Jacksier Barbara - Crocheting Teddy Bears: 16 Designs for Toys

Polar Bear, p. 21; Koala Bear, p. 19; British Bear, p. 15; Preppy Bear. p. 29.

Grasp the loose end of the yam with your left hand and make an O with the yarn leading from the ball (the ball of yarn should be hanging behind the O). Pinch the top of the O between the thumb and middle finger of your left hand, and hold your crochet hook in your right hand as you would hold a pencil. Insert the tip of the hook and bring a loop from the yarn ball through the O ( ) . You are now ready to make your first chain stitch (remember that the loop on your hook never counts when you are counting the stitches in your work).

Pinch the base of the slip knot between the thumb and middle finger of your left hand, and wind the yam from the ball from back to front over your forefinger. With the crochet hook inserted in the slip knot and the tip of the hook curved toward you, wrap the yarn around the hook from back to front ( ). Each chain (and later each single crochet or other stitch) forms a distinct oval that can be clearly seen from the top of the work.

Make a foundation chain of the required number of stitches (remember that the loop on the hook does not count as a stitch and that, for single crochet, you will need one chain for each stitch you want to make plus one additional chain for turning). Keeping the yarn from the ball wrapped from back to front over your left forefinger, begin the first single crochet stitch by inserting the hook from front to back in the second chain from the hook, taking care to push the hook through the center of the oval ( ).

Make a foundation chain of the required number of stitches (remember that the loop on the hook does not count as a stitch and that, for half double crochet, you will need one chain for each stitch you want to make plus two additional chains for turning). To begin the first half double crochet stitch, first make sure that the yam from the ball is wrapped from back to front over your left forefinger. Then yarn-over (bring the yam over the hook from back to front) and insert the hook from front to back in the third chain from the hook, taking care to push the hook through the center of the oval ( ) . You now have only one loop left on the hook and are ready to begin the next stitch. Repeat the procedure until you have worked one half double crochet stitch in each stitch of the foundation chain. Unless the pattern instructions specify otherwise, at the end of the first row and of each succeeding half double crochet row, make two chain stitches and then turn the work so the yam from the ball is once again at the right edge. For succeeding rows of half double crochet, unless the instructions specifically tell you to do otherwise, always make the first stitch of a row in the last half double crochet stitch of the previous row (that is, in the third stitch from the hook), not in the turning chain; and work each stitch by inserting the hook under both strands that form the oval of the stitch of the previous row.

Make a foundation chain of the required number of stitches (remember that the loop on the hook does not count as a stitch and that, for double crochet, you will need one chain for each stitch you want to make plus three additional chains for turning). To begin the first double crochet stitch, first make sure that the yam from the ball is wrapped from back to front over your left forefinger. Then yam-over (bring the yam over the hook from back to front) and insert the hook from front to back in the fourth chain from the hook, taking care to push the hook through the center of the oval ( ) . You now have only one loop left on the hook and are ready to begin the next stitch. Repeat the procedure until you have worked one double crochet stitch in each stitch of the foundation chain. Unless the pattern instructions specify otherwise, at the end of the first row and of each succeeding double crochet row, make three chain stitches and then turn the work so the yarn from the ball is once again at the right edge. For succeeding rows of double crochet, unless the instructions specifically tell you to do otherwise, always make the first stitch of a row in the last double crochet stitch of the previous row (that is, in the fourth stitch from the hook), not in the turning chain; and work each stitch by inserting the hook under both strands that form the oval of the stitch of the previous row.