Sew a vintage-style teddy bear following Lucinda Ganderton's step-by-step project and using our free teddy bear pattern

What you need...

• Felted jumper; dark fabric, 10cm square
  Toy filling, polyester
  Thread, sewing, matching; embroidery stranded, brown
  Toy safety eyes
  Toy joints, 20mm, four
  Needles: sewing; tapestry needle

instructions

1. Teddy’s Head - 1. Join the v-shaped darts on each side of the head. Oversew the gusset to one side, matching point A to the tip of the nose to point B at the back of the neck. Sew the other side of the head to the other side of the gusset, then join the seams from A to C and B to D.
   
   2. Sew the inner ears centrally to the outer ears. Pin and stitch them to the head, so that the outer edges lie over the dart seams. Sew the nose to the end of the snout. Using all six strands of the embroidery thread, sew three straight lines for the nose and mouth.
   
   3. Attach buttons or fix safety-eyes in place. Take time to find the best position, as their beady look is what gives character and individuality to your bear. Stuff the head firmly.

2. Teddy’s Arms and Legs - 1. Stitch the hand soles to the two inner arms. Pin the arms together in pairs and refer back to the pattern pieces to mark the position dots on the inner pieces. Pierce holes through the dots using the point of your embroidery scissors. Stitch around the outside edge, leaving an opening between the pairs of small triangles shown on the patterns. Stuff the lower part firmly.
   
   2. Pin together in pairs and pierce the dots, as for the arms. Oversew the front and back seams, leaving the bottom of the foot open. Pin the soles into the openings, matching points E at the back and F at the front, and sew them into place. Stuff the bottom two thirds firmly, pushing the filling right into the foot.
   
   3. Mark and pierce two position dots on each back piece. Pin and stitch the centre back seam from D to G. Join the two tummy pieces to the side edges of the two backs, matching points G to H.

3. Making up the Bear - 1 .Push the pointed halves of the joints through the holes at the top of each limb, then through the matching hole in the back. Fix them securely to the body with the washers supplied, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Sew up the top edges of the limbs, adding more stuffing as you go to give them a rounded shape.
   
   2. Seam the front tummy from H to C and stuff the body. Pin on the head, matching points C and D and sew it securely in place. You may need to add more filling at the neck edge. Sew three short lines over the edges of the paws to represent the claws.