Tuesday 5 April 2016

"If You Go Down to the Woods Today ..."


I have at last completed my knitting pattern for a traditional teddy bear, and it is for sale on Etsy, ravelry and Loveknitting. These are two new bears (not the original one), and if you look carefully I have made the slight amendments that I talked about. The muzzle is more pronounced and arms a bit thinner. 



I felt a bit mean leaving the original bear at home when we went off for our photoshoot picnic. I have a plan to give these two away as gifts, but will probably keep the first bear as I have grown rather fond of him despite the imperfections.


I had to beg my daughter to come to the park with me this morning to help photograph the bears. Somehow a middle-aged women on her own photographing bears having a picnic looks a bit bonkers. 



These bears are not a difficult knit. All the sections are knitted flat, so there are seams to sew. I know some knitters hate sewing up, but I wanted to get curves in certain places, and short rows is my favourite method for this. He also has a small hump at the back, and curved bottom. The head (apart from the ears) is knitted in one piece, and the lines you can see from the eyes going up, are not seams but a line of increase stitches. 


Teddy can be knitted in any doubleknit wool, and is constructed with toymakers joints. The best place I found to buy the joints in the UK was online at http://www.sewandso.co.uk, mainly because the postage was very reasonable. Joints and eyes are not expensive or heavy, so it is bit annoying to be paying more for postage than for the joints. These eyes are child safe, and when I put them on one of the bears a bit too high, I had to use cutting pliers to remove them, so I think your average baby would find it very hard to get them off. But if you were making the bear for a very young child or baby and were worried you could embroider the eyes.



Writing this pattern has been a huge learning curve for me. Though it has put in my mind some other toy animals that I think would be fun to knit. I might also make a smaller version of teddy using the same techniques, that would be a much quicker knit.  

33 comments:

  1. They look fantastic Ginny. You've clearly put a lot of hard work into these and you should be very proud of yourself. They look so lovable and cuddly.

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  2. I love them both, they are so cute. Bye!!

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  3. Oh, I was so curious about the bears! They turned out so cute, I have to check your pattern! Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party! Pinned!

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    1. Hi, just a quick note to let you know that I’ve featured this post today on The Really Crafty Link Party Features. Come and grab an “I was featured” button and browse around for the other features here: http://keepingitrreal.blogspot.com.es/2016/04/the-really-crafty-link-party-13-featured-post.html. Congratulations!

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  4. those bears are so adorable!!!

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  5. Hi Ginny, thanks for joining my link party. Your teddy bears are wonderful! You did a nice job with them. I really love their little picnic setup, so cute.

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  6. They have a lot of personality... or the bear-onality. Very sweet. Did you get any funny looks on the photo shoot?

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  7. Oh they are gorgeous and I'm glad your daughter joined you in the park!

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  8. These bears are BEAUTIFUL! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  9. I'd like to feature this post at Tuesdays with a Twist this week! Thank you for joining our party! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  10. A Teddy Bear's Picnic, what a great idea. You amaze me. I don't even like to construct a doll or stuffed animal from a pattern for fabric. They are truly wonderful!

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  11. How cute! what beautiful handiwork you've made and I love these charming photos!

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  12. I love the bears and how you displayed them in the park, which just looks so much like the woods...with their picnic. Thanks for sharing! I also love the daffodils in your header.

    Here is MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST

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  13. LOVE those cuddly bears with their round huggable bellies. Your creativity and ability to carry out your inspirations continue to amaze me.
    My Saturday Snapshot post features my hike on May Valley Trail.

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  14. They look so cute and cuddly, thank you for sharing with the stash link party. :)

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  15. They look great! If I saw a lone woman photographing teddies in the park I'd automatically think it was a folksy or Etsy seller!!

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  16. omg they are adorable!!!!!! Well done x

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  17. They are very smart and sweet too.

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  18. They are lovely and I'm not at all surprised you have fallen in love with bear no.1, the ones with imperfections are the best!
    You made me laugh about taking your daughter along for the shoot. Yes, I agree, probably for the best!

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  19. They are so gorgeous and love the picnic setting, sure they will sell quickly

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  20. Oh my goodness! These bears are just lovely! So huggable. Well done!

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  21. They are adorable! And I'm impressed - I can barely sew on a button. Plus I loved your post title!

    Sue

    Book By Book

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  22. Adorable! Pinned! Thank for linking up to TOO Cute Tuesday!

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  23. Awww, so cute and a teddy bears picnic was the perfect way to show them off.... ok so now I can't stop singing ♫♪♫♪♪'If you go down to the woods today' ♫♫♪♪♫
    Jan x

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  24. They look great - I love the styling of your images. I hope they sell well for you:)

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  25. Очень красивые медведи.

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  26. Very nice, I love them! Have a nice Sunday. Tina

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  27. The amount of work you put into both the bears and the photo shoot amazes me. You obviously have an eye for detail.

    I'm glad you'll keep your original bear. You should keep some of your fine work!

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  28. Congratulations Ginny your bears were the most clicked link at the last stash Party. :)

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