down in hook size a little but it shouldn’t be by much I.e I’d be surprised if you needed lower than 3mm max. Do make sure you check this so you get the right finish to your bear, and if you are not sure then make sure you at least do 8 rounds or so because at the start it’s not as obvious but whenyou start to get a bit further up the body you’ll know then if you are using the right size. I used a 3.5mm for all of the bear apart from the muzzle, for this I needed a 3mm hook as otherwise the muzzle will e way too big!

•• How I stuff my Teddy Bear/ Amigurumi Projects ••

Just like for all my amigurumi I use tights/stockings before I add my fibre fill, this gives a neater result and helps to keep the stuffing secure I.e not come through your stitches. This is a particularly great tip if you are making one for a baby or child as it makes it nice and safe. Be careful when you stuff your bear too, it’s really important you do the neck area well because if you don’t the head ends up being really floppy. Also make sure you don’t over stuff the head because that will give you a floppy head too. Don’t worry as it’s not hard to do and you can easily test as you stuff the head to make sure it’s not too floppy. By the way I used a nice long length of tights cur down for this all in one body head piece as it’s much harder to do if you do it separately (as in a part for the body and a part for the head).

•• General Notes on how I made my bear ••

I made my bear following her instructions and I did the advanced start to make the muzzle and legs as it gives a much better look. If you have never done this before try and give it a go as you won’t regret it . It’s actually really easy to do and all you do is work into the back bumps of the chain when doing the first side of the chain. Don’t worry if you don’t know what I mean as she includes photos showing what I mean by back bumps. It really is an excellent tip to learn if you haven’t already as it’s fantastic for other crochet patterns and even some general crochet patterns too. It’s a tip I have been using for a while now and I love it. So yeah when you look at my muzzle and feet the reason it starts off so neat is because I used this tip, the advanced start. I didn’t stray from the pattern at all apart from the bear feet cushions, the large size as I felt it needed an extra round to look right on the foot. This is totally up to you whether you want to do this and she does mention what I did if you want to do that too (see near end of pattern where she shares details on the chenille version of the bear). I can’t think of anything else I did differently, oh apart from the eyes as I thought I’d make some rather than embroider them. If you want to do this too she includes how to do this in the pattern too!

I don’t think there is much else I can tell you, it’s an excellent pattern and very detailed. Plenty of photos for you to view if you aren’t sure what you are doing / if your piece is looking right. I have throughly pattern tested this pattern and I think you’ll find everything you need and more is included. If course if you need any help the designer Monika is on hand and I don’t mind helping you either .

•• Top Secret Tip ••
I have one great tip left for you that isn’t included in the pattern, as this is something I choose to do as I’m a perfectionist. Over all 3.5mm hook gave a good tight stitch to my bear but at times it did look a bit more gappy than I’d like. I didn’t over stuff my bear but obviously when you stuff it does stretch the yarn a bit so obviously be careful not to do this too much that it stretches all your stitches. As I said I just had a few areas that I felt was more visible than I’d like. This tip is a really quick and easy fix though as it works very well for the chenille version bear because it just blends into the yarn really well . I basically took my wool needle and a long length of the yarn I used for the body, and in the areas that were a bit more open than I liked I used my yarn to go over and under the stitches. It’s hard to explain but I’m almost weaving inbetween them to cover the gap. Give it a try and I think you’ll know what I mean when you do it. If you need help though please ask and I’ll find a way to show you. Obviously once you are done just hide your yarn in the bear and cut off the tail. You’ll never even know you did this and you’ll have a great looking bear with no obvious gaps!

Please note if you have a lot of gaps/holes this means you need to be using a smaller crochet hook. I am just talking about a few small areas that I fixed with my tip.

•• Photos ••

I have included lots of photos as I made my bear so you could see exactly what I was doing and I’ve done my best to show every stage.

Please bare in mind that this yarn is often really hard to photograph and it can be hard to show it true to colour. Some photos have captured the yarn better than others and this is one of those projects you really want to see in person to truly appreciate the lovely finish and look the yarn has given to this lovable teddy bear.

I hope you enjoy all the photos and of course I included lots of finished photos too. I really love this bear and I hope you do too!

•• Want to see this bear made in normal cotton? ••

As soon as I finished this bear I started working on another version and this time my usual cotton, Three Bears Yarn Affection aran weight yarn. It’s not quite done yet but as soon as it is I’ll include a link to the project page here for easy viewing.