Knitting a Teddybear
Knitted teddy bears make excellent gifts during the holidays and for any special occasion. It's the perfect gift for a child or teddy bear collector. Besides being soft and cuddly, teddy bears are simple to knit. However, sometimes knitters spend wasted time searching for patterns when they can easily design one without referring to a chart at all. By just grabbing yarn, knitting needles and a few other accessories, any knitter can take pride in creating a teddy bear that is personally designed. The compliments won't be able to stop flowing in your direction!
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Knitting yarn (any color or weight) Circular Knitting needles Calculator Plastic yarn needle Stuffing (polyester fiberfill) Small black buttons Embroidery floss or yarn Ribbon or scarf
Instructions
-
-
1
Start the knit slowly. Knitting involves only two stitches: the knit and purl stitches. Learn to knit with circular needles.
-
2
Create a pattern for a simple three-piece teddy bear (consisting of a body and two arms). The key to knitting a teddy bear is filling the body with polyester filler. Molding the body parts should be done next.
-
-
3
Cast on a generous amount of stitches for your bear. The stitches should result in a circumference that you want for your teddy bear. To know how many stitches to cast on (using whatever yarn you choose), study the yarn label for the gauge. For example, note how many stitches are in a knitted swatch measuring 4 inches. Observe this based on the size of your needle and weight of the yarn. After you know how many knitted swatches make up the circumference of the body, you can find out how many stitches to cast by doing simple math addition.
-
4
After completing the body of the teddy bear, join the first stitch to the last stitch. Be careful not to twist the knitting. Continue knitting in rounds until your piece measures the desired length. Cast off stitches and sew sides together.
-
5
Stuff head with polyester fill, pushing a generous amount of fill in the corners of the head to create ears. With a strand of yarn, weave through stitches (where ears connect to head), sewing ears. Sew on buttons for eyes and nose. Embroider mouth with red yarn.
-
6
Stuff the top half of the body with polyester fiberfill. This should form the head. Next, stuff the rest of the body. Cut off a piece of yarn long enough to sew for a neckline, separating the head from the body. Stuff the lower half with more filling. Sew in the middle, weaving in and out with a strand of yarn. That should form the legs. Sew bottom edges together, forming feet.
-
7
Knit arms separately, making sure the number of stitches you cast has a circumference that corresponds to the size of the body. Measure where an arm will be placed. Again, to determine the number of stitches, note the yarn label for gauge information. Cast off stitches and sew up one end (wrong sides together), and then stuff the other end. Sew arm to the body, just below the neckline. Follow the same procedure to knit and attach the other arm to the teddy bear.
-
8
Enjoy giving away your homemade treasure to one you love!
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Add filling generously. The more you stuff, the easier it is to mold body parts Tie a ribbon or scarf around the neck for a decorative touch. Sew on a pompom for a tail.
If the teddy bear is to be given to a young child, do not use buttons for facial features. This could be a choking hazard. Instead, embroider with yarn for eyes, nose and mouth.
