March 30, 2015

Baby Teddy

I was shown a cute picture of a newborn and a teddy bear by a friend who is a photographer. I could only assume that she wanted one as a prop for her most recent arrival. Since we couldn't find an actual pattern for the one in the picture, that I liked anyway, I decided to make one up to match the basic look.

Items needed:
Cream yarn, I used a leftover skein of Caron Simply Soft in Bone from my crocodile stitch cardigan
12mm safety eyes, and a safety nose if you have one
polyfill
5mm hook

Baby Teddy:
Light tan color yarn
5mm H8 hook
12mm safety eyes
one safety nose or embroider it with black
polyfill
needles, stitch marker

Head: crown to neck
Rnd 1 – Start 6sc into magic ring
Rnd 2 – 2sc in each st [12]
Rnd 3 –  (sc, inc) repeat around [18]
Rnd 4 – sc around [18]
Rnd 5 – (2sc, inc) repeat around [24]
Rnd 6 – (3sc, inc) repeat around [30]
Rnd 7 – (4sc, inc) repeat around [36]
Rnd 8 – sc around [36]
Rnd 9 – (5sc, inc) repeat around [42]
Rnd 10-14 – sc around [42]
Rnd 15 – (5sc, dec) repeat around [36]
Rnd 16 – (4sc, dec) repeat around [30]
Rnd 17 – (3sc, dec) repeat around [24]
Rnd 18 – (2sc, dec) repeat around [18]
Fasten off

Ears: make 2
Rnd 1 – Start 6sc into magic ring
Rnd 2 – 2sc in each st [12]
Rnd 3-6 -sc around 12
fold in half, sew up bottom, affix to head

Snout: nose to base
Rnd 1 – Start 6sc into magic ring
Rnd 2 – 2sc in each st [12]
Rnd 3 - sc around [12]
Rnd 4 –  (sc, inc) repeat around [18]
Rnd 5-6 - sc around
fasten off, stuff and sew to front of face.

Head assembly. Create head base, ears and snout. Place safety eyes and stuff head. pin snout into place to evaluate eye placement. If happy secure eyes in place and finish stuffing. Attach safety nose to snout if using it, otherwise stuff and sew to face where pinned. Attach ears to head. Embroider a nose if needed.

Body: butt to neck
Rnd 1 – Start 6sc into magic ring
Rnd 2 – 2sc in each st [12]
Rnd 3 – (sc, inc) repeat around [18]
Rnd 4 – (2sc, inc) repeat around [24]
Rnd 5 – (3sc, inc) repeat around [30]
Rnd 6 – (4sc, inc) repeat around [36]
Rnd 7 - sc around [36]
Rnd 8 – (5sc, inc) repeat around [42] 
Rnd 9-12 – sc around [42]
Rnd 13 – (5sc, dec) repeat around [36]
Rnd 14-15 – (sc around [36]
Rnd 16 – (4sc, dec) repeat around [30]
Rnd 17-18 – sc around [30]
Rnd 19 – (3sc, dec) repeat around [24]
Rnd 20-21 – sc around [24]
Rnd 22 – (2sc, dec) repeat around [18]
End 23 - sc around
Fasten off and leave a tail to sew to neck of head. Stuff

Arms:  make 2
Rnd 1 – Start 6sc into magic ring
Rnd 2 – 2sc in each st [12]
Rnd 3 –  (sc, inc) repeat around [18] 
Rnd 4 - sc around [18]
Rnd 5 - (sc, dec) around [12]
Rnd 6-9 sc around 12 -Stuff here
Rnd 10- (sc, dec) around [8]
Rnd 11- sc around
Fasten off leaving tail to sew to body. 

Legs: make 2
Rnd 1 – Start 6sc into magic ring
Rnd 2 – 2sc in each st [12]
Rnd 3 –  (sc, inc) repeat around [18] 
Rnd 4-7 - sc around [18]
Rnd 8 - (sc, dec) around [12]
Rnd 9-11 sc around 12 -Stuff here
Rnd 12- (4 sc, dec) around [10]
Rnd 13- sc around
Fasten off leaving tail to sew to body. 

Tail:
Rnd 1 – Start 6sc into magic ring
Rnd 2 - 6 sc around
Rnd 3 – 2sc in each st [12]
Rnd 4 - sc around 12
Rnd 5 - dec around
Fasten off, add tiny bit of stuffing
Finished!
Finishing: Stuff body and attached to completed head. Sew arms and legs into place. Sew on tail. 


This basic pattern could be embellished in a lot of ways. I for one, thought about adding a popcorn stitch thumb shape to the paws, embroidering a belly button or mouth, and adding blush spots. He's really perfect and classic in all ways though, so in this case simple is best.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Time to complete: 8 hours