Hello fellow crafters! Fran here, and I’m so excited to share my latest project with you all. I’ve always loved the idea of miniatures, and I decided to challenge myself to make a miniature teddy bear. It’s a great project for using up smaller bits of fabric and really honing your hand-stitching skills!

The Challenge: Going Small

My inspiration for this little fella came from a book called “Making Teddy Bears in Miniature.” The book has so many wonderful patterns, and I decided to make the clown bear design. It was a bit of a challenge to work with such tiny pieces, but it was also a lot of fun and so fulfilling to see it come to life.

Materials and Construction

I hand-stitched this entire bear using a soft teddy bear plush fabric. Instead of traditional joints, the arms, legs, and head were all hand-sewn to the body. To give him a little character, I added a custom-made fur collar and a tiny hat.

For his stand, I got creative and used a covered CD! I pulled the fabric tight with thread to make it flat, then added a felt base and finished the edge with a blanket stitch. For his face, I used small beads for the eyes, a tiny plastic piece for the nose, and stitched his mouth with embroidery floss.

Tips and Tricks

I’ve got a couple of tips for you if you want to try a miniature project!

• Ears can be tricky, eh? I found the ears to be the most difficult part because they’re so small. It was a bit of a struggle to work with them and stitch them on, but with a bit of patience, it can be done.
• Make your pattern pieces last. I traced the pattern pieces from the book onto parchment paper, then glued them to card stock before cutting them out. This makes them way more durable for future use!
• Don’t worry about mistakes. I totally forgot to reverse one of the pattern pieces, but that’s a common mistake, and it’s super easy to fix. We’ve all been there!

The finished clown bear, whom I’ve named “Going to the Circus,” was a pure joy to make. I hope this inspires you to try your own miniature project!

You can find the video for this project here: https://youtu.be/uxj6xhSmNWc