A crochet teddy bear pattern with a classic look

This crochet teddy bear pattern makes a traditional brown teddy with a cream muzzle, cream soles and an embroidered nose. Nothing about it is unusual, and that is the point. It is the bear most of us picture when we hear the word, built from simple rounds of single crochet.

The bear has ten separate pieces: the head, body, muzzle, two ears, two legs, two arms and a small tail. Each one is crocheted on its own in continuous rounds and then sewn together. The PDF calls it a good first bear, because you only ever need single crochet, increases and decreases.

Ten pieces, one bear

Here is what you make, in the order the PDF takes you through it:

• Head: brown, 26 rounds, 60 stitches at the widest. The eyes go in before you close it.
• Body: brown, 30 rounds, 54 stitches at the widest, open at the neck.
• Muzzle: cream, 6 rounds, a small cup of 24 stitches.
• Ears, make 2: brown, 6 rounds, folded flat and closed.
• Legs, make 2: a cream sole, a brown leg and a shaped foot, closed flat at the top.
• Arms, make 2: brown, 22 rounds, closed flat at the top.
• Tail: a small brown piece of 5 rounds.

Keep a marker in the last stitch of each round and move it up as you go, so you never lose count. The number in brackets after each step is the total you should have.

What is inside this crochet teddy bear pattern

The PDF has 19 pages, 47 numbered steps and 51 photos, from the head to the finished bear. You get a materials list, a stitch guide in US terms, quick reference pages with all the counts and a troubleshooting page. The invisible decrease has its own step, so you can see how it should look before you use it on the head.

Several long stretches are grouped into single steps, such as rounds 13 to 20 of the head. That keeps the pattern moving, while the shaping rounds get closer attention. If your count goes wrong, check that the marker sits in the last stitch of the round before, then count the repeats. Most shaping rounds have 6 of them.

Assembly, step by step

The sewing decides how the bear turns out, so the assembly in this crochet teddy bear pattern has its own part of the PDF with counted positions. You place the open neck of the head on the open top of the body, both 20 stitches, and sew all the way around, adding a little stuffing before you close so the head does not wobble.

Each arm lines up under an ear, sewn on just below a point 3 rounds down from the neck seam. Each leg goes 9 rounds up from the magic ring at the bottom of the body, under the arm, with the feet pointing forward. Because the positions are counted and not guessed, the two sides of the bear match.

Yarn and tools for this crochet teddy bear pattern

You need brown as the main colour and cream for the muzzle and the soles, plus a short piece of dark brown or black for the nose and the mouth. A smooth cotton or cotton-blend yarn that suits a 2 mm hook gives the neat look in the photos. If you go thicker, the Craft Yarn Council yarn weight chart helps you work out what you have, and you use a hook about 0.5 mm smaller than the label says.

• A 2 mm crochet hook, or the size your chosen yarn needs
• A pair of 10 mm black safety eyes with their backs
• Polyester fibrefill, a yarn needle and scissors
• A stitch marker and a few pins

That fine hook gives you small, tight stitches and a tidy bear, though it also means slow, careful work. Using a thicker yarn with a larger hook makes each round go by faster and gives you a bigger bear from exactly the same counts.

Getting the expression right

A teddy’s face is mostly its proportions. Before you snap the backs onto the eyes, count the stitches between them again and check that both are in the same round. If the muzzle looks flat once it is on, open a few stitches, add a little more stuffing and close it again. And if stuffing shows between the stitches, use a smaller hook or crochet a little tighter, and do not overstuff, because too much filling stretches the fabric.

Who this crochet teddy bear pattern suits

It is rated easy, and it is a good choice if you have made one or two small amigurumi and now want a proper bear. You also get plenty of practice in sewing pieces together neatly. To try a softer bear for free, see our chenille bear tutorial on the blog. You can buy this crochet teddy bear pattern on its own, or in the cuddly friends pattern pack with a Highland cow and a mini penguin.

What happens after you buy

This crochet teddy bear pattern is a digital PDF, so the bear itself is yours to make and there is nothing to ship. As soon as checkout is done, sign in to Whop with the code sent to your email and open the file. Print it for your project bag, or read it from a phone or tablet.

On the blog: Crochet Chenille Bear: Easy Gift to Make in 21 Steps