Teddy Bear's Picnic

by Noreen Crone-Findlay on February 10, 2010

This whimsical project was inspired by the song "Teddy Bear's Picnic," whose charming lyrics were written by British songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932.

To paraphrase slightly...

If you go into the woods today, you'd better take your potholder loom!

That way, you can weave a teddy bear for the teddy bear's picnic.

(Note: The instructions for creating the teddy bear baby are available here.)

Project Details

This fun project is a quick weave, and can easily be finished in a day.

Supplies

The teddy bear woven with 2 strands of bulky weight novelty #5 yarn held together as a single strand. The teddy in the photo was woven with 1 ball of Lion Brand Homespun yarn.

In addition, you will need:

Stuffing (I used less than one ounce.)
Black yarn for embroidering the nose and mouth.
Buttons or beads for eyes.

(Note: If you are making this project as a gift for a small child, embroider the eyes on instead of sewing on buttons. Buttons represent a choking hazard to babies and small children.)

Tools

Potholder loom
Weaving or crochet hook
Craft needle
Scissors
Needle to sew on buttons or beads

Note: The potholder loom in the photos is available from The Natural Baby Catalog.

Weaving the Fabric

Weave four squares using the potholder loom.

Weaving the squares.

Editor's Note: For more information on how to weave squares on a potholder loom, see Noreen's previous WeaveZine article, "Halloween Dolls." (Note: For the teddy bear project, you will weave full-width on the potholder loom.)

Sewing the Head of the Teddy Bear

1. Turn one square diamondwise, and fold three points towards the center. Stitch the points together.

Folding the ear corners.

2. To make the ears, wrap yarn around each of the upper corners, then stitch to anchor. Place a little stuffing into the head.

Making the ears.

3. Bring the center edges of the head together and stitch them closed.

Stitching the head closed.

Continue until the seam is completely closed.

Stitched seam.

4. To create the muzzle, fold the point up, and stitch it in place.

Creating the muzzle.

Top view.

5. Stitch the buttons on for the eyes (or embroider them if you are making the teddy bear for a small child.) Then embroider the nose by stitching over and over with black yarn.

Stitching the nose and eyes.

6. Embroider two straight lines for the mouth.

Embroider the mouth.

Sewing the Body, Arms and Legs

1. Roll each of the remaining 3 squares up, and stitch the roll shut. Gather each of the ends and stitch shut.

Rolls for arms legs and body

2. Stitch the top third of two rolls together to form the body and legs. Then sew the third roll on top to create the arms.

Sewing arms legs and body.

4. Sew the head to the body.

5. Fold the ends of the legs up and stitch in place to shape feet. Weave in any loose ends.

Finished bear

Voila! The perfect teddy to take on a picnic!

Noreen Crone-Findlay is passionate about the fiber arts. She is an author, professional blogger, teacher, and designer. She takes delight in opening doorways to creativity for her readers and workshop participants. Noreen is married to the most wonderful guy on the planet, composer and jazz musician, Jim Findlay. They are blessed by being best friends with their daughter and her husband (and wonderful new baby boy) and their son and his wife. They have lots of cats and many dogs in their extended family. Noreen's latest book, The Woven Bag, has just been released by Krause Books, and is available online or in your local bookstore. She also publishes books, monographs, and patterns under her own imprint: Crone-Findlay Creations.