Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

In my mind’s eye, the perfect teddy bear is based on my own childhood toy, aptly named “Teddy.” He would sit with his arms outstretched, all round and cuddly in his  midsection. Sadly, he was lost in a move, but his ideal form has stuck in my head.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

To tackle my own version of dearly departed Teddy I knew I had to use felted wool because it’s soft and rich and sews like a dream. Wool’s natural elasticity smooths the edges of curves and kindly forgives little imperfections. And to make my bear extra special I finished off his ears, nose, paw pads, and tail with some sweet Liberty of London Tana Lawn.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Usually, I am intimidated by 3-D sewing. It seems so complicated and advanced, but I’ve found that if I work slowly and methodically, it is totally doable. If you have sewn a garment or any other intermediate project, I’d say you’re ready for this project! For me, all of the detailed work was easily worth it because this sweet little bear looks and feels just like my old pal, Teddy! –Molly

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Materials

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

To make one bear you’ll need…

  • A 27 X 19-inch piece of Dorr Mill Wool Yardage in Natural
  • A fat 1/8th of Liberty of London Tana Lawn in Edenham brown/ aqua
  • 6 oz of poly stuffing
  • 2 buttons for the eyes
  • Gutermann 100% cotton thread in color 1040

You will also need…

Before you start you will need to felt the wool by washing it in hot, rinsing it in cold, drying it for 20 minutes, and then pressing it flat.

Size

Finished Measurements:

9.5 inches high

6.5 inches wide including legs

5.5 inches wide without legs

Note

All seam allowances in this project are 1/4-inch unless otherwise noted.

Pattern

Sewing the Head
Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Cut out the following pieces from the Head Pieces page of the template:

From the Felted Wool,

  • 1 Top Head
  • 2 Back Heads
  • 2 Side Heads
  • 2 Ears from

From the Tana Lawn,

  • 1 Nose
  • 2 Ears

You do not need to transfer the markings from the templates to the cut pieces, but keep the templates nearby so you can reference which edge is which.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Pin and sew the tops of both Side Head pieces to opposite sides of the Top Head piece. Stop sewing 1/4 inch before the nose edge.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

With the right sides still facing, pin and sew the mouth edge of the Side Head pieces together, stopping 1/4-inch before the nose. This is the Front Head section now.

With right sides together, sew a Liberty Ear to a Felted Wool Ear, leaving the bottom straight edge unsewn.

Pin and sew the two Back Head pieces together along their back edges.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

With right sides facing, align the Nose piece along the nose edges of the Front Head. The unsewn 1/4-inch sections should make it so you can lay the Nose down flat.

Pin the Nose’s curved edge to the top of the nose edge. Starting 1/4 inch from the edge, sew the top of the Nose to the Front Head, stopping 1/4 inch from the end.

Pin and sew the next side of the Nose in this manner, starting and stopping 1/4 inch before and after the edges.

Repeat for the final Nose side.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Turn the Front Head right side out and make sure the Nose is neatly sewn into the muzzle.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Trim the seam allowances on the Ears to 1/8 inch and turn them right side out.

Create a little 1/4-inch pleat through both the Tana Lawn and the Felted Wool at the bottom open edge of the ears and pin it in place.

Sew the bottom edge closed with a 1/8-inch seam allowance, just to keep the pleat in place.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

With right sides together, pin the Back Head pieces to the Front Head, sandwiching the Ears in between the two layers. The inside corner of the Ears should align with the seam of the Top and Side Head piece, and the Tana Lawn sides should face towards the Front Head.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Sew these pieces together, leaving the neck edge unsewn.

This is now the Head.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Turn the Head right side out and make sure that the ears are sewn on straight  and that you like how everything looks.

Put the Head aside for now.

Sewing the Legs

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Cut out the following pieces from the Leg Pieces page of the template:

From the Felted Wool,

  • 4 Legs. Transfer the “gap” marking onto two of these pieces.

From the Tana Lawn,

  • 2 Foot Pads.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Pin the Leg pieces together in pairs of one marked piece and one unmarked piece.

Starting 1/4 inch from the bottom edge of the Leg, sew the pieces together along the perimeter except for the flat bottom edge and the gap section. Stop sewing 1/4 inch before the bottom.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Open up the unsewn bottom edge of the Leg. With right sides together, arrange the Foot Pad so that its pointed heel is facing the back of the Leg and the rounded toe is facing the front. Pin one half of the Foot Pad to one half of the bottom edge of the Leg and sew them together.

Repeat for the second half of the Foot Pad, then go over the seam to make sure there are no gaps and that the curved angle of the toe is smooth.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Turn the Leg right side out.

Repeat for the second Leg.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Stuff the Legs through the gaps, making sure the Legs feel firm and full. Sew each gap closed with a blind stitch.

Put the Legs aside for now.

Sewing the Arms

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

From the Arm Pieces page of the template cut:

From the Felted Wool,

  • 2 Outside Arms
  • 2 Inside Arms

From the Tana Lawn,

  • 2 Paw Pads, that face opposite directions, from the Tana Lawn. To make sure that they face opposite directions cut one with the Tana Lawn’s right side facing up and one with its wrong side facing up.

You do not need to transfer the markings from the templates to the cut pieces, but keep the templates nearby so you can reference which edge is which.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

With right sides facing, pin the Paw Pads to the Inside Arms along their straight edges, making sure to align the top edges with the top edges and the bottom edges with the bottom edges. 

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Sew these pieces together and then press them flat. They should be mirror images of one another.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

With right sides together, pin the Arm Insides to the Arm Outsides and sew them together leaving the straight sides unsewn.

Turn the Arms right side out and stuff them so that most of the stuffing is towards the Paw Pads and there is no stuffing poking though the unsewn edges.

Keeping the wrong sides together sew the final edges together with a 1/8-inch seam allowance.

Put the Arms aside for now.

Sewing the Body

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

From the Body Pieces page of the template cut:

From the Felted Wool,

  • 4 Body pieces. Transfer the arm and gap markings onto one of these pieces and just the arm markings to another Body piece.

From the Tana Lawn,

  • Two Tail pieces that face opposite directions.

With right sides facing, sew the Tail pieces together along their curved edges, leaving the straight side unsewn.

Turn the Tail right side out and stuff it lightly. With wrong sides facing sew it closed along the unsewn straight edge with a 1/8-inch seam allowance.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Pin the Body piece with the gap and arm markings to the  Body piece with just the arm makings along their back sides, marked sides facing out. Sandwich the Tail between the layers just below the bottom gap marking.

Sew these two Body pieces together, leaving the gap unsewn and sewing in the Tail in the process. This is the Back Body

Pin and sew the other two Body pieces together along the tummy side.

This is the Front Body.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

With right sides facing, pin the Front Body to the Back Body along their side and bottom edges, leaving only the neck section unpinned.

Unpin the area between the marked arm sections. Put the Arms inside the Body, aligning the Arms’ raw edges with the Body’s and making sure the Paw Pads face towards the Front Body. The arms should slope downwards towards bottom of the Body.

Pin the Arms into place. Starting 1/4 inch from the neck opening, sew all around the Body, stopping 1/4 inch before the opposite neck opening.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Turn the Body right side out through the back gap.

Attaching the Head

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

With the Body inside out and Front side up and the Head right side out, face up and upside down, slip the Head into the neck opening of the Body.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Carefully matching up the edges, pin the neck edge of the Head to the neck edge of the Body.

Using a backstitch, hand sew the Head to the Body around the circumference of the neck. Go around twice to make it super secure.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Turn the piece right side out through the gap at the back of the body.

Stuff the Body and Head very firmly and sew the gap closed with a blind stitch.

Attaching the Legs

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Pin the Legs to the bottom left and right sides of the stuffed Body. Make sure that the bear can sit on its own.

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Using a blind stitch, hand sew the Legs into place where they make contact with the body. Go around this area twice to make sure the Legs are on very securely.

Sewing on the Eyes

Wool + Liberty Teddy Bear | Purl Soho

Sew a button into place along the top seam of the front of the head. Here’s how:

Leaving a long tail at the beginning, stitch the button just as if you were sewing it onto a garment. Once you’ve sewn through a few times, tie the two thread ends into a knot behind the button. Then hide both ends inside the stuffing of the bear.

Repeat for the second button and you’re all done!

Update 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!