Over the summer, I decided I wanted to use some super bulky yarn and crochet a bear. I spent days searching for a pattern that I liked, but none of the ones I found were quite right. I wanted something specific out of my bear, and each pattern that I looked at was missing that little something. I finally came across a pattern with rave reviews, but the pictures would not load. I was frustrated and tired of spending so much time on the internet with no yarn or hook in my hands, so I decided to take a chance on what I dubbed the “mystery pattern” and I followed it to a “T”.
My apologies for the photo quality of the progress pictures, but at the time of creation, I did not think about sharing this saga with anyone and just snapped a few quick pictures with my phone. Above, see the beginning of a bear’s head.
In order to not have any holes once stuffed, I had to use a hook that was much too small for the yarn and keep extreme tension. My fingers hurt so bad, but I persevered.
As I neared completion of the head and body, I couldn’t help but to notice that he was beginning to bear a striking resemblance to Mr. Peanut. On a sidenote, I would like to give a huge shout out to those stitch markers. I absolutely LOVE them, and they are super inexpensive. But I digress here.
Biscuit, my oldest puppy, likes to sit near me while I yarn. He is a Shih Tzu, so now you have a comparison for the size of this bear. My intention with using the super bulky yarn was that I would be making a giant bear. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that this was basically how tall the bear would be. But still, I pressed on.
I took a break while creating the final leg to get a picture of all of the other parts. Doesn’t the nose look cute? I hand embroidered his nose and smile, and I was feeling quite pleased with myself. Until the final assembly came about. That’s when things really went off the rails.
Remember when I said that the pictures of the finished project on this pattern wouldn’t load? Well, I hadn’t considered that I would desperately want to use them as a reference when deciding placement of limbs. I started with the ears, and they looked so extra cute on my Mr. Peanut shape. Next was the nose. I’m honestly not sure what happened there. The cone shape for the nose is shaped oblong rather than round, so I had to be extra careful when sewing it on so that it wouldn’t look funny. Joke was on me, apparently I had sewn the nose and mouth a bit off canter. I attached the legs next, no knowing if the bear was supposed to sit, stand, kneel or what. I decided after much trial and error that sitting would be best. I finished up with the arms. Again, were they supposed to go out front, to the side, up high, down low? I had no idea and finally settled on the middle ground for both questions. The result?
This guy. His arms are slightly too low, his smile is crooked, and he has a really fat neck. He has provided me with hours of giggles though, and what is the purpose of a handmade bear if not to bring a smile?
