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My parents came to visit in December, I hadn’t seen them in a long time. They brought with them the memories of old times, when my sister and I were kids, of Christmas breaks spent on a sled and with a new toy in my arms. One of these toys is a teddy that my mom made for us (I’m not sure for which one of us), that ended up loved and squished and stretched by little hands.
All I remember is the soft red plush fabric and two purple sequin eyes, but I’ll never forget the joy it has brought me. I wrote an amigurumi pattern for a similar bear, but I’m still working out the kinks in the final product. I wanted to publish it in time for my birthday, which was 20 days ago, but it didn’t happen.
I somehow managed to make two patterns for two similar bears in two sizes. I was overwhelmed by testing both patterns, as I wanted to finish them up and publish them really quickly.I’m not super happy with how this one turned out. I like it, but maybe I should have chosen another color for the test. Maybe the future versions will be more kid friendly. Or maybe my opinion of what kid friendly means is just that, my opinion.
This teddy is quite large, around 30 cm in height if you make it using velvet/chenille yarn, so it’s not very suitable for little children (I mean 3 years-old or younger). If you make it in a thinner yarn, it will be perfect for a little kid. Try it and see, you might just keep it for yourself, it’s very huggable.
The pattern is very beginner friendly, so even if this is your first amigurumi project, I’m confident you will manage beautifully. I’ll try to find some good links for the “what you need to know section”, as there are many wonderful resources online for learning the basics of amigurumi.What you’ll need
- between 100 and 200 grams of chenille yarn (150-240 meters or yards) – I used Himalaya Dolphin Baby, but there are others out there: Alize Softy Plus or Yarn Art Dolce; or between 100-150 grams of normal amigurumi yarn (your choice, yardage depends on brand);
- a hook slightly smaller than the smallest recommended hook for your yarn or recommended hook for chenille or blanket yarn (I used 4.5 mm for my yarn);
- stitch marker (you can also use a safety pin or earring, it’s just for keeping track of the first stitch of each row);
- tapestry needle for sewing pieces ;
- filling of your choice;
- safety eyes, sturdy buttons or contrasting yarn for eyes;
- contrasting yarn or button for nose.
Skill level: easy
What you should know before starting the project
- how amigurumi is made (working in a spiral instead of row-by-row);
- working into a magic ring;
- increases (working 2 sc in a single stitch);
- invisible decreases (pulling up a loop through the front loops of each of next two stitches and pulling a loop through all loops on hook;
- inserting safety eyes or sewing buttons;
- optional: basic surface embroidery (for the nose);
- sewing amigurumi pieces to each other.
Abbreviations and other marks
- sc – single crochet
- sc around – one single crochet stitch in each stitch of the previous round
- inc – increase
- dec – invisible decrease (see above)
- (XX) – number of stitches you should have per round
The pattern
Legs
R 1 6 sc in magic ring (6)
R 2 [inc] 6 times (12)
R 3 [sc, inc] 6 times (18)
R 4 [2 sc, inc] 6 times (24)
Rs 5-8 sc around (24)
For first leg, bind off.Make 2 legs, don’t cut off yarn after second leg.
Body – continues from legs (including row count)
R 9 Connect to first leg by putting your hook through the loop on the other leg, then making first sc as if it were the next st in the first leg, by pulling up a loop and pulling through all three loops on hook. Pull this st. Continue sc around, then continue in second leg by making 1 sc in the first st that would have followed normally. Finish row with no increase. (48
Rs 10-12 sc around (48)
Stuff the lower part of the body, making sure there is equal stuffing in both legs.
R 13 11 sc, dec, 22 sc, dec, 11 sc (46)
R 14 sc around (46)
R 15 11 sc, dec, 21 sc, dec, 10 sc (44)
R 16 sc around (44)
R 17 10 sc, dec, 20 sc, dec, 10 sc (42)
R 18 sc around (42)
R 19 10 sc, dec, 19 sc, dec, 9 sc (40)
R 20 sc around (40)
R 21 9 sc, dec, 18 sc, dec, 9 sc (48)
R 22 sc around (38)
R 23 9 sc, dec, 17 sc, dec, 8 sc (36)
R 24 sc around (36)
R 25 8 sc, dec, 16 sc, dec, 8 sc (34)
R 26 sc around (34)
R 27 8 sc, dec, 15 sc, dec, 7 sc (32)
R 28 sc around (32)
R 29 7 sc, dec, 14 sc, dec, 7 sc (30)
R 30 sc around (30)
R 31 7 sc, dec, 13 sc, dec, 6 sc (28)
R 32 sc around (28)
Stuff the upper part of the body.
Head
R 33 sc around (28)
R 34 10 sc, inc, 13 sc, inc, 3 sc (30)
R 35 11 sc, inc, 14 sc, inc, 3 sc (32)
R 36 12 sc, inc, 15 sc, inc, 3 sc (34)
R 37 13 sc, inc, 16 sc, inc, 3 sc (36)
Rs 38-41 sc around (36)
Sew the nose in row 38.
Put in the eyes or sew them using the contrasting yarn in row 39 or 40.
R 42 [4 sc, dec] 6 times (30)
R 43 [3 sc, dec] 6 times (24)
R 44 [2 sc, dec] 6 times (18)
Stuff the head.
R 45 [1 sc, dec] 6 times (12)
R 46 [dec] 6 times (6)
Bind off, use tail to sew the 6 sc together into a ring, pull tight.
MuzzleR 1 6 sc in magic ring (6)
R 2 [inc] 6 times (12)
R 3 [5 sc, inc] 2 times (14)Bind off, leave tail for sewing. Sew the nose on now if you prefer, with the lower tip in the middle and the two upper points in row 3. Otherwise, leave this step for later, after you sew the muzzle on the head.
Arms – make 2
R 1 6 sc in magic ring (6)
R 2 inc 6 times (12)
R 3 [sc, inc] 6 times (18)
Rs 4-8 sc around (18)
R 9 [4 sc, dec] 2 times (16)Rs 10-16 sc around (16)
Stuff lightly, mostly filling the lower part of the arm.Squish the arm and make 6 sc along the two sides. Bind off, leave tail for sewing.
Ears – make 2
R 1 6 sc in magic ring (6)
R 2 [inc] 6 times (12)
R 3 [5 sc, inc] 2 times (14)
Rs 4-5 sc around (14)
Bind off, leave tail for sewing.
I hope you enjoyed this pattern and that you make many happy bears.
If you want to show it off on Instagram and you’d also like me to see it, tag me in your post @yarnandy or use the hashtag #bigteddyamigurumi, I’d love to see your version.
If you want to pin this pattern on Pinterest, please use this image, as it was made especially for the platform:
I hope you enjoyed this pattern and that you’ll tell all your amigurumi-loving friends about it.
And if you want to know when I publish new patterns, check out yarnandy.com, my new website where I post new patterns and everything about crochet.
Hugs,
Andrea
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