Y’all, I learned something in the making of this bear. I learned that finishable tasks make me happy. I like to start out with nothing, work for a while, and have something. A job in which others start out with nothing, work for a while, pass their work off to me, and I work for a while, and we pass it off to someone else and they work for a while, and then we have something?
Not that great for me.
Anyway, I found this pattern on the internet. It was pretty simple, though the bear I ended up with looks nothing like the bear in the picture. As you’ll see if you compare the photos, my bear ended up with a bigger muzzle and is not so floppy.
Also, if you look carefully, the bear in their picture seems to have very long arms and short stubby legs.
Frankly, I don’t see how they could have gotten that look unless they flipped the bear’s arms and legs. So, if you’re going to try this at home, be aware that the “arms” are short and the “legs” are long and so if you want the opposite look, you should consider flipping them.
Also, when you do up the head, you are starting at the head and working your way to the neck. This is important to realize when you put the eyes on, otherwise, you’ll have to have the Butcher (or someone else strong) come and pop the eyes off some you can replace them when you’ve figured out your mistake.
They don’t tell you what order to put things together in, but if I were going to do it again (and I am. I have a shit ton of stuffing and another set of eyes), I’d put the arms, legs, and body together at once. Then I’d put the muzzle on the head and place my eyes then. Then I’d put the ears on (I think I ended up with much better ear placement than they did) and then sew the completed head to the completed body.
Also, count your stitches or you will end up with a bear with some kind of butt problem (as I have).
Anyway, easy enough pattern (it’s all single stitch except for four half double crochet stitches and it’s good sewing practice), goes fast enough, and cute enough bear. We’ll see how the next one turns out.
Tiny Cat Pants 
I knew you just got into the right to bear arms but c’mon.
Awesome! I love this bear. The pronounced muzzle will be perfect for sticking in a baby mouth, the long legs make it ideal for dragging as a lovey, and the big ol’ butt makes it a good car-nap pillow. If this really is a baby thing, you might want to reconsider button eyes on the next one. Yarn eyes aren’t nearly as pretty, but babies get razor-sharp teeth right at the time that they get interested in playing with animals…choking hazards and what all.Craftiness must be in the air. I’ve just been helping Kid quilt her nine-patch.
This is an arena I have no skill at but it looks pretty groovy.
Hey, I take my right to arm bears pretty dang seriously. Just look at how funny that bear would look with no arms. How anyone could be opposed to arming bears is just beyond me.Yeah, this particular bear would be bad for babies, but this model of bear, with the right eyes and a sturdier sewing job on the head would be perfect.
I really like the bear, especially his cute butt. I say take on the frog with flies http://www.allfreecrafts.com/crochet/frog.shtmlAre you going into business for yourself or just trying to make more actors for your films, which are based on your plays and short stories, which you’ll begin publishing now that you realize how much you like to be a part of the whole creative process?
Oh I like him! Does he have a name? I will call him Mr. Stitches until I hear otherwise. And I love the M on his butt.
Mr. Stitches?! I do like that. I’m making another bear, to use up the eyes. I’m calling him the Libeartarian, as he’s made of camoflauge.
Well, I do like your Mr.Stitches! The pattern you used is one of the free crochet patterns on my craft site – I’m not the designer, but I bought the copyrights from Grandma’s Hookery. If you don’t mind, I’d like to link to your post in my blog, including a picture of Mr.Stitches so that other people who might like to try making a bear can benefit from your experience with this pattern. I agree that he doesn’t look much like my "model", but he’s still a real sweetheart and I can’t wait to see Libeartarian.
Jane, yes, go ahead. I finished the Libeartarian’s body last night and I can already see that, if you follow the directions, you end up with a somewhat stouter bear, who does not have an M on his butt. I’m curious to see if I screwed up on the head (or the muzzle) somehow, and that’s how I got a bear so different looking than yours.I still think it’s a good pattern, though, because even if you do screw up, you still end up with something cute as all get out. I just wish that, when my grandma taught me to crochet, she taught me how to follow a pattern, because that’s obviously something I have problems with.
So. Cute.
OK, hold up. I’m pretty sure I was on the "Big Important Stuff" channel – gay marriage, biblical definitions, left vs. right, that kind of stuff.Then, next thing you know, I’m on the Suzy Homemaker channel! All of the sudden I’m looking at stuffed bears with cute butts named Mr Stitches!?! I think the dog sat on the remote (again).
I do believe little Millard wants a Mr. Stitches for Christmas.
Thank you, Aunt B. You can see my Bear All Crochet Confessions entry at:http://www.allfreecrafts.com/blog/2007/01/30/bear-all-crochet-confessions/When Libeartarian is ready, maybe you’d care to post a follow-up? Very much appreciate your generosity in sharing both your insight and your photos of this pattern, and I have the feeling it will result in a burgeoning family of Mr. Stitches, regardless of whether or not we hear back from his future kin. But wouldn’t it be nice if we did?
Awwwwwww! Mr. Stitches is totally cute. And I hear you on loving the finishable tasks… that’s why I like cooking. I start something and finish it, and the reward for my effort is tasty. A question thought… I knit, but don’t crochet. It there a similar knit pattern for a cousin to Mr. Stitches?
I haven’t seen one, but I wonder if there’s some kind of crochet-to-knitting conversion one could do. It’s a really nice, simple crochetting pattern and it seems like you could get a set of those attached needles and just follow the pattern for when to increase and decrease. But I’m not sure.