Pierce - 20 to Make: Crocheted Bears

Val Pierces passion for knitting began when her father taught her to knit at the age of five. Later in life she began home knitting for yarn manufacturers, and since then she has made a huge range of items, from evening dresses to teddy bears. She later began designing items of her own, and before long Vals designs were appearing regularly in national knitting and crochet magazines. She also teaches knitting, as well as a range of other needlecrafts, to both adults and children. Val lives and works in Shropshire. First published in Great Britain 2011 Search Press Limited
Wellwood, North Farm Road,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR Reprinted 2012 Text copyright Val Pierce 2011 Photographs by Debbie Patterson at Search Press Studios Photographs and design copyright Search Press Ltd 2011 All rights reserved.

No part of this book, text, photographs or illustrations may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche, photocopier, internet or in any way known or as yet unknown, or stored in a retrieval system, without written permission obtained beforehand from Search Press. Print ISBN: 978-1-84448-633-5 EPUB ISBN: 978-1-78126-032-6 Mobi ISBN: 978-1-78126-087-6 PDF ISBN: 978-1-78126-141-5 The Publishers and author can accept no responsibility for any consequences arising from the information, advice or instructions given in this publication. Readers are permitted to reproduce any of the items in this book for their personal use, or for the purposes of selling for charity, free of charge and without the prior permission of the Publishers. Any use of the items for commercial purposes is not permitted without the prior permission of the Publishers. Suppliers If you have difficulty in obtaining any of the materials and equipment mentioned in this book, then please visit the Search Press website for details of suppliers:
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Contents

Introduction Teddy bears have been around for over a hundred years and appeal to people of all ages. With this in mind, I have designed 20 tiny crocheted bears, each made from the same basic pattern and dressed in a different outfit.

Theres a keep-fit enthusiast, a gardener, a cook and an artist, to name just a few, and all the clothes and accessories can be easily adapted to make characters of your own. Each little bear is approximately 10cm (4in) high and sits nicely in the palm of your hand. Though suitable for people of all ages, they are not, strictly speaking, playthings and are therefore not suitable for very young children and babies. They do, however, make unique and enduring gifts that your friends and family will treasure for many years to come. The patterns are a little intricate in places but relatively simple to follow and, I am sure you will agree, the finished result will be well worth the effort. Happy crocheting!

The basic bear These are the instructions for making the basic crocheted bear.

When working the pieces, it is a good idea to mark the beginning of each round to avoid losing or even gaining stitches. Stuff each part with small amounts of filling as you work; avoid over-stuffing. American and British crochet terminology In all the patterns, US terms are given first, followed by the UK terms afterwards in brackets. So US single crochet would be written as sc ( UK dc ) and US double crochet as dc ( UK tr ). The most frequently used terms are:

Materials All the bears, their clothes and accessories are made using a size 2.50mm (US B-1, UK 13) crochet hook and a crisp no. 5 crochet cotton or, if you prefer, a fine 4-ply yarn.

Two outfits Ali the Baby Bears clothes and Roz the Artist Bears beret use a no. 3 crochet cotton. Each bear will take approximately half a ball of crochet cotton in the main colour. For most of the clothes, features and accessories, oddments of yarn can be used. You will also need a small amount of fibrefill toy stuffing, and a darning needle for sewing up the bears and for the occasional piece of embroidery. Measurements Each bear measures approximately 11cm (4in) in height when sitting.

Tension/gauge 5 sc ( UK dc ) measure 2.5cm (1in) in width using the stated hook, though tension is not critical when making these bears if you are prepared to accept a small variation in size. Instructions: Head Row 1: with the appropriate colour yarn, make 2 ch, 6 sc ( UK dc ) in 2nd ch from hook, join in a circle with a sl st. Row 2: 1 ch, 2 sc ( UK dc ) in each sc ( UK dc ) all round, join with a sl st [12 sts]. Rows 35: work in sc ( UK dc ). Join the contrasting yarn, if stated in the instructions, and proceed as follows: Row 6: *1 sc ( UK dc ) in next sc ( UK dc ), 2 sc ( UK dc ) in next sc ( UK dc )*, rep from * to * all round. Rows 7 and 8: work in sc ( UK dc ).

Row 9: inc 6 sc ( UK dc ) evenly in row. Rows 1015: work in sc ( UK dc ). Row 16: dec 6 sc ( UK dc ) evenly in row. Row 17: work in sc ( UK dc ). Row 18: dec 6 sc ( UK dc ) evenly in row. Row 19: work in sc ( UK dc ).

Row 20: dec 4 sc ( UK dc ) evenly in row. Break yarn and run through last row. Draw up and fasten off. Body Row 1: with the appropriate colour yarn, make 2 ch, work 6 sc ( UK dc ) in 2nd ch from hook, join with a sl st to form a tight circle. Subsequent rows are all joined with a sl st unless otherwise stated. Row 2: 2 sc ( UK dc ) in each dc ( UK dc ) all round, join as before [12 sts].

Row 3: *1 sc ( UK dc ) in next st, 2 sc ( UK dc ) in next sc ( UK dc )*, rep from * to * all round [18 sts]. Row 4: *1 sc ( UK dc ) in each of next 2 sc ( UK dc ), 2 sc ( UK dc ) in next sc ( UK dc )*, rep from * to * all round [24 sts]. Row 5: *1 sc ( UK dc ) in each of next 3 sc ( UK dc ), 2 sc ( UK dc ) in next sc ( UK dc )*, rep from * to * all round [30 sts]. Rows 618: sc ( UK dc ). Row 19: dec 6 sts evenly all round [24 sts]. Row 20: sc ( UK dc ).