How to Make Felt Miniature Teddy Bears

A miniature teddy bear is an adorable addition to any child’s dollhouse, making an ideal complement to a miniature bedroom, playroom or nursery. It’s just as much fun to make one when your child wants to play with a miniature teddy bear while playing with larger bears. Because all dollhouse miniatures are so tiny, you’ll be working with very small pieces, so you need not strive for too much detail. The project requires an eye for close-up work. While there is room for creativity in this project, keeping the design simple will produce the best results.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Brown felt
• Fine-line black marker
• Tiny beads
• Fabric in a tiny print
• Needle and thread
• Craft glue
• Quilt batting
• Narrow ribbon

Instructions

1. Fold a piece of paper double. Along the folded edge, sketch one half of a 1.5-inch tall bear in a gingerbread man shape. Cut out the paper pattern, and open it. Your teddy bear’s sides will be identical. Refold it, and trim any spots to improve the shape.

2. Trace the pattern twice on brown felt to create the bear’s front and back. Use a fine-line black marker so that the lines are visible. Cut out the bear inside the lines so that the black doesn’t show.

3. On the face, make black dots for the eyes. Sew tiny beads to those spots. Use the marker to make a tiny nose shaped like a triangle with the point down.

4. On paper, sketch a tiny vest for a boy bear. Make a V neck, shoulders that follow the bear’s, curves where the armholes go and a wide W shape at the bottom. Cut it out, laying it over the bear to ensure that it fits. Trim any extra paper to achieve the right size. Trace the paper onto the printed fabric, and cut it out. Glue or sew the vest to the bear’s front using a tiny needle.

5. For a girl bear, sketch a sleeveless dress on paper. Make a round neckline, curves for armholes and two lines outward and down ending around the bear’s knees. Cut it out, lay it over the bear to see how it fits and trim it if necessary. Trace the dress onto fabric. Cut it out and sew or glue it to the front of the bear, leaving the bottom open.

6. Sew the front of the teddy bear to the back side. Stop when you’re halfway around. Tuck a tiny bit of stuffing, such as quilt batting, between the layers. Finish sewing and end with a tiny knot on the back. There is no need to turn the fabric inside out because the bear is so tiny.

7. Finish off your bear by folding a ribbon into a tiny bow. Stitch it to one ear.

Tips & Warnings

• You can enlarge the teddy bear to any size you like. Try creating a family of bears in parent and child sizes, or make the three bears to use as you tell your child the traditional bedtime story.

References

• Preschool Teddy Bear Project
• Angel Bear