Tag Archives: teddy

Hey Bear!

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OK, I changed my mind.  I’m not up to making the amazing, complex patterns I posted about on Wednesday.  I’m sorry, but… oof.  It turns out that I’m not up to making a giant lace shawl right now.  (And, when I went into my stash and looked around to see if I had anything appropriate for knitting up those patterns, and didn’t find anything.)

Instead of going to the yarn store and dropping a bunch of money on yarn I probably won’t use (as fun as that can be), I decided to try to use up more of my leftover worsted weight.

It’s time for more bears!

Remember the Mother Bear Project?  I made a big box of bears for them last Christmas.  They deliver hand-made teddy bears to children in developing nations whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS.  You really couldn’t ask for a better cause to support.  (Also the bears end up super cute.)

IMG_3080I worked on this red, lavender and blue guy at work, while the kids were at recess yesterday.  (Recognize the lavender yarn?)  I forgot how fast these little dudes knit up.  I’m almost to the leg split, and I probably did about 2 hours of half-hearted knitting on this guy.

I’m happy to be back on the bear train!  Have you made any bears for the Mother Bear Project?  Or, have you done any other knitting for charity?

 

Itty Bitty Faces

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As I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of all things tiny.  And when I make tiny stuffed animals, I need to make tiny faces, too.

Because of the way knit fabric is created, often teeny tiny embroidered faces end up looking kind of dumb and stretched out.

So that’s where this cool face technique comes in.  I’d pretend that I came up with it myself, but alas, I’m not that clever.  Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits came up with it, and generously included the tutorial with her instructions for her teeny tiny toys.

It’s so simple, and so perfect, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t come up with it on my own.

6a00d83451d24769e200e5520787618833-800wi[1]Simply cut out a little piece of felt and hold it behind the doll’s face before you stuff the critter.  The felt is dense enough to allow you to embroider to your heart’s content without worrying about the sewing into knit stitches, and it is soft enough that you don’t even notice it once you’ve finished the little guy.

Genius!

I used her technique on my tiny teddy bears, and they turned out perfectly!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt worked so well that I think I’ll probably use the same technique on my Mother Bears, too!

Have you ever come across an insanely-simple-but-totally-perfect technique before?