It was in 2006 when hubby gave me a huge huggable teddy bear for my 25th birthday. Since then I found myself fascinated with anything teddy bear related and started collecting items – from stuff toys to keychains and figurines. And while appreciate those cute store bought gift items and home decorations there is nothing more satisfying than making something on my own. So here it is, the teddy bear pillow that I’ve actually designed two years ago. Yes, it took me quite awhile to finish this project because I couldn’t find any yarn from our local craft stores that is bulky enough to do justice to the pattern design. Thanks to the internet I came across Gantsilyo Guru’s online store and found the perfect yarn I needed for the project!

Every child and teddy bear lover will surely love this character pillow. Instead of crocheting the pillow in two parts where you have to sew the front and back part together, I’ve made this in continuous rounds of single crochet stitches. I incorporated basic amigurumi techniques so it requires minimal attaching and sewing which is a great project for a beginner crocheter, too. The increases made in the beginning rounds gave shape to suggest the bear muzzle while decreases added to the texture at the back.

 

MATERIALS:
• Hook 1: 9.0mm (M/13 US, UK 00) crochet hook
• Hook 2: 3.5mm (E/4 US, UK 9) crochet hook
• Yarn: Super bulky yarn for the main pillow, approximately 320 yards (I used 5 skeins of Gantsilyo Guru’s Super Bulky Chenille yarn in gingerbread color). Some medium weight yarn for the eyes and muzzle embroidery. (I used Gantsilyo Guru’s Milk Cotton Light yarn in black and snow color).
• Stitch marker
• Yarn needle
• Fiber fill/toy stuffing

ABBREVIATION/STITCHES:
• Magic ring
• sc – single crochet (US) / dc – double crochet (UK)
• st(s) – stitch(es)
• sl st – slip stitch
• inc – increase = two single crochet stitches in the same stitch
• [sc, inc] n times – repeat the pattern between parentheses n times.
• (N sts) – number of stitches in a round after finishing round.
• dec – decrease (two single crochet together) Tip on decrease stitch used for this project: Insert hook in the front loop of first stitch, pull up a loop, insert hook in the front loop of the next stitch, pull up a loop, so you’ll have three loops on hook. Catch yarn and pull through the first two loops, so you’ll have two loops remaining. Catch yarn and pull through all two loops. Using this technique helps shaping the pillow and minimizes gap in between stitches.

If you need guide with the stitches, you can always check my post about Basic Crochet Techniques HERE.

NOTES:
– Finished pillow measures approximately 16 inches in diameter. Any variations to hook size and yarn weight will result in a different sized pillow.
– Every separate piece will be worked in continuous rounds, do not join rounds with a slip stitch or chains unless otherwise stated.
– Mark the first stitch of each round by using a stitch marker or a piece of yarn.

PATTERN

EYE PATCH (make 2):
Using your yarn color white/snow and 3.5mm crochet hook, begin with a magic circle.
Round 1: sc 6
Round 2: inc 6 times (12 sts)
Round 3: [inc, sc] 6 times (18 sts)
Round 4: *[inc, sc] 2 times, inc, sc in the next 4 sts. Rep from * around (24 sts)
Round 5: *[inc, sc] 3 times, inc, sc in the next 5 sts. Rep from * around (32 sts)
Round 6: *[inc, sc] 4 times, inc, sc in the next 7 sts. Rep from * around (42 sts)
Slip stitch to the last stitch. Leave a long tail for sewing and fasten off.

 

EYEBALL (make 2):
Switch to yarn color black. Begin with a magic circle.
Round 1: sc 6
Round 2: inc 6 times (12 sts)
Round 3: [sc, inc] 6 times (18 sts)
Round 4: [sc 2, inc] 6 times (24 sts). Slip stitch to the last st. Leave a long tail for sewing and fasten off.

Using a running stitch method, sew one eyeball in the middle of a white eye patch. Do the same steps to complete the other eye. Once done, set aside the eye patches first and proceed with crocheting the pillow.

PILLOW:
Using the larger size crochet hook and bulky yarn, begin with a magic circle.
Round 1: sc 6
Round 2: inc 6 times (12 sts)
Round 3: [sc, inc] 6 times (18 sts)
Round 4: [sc 2, inc] 6 times (24 sts)
Round 5: [sc 3, inc] 6 times (30 sts)
Round 6: [sc 4, inc] 6 times (36 sts)
Round 7: [sc 5, inc] 6 times (42 sts)
Round 8: [sc 6, inc] 6 times (48 sts)
Round 9: [sc 6, inc] 6 times, sc 6 (54 sts)
Round 10: sc around
Round 11: [sc 6, inc] 7 times, sc 5 (61 sts)
Round 12: [sc 5, inc] 10 times, sc (71 sts)
Round 13: [sc 4, inc] 14 times, sc (85 sts)
Round 14: sc 30, [inc, sc 3] 13 times, inc, sc 2 (99 sts)
Round 15-22: sc around

At this point, embroider the muzzle and eye patches onto the pillow. Use your yarn color black and follow the illustration below to embroider the muzzle.

Pin one eye on to the upper left cheek and the other eye on the upper right cheek, just above Round 7 of the pillow. When you are sure that both eyes are in the right position sew them using running stitch method.

Once done, continue with the next steps to complete the pillow.

Round 23: [sc 2, dec] 24 times, sc 3 (75 sts)
Round 24: [dec, sc 2] 18 times, dec, sc (56 sts)
Round 25: sc around
Round 26: [sc 2, dec] 14 times (42 sts)
Round 27-28: sc around

Start stuffing the pillow with fiber fill, adding more as necessary before closing.

 

Round 29: [sc 2, dec] 10 times, sc 2 (32 sts)
Round 30: sc around
Round 31: [sc 2, dec] 8 times (24 sts)
Round 32: [sc 2, dec] 6 times (18 sts)
Round 33: dec 9 times (9 sts)
Leaving a long tail, fasten off. Weave in through the stitches of last round and pull gently to close the opening. Secure and weave ends.

EARS (make 2):
Begin with a magic circle
Round 1: sc 6
Round 2: inc 6 times (12) sts)
Round 3: [sc, inc] 6 times (18 sts)
Round 4: [sc 2, inc] 6 times (24 sts)
Round 5: [sc 3, inc] 6 times (30 sts)
Round 6-10: sc around
Leave a long tail for sewing and fasten off. Fold in half, do not stuff. Sew each ear onto the upper side of the pillow between rounds 20 and 21.

Now you’re done! Enjoy your huggable teddy bear pillow. I also made my first amigurumi teddy bear plushy a few months back and I’m going to share the pattern in a separate blog post really soon. Follow me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for updates. Happy Crocheting!