"Bonjour" The bear simple as a Pie !

By Oursement Vôtre - The teddy bear search engine

"Bonjour" is without any doubt the ideal bear to begin in bear making. He is 8,5 inches tall, and is cut in a golden distressed mohair. All the difficulties have been supressed to allow you to succeed in making your first mohair teddy bear. He is presented here full size.

This pattern is presented here by courtesy of french bear artist Laurence Veron at http://www.alentours.com.

This teddy bear is not a toy and is NOT intended for children.

Part 1 - Print the instructions

Print first this page, then click here to continue.

Supplies :

10 inches of mohair in 20 inches width.
4 plastic joints of 2 cm diameter
1 plastic joint of 3 cm diameter for the head
1 pair of safety eyes, 12 mm diameter
1 safety velvet nose, 14 mm wide
polyester fiberfill or kapok
2 pieces of foam 2 x 2 cm in 1,5 cm of thickness
50 cm of ribbon, in 8 mm width
Thin cardboard for the pattern.

Material :

A pair of pointed Scissors
Needles of various sizes
Pins
Kniting needle
Sewing thread
Solid thread (button thread, for example)
A wooden spoon, or a stick (optional)
Tool to push the security joints, composed of a metal tube surmounted by a wooden ball (specialized stores)

Pattern :

Head: cut 2 times
Body: cut 2 times
Arm: cut 2 times
Legs: cut 2 times
Ears: cut 4 times

Seam allowances of 7 mm are included in the pattern. No need to add them.

With the sewing machine, take care of the tension of the stitches, and use a rather small length of stitches. Begin and finish all the seams with some backstitches.

By hand, use the backstitch: Make a stitch forward, on the lower part of fabric, then a small stitch backwards on the top, and so on.

Prepare the templates :

Trace all the pieces (except the ears) on thin cardboard, turn the cardboard to trace the second in a symetrical way. Trace the ear 4 times.
Mark all the notches of reference marks, joints and eyes positions, as well as the direction of the nap (indicated by the arrow).
Cut all the pieces out of the cardboard

Cut :

Place the mohair on the table, back visible and pile downwards.
Pose all the templates on the fabric taking care to respect the direction of the nap (indicated by the arrow). It is not necessary to allow space around the pieces.
With a pen, trace around the templates, note all the notches of reference marks, the dots for joints and the eye, as well as the direction of the nap (indicated by the arrow).
Cut out the back of the fabric with the point of the scissors, paying attention not to cut the pile.
With a knitting needle, poke holes for the joints and eyes.

Assembly :

Head :

Place the 2 heads right side against right side.
Sew the chin from the neck to the notch, just below the nose.
Sew the top of the head, from the nape to the notch just before the nose. This leaves a small space which will allow to put the stem of the safety nose. The base of the neck is also left open.
Turn right side out.

Eyes :

Insert an eye in the hole previsouly poked.
Make a hole in one of the foam pads, in the center, push it on the stem of the security eye, inside the head.
Put the safety washer, pushing if firmly with the special tool.
Do the same for the other eye.

Nose :

On the right side, insert the nose in the small opening. Place the tip of the triangle downwards.
Still taking care that the nose is well placed, insert firmly the security washer on the nose's stem. If necessary, use the special tool.

Head stuffing :

Stuff the head beginning by the snout. Push the filling with the wooden spoon's handle. Fill the head firmly.
With strong thread, sew a gathering thread around the neck. Don't make any nod but let 10 cm of thread out. Sew around the opening with long stitches, parallel to the hedge (3mm from the hedge.) At the end, don't make any node and don't cut the thread.
Insert the biggest joint washer in the opening, with the stem pointing outside the head.
Tighten the gathering thread and node them firmly when the opening is almost closed. Make a few stitches to close the opening firmly.

Arm :

Fold one of the arm along the dotted line, right side against right side.
Sew the top round, from the upper notch to the fold, making the seam reach the folding line.
Do the same for the roundness of the lowe part, leaving an opening at the back, between the two notches.
Turn right side out, with the help of the wooden spoon handle.
Put the disk with the stem inside the arm. Let the stem go out from the inside of the arm through the little hole.
Do the same for the other arm.

Legs :

Fold one of the leg along the dotted line, right side against right side.
Sew the top round, from the upper notch to the fold, making the seam reach the folding line.
Sew from the second notch to the end of the foot. Stitch the bottom of the leg (By hand, all the leg can be stitched in one pass.)
Turn right side out.
Put the disk with the stem inside the leg. Let the stem go out from the inside of the leg through the little hole.
Do the same for the other leg.

Body :

Place the 2 bodies right side against right side.
Sew around, leaving an opening between the two notches at the back, and a small space between the two upper notches.
Turn right side out.

Jointing :

Put the stem of the head in the small space, on top of the body. Inside the body, put the plastic washer (the biggest one) on the stem, the put firmly the retaining washer, helping yourself with the special tool.
Put the stem of the arm in the upper hole ot the top, taking care that the arm opening is on the back. Inside the body, put the plastic washer on the stem, the put firmly the retaining washer.
Do the same for the other arm.
Do the same for the legs, taking care to their orientation, with the opening on the front.

Stuffing :

Pack small amounts of filling, a little at a time, pushing them with the handle of the wooden spoon. Stuff firmly.
Using solid thread, close the openings with a "ladder" stitch : Do one stitch forward, parallel to the edge on one side of the opening, 7 mm from the edge, then on the other side of the opening, and so forth.
At the end of the stitch, make a node, then push the needle in the last hole, in the same place and make the point of the needle going out a small space away. Pull, then cut : that will bury the node.
Stuff the body with small amounts of filling. Take care to put the fill around the joint's stems. When the body is firm enough, close it with a Ladder stitch.

Ears :

Assemble the ears, right side against right side.
Stitch on the rounded part, leaving the base open. Turn right side out.
Push the seam allowance towards the inside, and stitch the ear base with a Ladder stitch.

Ears assembly :

Pin the ears in place on the head with pins on each side.
Stitch firmly : Starting on one corner, anchor the thread firmly to the head, hiding and securing stitches under the ear. Make one point on the base of the ear, then one on the head at each time. Stress particularly on the corners for solidity.
Once you have reached the other corner, make a node on the back of the ear. Push the needle in the same place and make the point of the needle going out a small space away. Pull, then cut : that will bury the node.

And finally :

Tie up the ribbon around the neck.