Okay, so I’ve been wanting to make one of those super cute, long teddy bears for ages. You know, the ones that are, like, ridiculously long and floppy? I finally decided to give it a shot, and let me tell you, it was a journey!
Getting Started
First things first, I needed a pattern. I looked around a bit and decided to kinda wing it, using a basic teddy bear pattern as a very, very loose guide. My main goal was just to make the body and limbs super extended.
Then came the fabric. I wanted something really soft and cuddly, so I went with this fluffy, almost furry, material in a light brown color. I bought way more than I thought I’d need, which turned out to be a good idea.
The Cutting and Sewing
Cutting out the pieces was… interesting. Because I was making everything so long, I had fabric spread out all over my living room floor. It looked like a teddy bear exploded! I pinned the pieces together, making sure to leave extra room for seam allowances because, well, I tend to mess things up.
Sewing the body was a bit of a challenge. My sewing machine kept making these weird noises, I think it was protesting the sheer amount of fabric I was shoving through it. Eventually, I got the main body pieces sewn together, and it already looked pretty long, even without the limbs.
- Tip: If you’re doing this, reinforce those seams! I double-stitched everything because I was paranoid about it falling apart.
The arms and legs were next. I made them really long and skinny. I had to adjust the width a few times because my initial attempts were looking more like teddy bear snakes than limbs. After a couple of tries, I got something that looked reasonably bear-like.
Stuffing and Finishing Touches
Stuffing this thing was a workout! I used a whole bag of poly-fil, and then some. I wanted it to be firm enough to hold its shape, but still squishy enough to be cuddly. Getting the stuffing evenly distributed in the long limbs was tricky, I used a long stick to poke it all the way down.
Once it was all stuffed, I sewed up the openings. My hand-sewing skills are… not great, so it’s a little wonky, but hey, it adds character, right?
Finally, I added the eyes and a little embroidered nose. I used some safety eyes I had leftover from another project, and I just did a simple triangle shape for the nose.
The Final Result!
And there it was! My very own, super long, teddy bear. It’s definitely not perfect, it’s a little lumpy in places, and the seams are a bit uneven, but I love it! It’s exactly the kind of ridiculously long and floppy teddy bear I wanted. Now,it’s happily chilling on my couch.
