Okay, so, another order for a new baby arriving soon, and this time I needed to do a teddy bear.
Que Pinterest and YouTube search!
I found this fantastic free tutorial for the bear on YouTube. The original creator used chunky velvet yarn, but I knew I was going to go with this soft chocolate brown color for mine. She also used articulating connectors for the arms and legs, but I just sewed mine on.
Then there were the eyes. Okay. So this bear is a deep chocolate brown, so my usual embroidery route was not going to work here. The black cotton yarn I typically embroider eyes with just did not show up at all on the darker brown.
Que second Pinterest search!!
I found what I was looking for here. This handy video tutorial takes you step by step through how to make these eyes. I am so glad it exists! I am always looking for ways to make baby toys as safe as possible, and even though safety eyes are supposed to be safe, I always feel much better about crocheting or embroidering eyes on baby toys.
The blanket is a fantastic pattern by Yarnspirations and The Crochet Crowd called “From the Middle“. I LOVE this pattern for 2 different reasons:
1. It goes round and round in a square shape the whole time and is an easy repetitive pattern so I don’t have to think too much about it.
2. I often do projects to fit my yarn supply vs. buying yarn specifically for projects. That being said, this is a great pattern to use when you’re not sure how big your blanket can get with the amount of yarn you have available. No need to play yarn chicken! This blanket can just end when the yarn runs out. You may have to frog a bit at the end to get back to the beginning of a round, but that’s 100% better than having to go out and try to match your yarn.
I hope you’ll give this guy a try, and if you just want to order one instead of trying to make one for yourself, reach out to me and let’s talk about it!
Crochet 