Embroidered Bear Kit Tutorials

MAKE YOUR OWN HAND SEWN EMBROIDERED BEARS!

Begin by adding the face embroidery! I recommend reviewing the full tutorial before sewing, the get the full picture of the steps. Then go back and follow along.

To create mini embroidery, you’ll need to separate your embroidery threads from six strands down to 3. With thinner thread you are able to produce smaller, more detailed embroidery designs.

We will begin by adding a flower to the snout, by creating 4 lazy daisy stitches. Knot the thread and send your needle out the front of the face piece. place the needle back through the felt just next to where your first stitch starts, and through again at angle (as shown above). Loop the thread around the top of the needle. Gently pull the needle through to the end of the thread.

Send the needle through again by first inserting it just behind the loop, and out again just next to where you started the first stitch (as shown above).

Continue making lazy daisy stitches in a small circle until you have 4 as shown below.

Next we’ll add some very straight forward stitches to the middle of the flower with yellow embroidery thread. Make as many stitches as you need to fill the middle of the flower.

Moving to about halfway in the middle of the piece, we’ll make 3 more lazy daisy stitches in a row. Make the middle stitch just a tad larger than the others.

Add one or two straight stitches to the middle of each lazy daisy to fill it in. tie your blue thread off to the back of the piece and snip off any loose ends.

Add a few horizontal stitches to the bottom of the flower using green embroidery thread. Then one stitch pointing downward to create a flower stem.

Add two small stitches in green to either side of the flower stem, and three very small short yellow stitches just above the blue flower at the top.

To create the mushrooms, use the gold thread to make two small back stitches on either side of the flower. In red, add stitches horizontally, very close together, just above the gold stems. You can even overlap these stitches. Make them longer at the bottom and gradually shorter towards the top.

To make the spots, separate the white thread down to one single strand. Make scattered tiny stitches directly on top of the red mushroom stitches. Tie all of the threads of at the back and trim.

Now on to sewing the bear!

Sew the end of the face to the end of the bottom of the bear’s bottom, as shown above. It will only take about 3 stitches to hold the 2 pieces together. The stitching at the face should face the inside of the bear.

This step is optional! I like to cut slits (sewing darts is the term) into the top of the bears legs. The reason I do this is to eliminate any extra felt that will form a small wrinkle at the top of the legs under the bear. Some people like this extra step for a more finished looking bear. It’s not completely necessary though!

I usually fold the leg down and angle the scissors cut a divet at the top of each leg. Then I sew them shut from the inside of the bear!

Match the two bear body pieces and poke a small hole where you’d like the eyes to sit. If you make the hole through both pieces at the same time then the bear’s eyes will be placed symmetrically.

Install the eyes by inserting the eye post through the hole and placing the small white plastic washer over the back of the post, holding the eye onto the felt.

Make two stitches with gold felt at the bottom of the paws to make claws.

Pin the bottom of the bear to one side of the bear’s body, matching at the legs. Begin stitching the bear together starting at the back. I like to use a small tight blanket stitch, or a whip stitch.

Continue stitching all along the edge, past both legs and up along the chest. Keep sewing until you reach the very end of the face piece.

Match the opposite side of the bear to the bottom of the bear, matching at the legs once again and pinning. Begin stitching at the back of the bear. Stitch all the way along the edges, sewing the opposite side of the body into place.

When you reach the back of the head, use the black embroidery thread to make a nose. Send the thread out of the front of the face through the inside of the head. Overlap stitches back and forth just at the end of the snout.

Next we’ll add wire to the inside of the bear for added stability and pose-ability. I like to hold the wire up to the unstuffed bear as a reference for folding the wire to the correct size. Then I bend the wire upward just at the bend of the legs.

Bend wire for both the front and back legs, and insert inside of the bear down into the legs. Stuff the inside of the bear starting at the legs, then into the head. Stuff the very back of the body.

Continue sewing toward the back of the body until you have just an inch or two left open. Stuff the bear all the way then sew the opening shut.

Pinch each ear in half and place a single stitch at the bottom of the ear to hold a slight fold in the ear. Leave a long thread dangling on one of the ears to use for sewing both in place.

Pin the ears to either side of the head with the threaded needle still dangling from one ear.

Send the needle through one ear, through the middle of the head and back out the opposite side of the head, through the other ear. Sew back and forth this way along the bottoms of each ear until the ears are sewed securely in place.

You’re done! Head over to DelilahIris Designs Felt Patterns shop to snag the newest kits! Come join me on Instagram or Facebook to share your creation! I love to see your work!