Materials for Making a Reversible Teddy Bear

Series Summary

Stuffed animals come in a broad range of shapes and sizes. Some of us have seen the giant, 8-foot Teddy Bears at sale during Christmas time or the tiny frogs and kittens that fit on key-chains and charm bracelets. The Teddy Bear, named after President Theodor Roosevelt, is probably the most famous stuffed animal, but the concept is at least a century older than him. In recent years a number of stuffed animal (AKA plushie, plush toy, soft toy) crazes have hit the American toy market: In malls across the country you can find workshops to make your own stuffed animals, online shoppers were bidding thousands of dollars on bean-filled toys, and one furry plush toy that giggled when you tickled it inspired competition (even violence) on an unimagined scale.

In this free video series, expert Karen Weisman will show you how to make your own stuffed animal, a reversible teddy bear. This little toy has a long history in American homes, switching from a little bear in a dress to a sleeping bear under a blanket. The reversible plushie is two toys in one! Karen will show you how to trace and cut the pattern, how to cut and sew the fabric, and much more. She demonstrates every single step to give you flawless direction. You will see how to stuff the bear, how to trace and cut the clothing, how to sew the pieces together, and how to embroider the faces of the bear. It is all here!

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Karen for Expert Village. Today we are going to be making this cute little awake/sleep bear. It is a very traditional toy for little children and they say that it helps inspire those first words of speech. So here our bear is awake and she says let's play on her dress. Then you just flip her dress over and you say goodnight little bear and she is in her little bed. So what we would need to make this cute little toy is first we would start by making the pattern with two pieces of eight in a half by eleven (8 1/2 x 11) paper. You would need some stuffing for the bear. You would need some fleecy fabric for the bear on the outside or you can use a teddy bear fabric also a fuzz. You need a remnants of a four inch strip of fabric and a couple of other remnants one piece for the blanket side. Then one piece for the dress, the dress side. So I have chosen these two blues ones. You may want to have some ribbons and bows something to decorate with. A little bit of embroidery thread to make the face. Some teddy bear eyes, they come like this with a little clip and these are nice and safe for little children. You just pop them in and can not really pull them out. Some needle and thread. Some pins, a little bit of filth to make the patch in the front to write something in. Of course a pencil, scissors, and a ruler. I think we have everything let's get going. "