How to Make a Giant Teddy Bear

Making your own giant teddy bear can be a lot of fun and a great gift idea. Whether you’ve promised your little one a new giant teddy or you’re a teacher and want to make something special for the kindergarten class you teach, making your own giant-sized teddy bear can be accomplished with little effort, even if you’re not a skilled seamstress.

Buy or create your own pattern. The pattern you will be working with will be comparable to that of a large garment. Each section of your bear will be sewn together either by hand or, more likely, by a sewing machine.

Create a list of the materials you will need to purchase. You will need fabric, stuffing material, thread, needle, eyes, nose, ears and any accessories you want to add to you bear, like a bow tie. Use a different color fabric for your bears paws and snout, usually a lighter shade than the rest of your bear’s body. You will also need to decide if your bear will have fur or not. It doesn’t have to have fur; consider using a colorful material instead.

Trace your bears outline on to your fabric following your pattern. Cut out your bear in sections: arms, legs, body and head. Turn your fabric inside out and sew each section together. Once you have sufficiently stuffed each individual section, sew the separate parts together, with the exception of the head.

Sew on the eyes, nose, ears and mouth to the head. The mouth can be accomplished by sewing a vertical stitch from the base of the nose down to where the mouth will be. The mouth is a simple horizontal repeated stitch with an upward curve on each side. This same method of a repeated stitch should be followed to better define the shape, or fingers, of your bear’s paws. The stitches for the mouth and paws are decorative, rather than structural.

Stuff the head and the body. Sew the head onto the body of your bear. Add a bow tie or other accessory as a finishing touch. You might also want to dress your bear with a sweatshirt, T-shirt or even an apron. If your giant teddy bear will be a gift, consider putting the image of the recipient onto the bear's garment. For example, for a kindergarten class, think about adding a class photo to an appropriately sized sweatshirt for your bear.