Teeny Tiny Teddy

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If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you’ll already have seen Teeny Tiny Teddy, but I thought it was time to give him a proper introduction.

For my second Christmas, in Wales, my Mum and step-dad got me Sandra Polley’s book, The Knitted Teddy Bear. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to knit a teddy and I fell in love with Oliver. I knew he needed to be blue. I was leaning towards a bright electric blue and intended to start him just as soon as I’d bought yarn, new KnitPro needle tips in the right size, and finished the never-ending sock which is still on my needles.

Then my enthusiasm for my sock waned and the teddy book sat there on the side just begging for me to start a teddy. And Oliver was just a teeny tiny bear, he wouldn’t take long to knit up. I had some baby blue acrylic which wasn’t the exact shade I wanted but it was blue and I even had some straight needles in the exact size I needed.

So I started.

He didn’t take very long to knit up. He’s knit in thirteen pieces which makes for some very fiddly sewing up. Honestly I think it could have been made a bit simpler by knitting the head in one piece, the body in one piece and the legs in one piece each. Once I’d knitted all the pieces the though of sewing together such a tiny bear kind of put me off and I set it aside for a few days.

Then when I came back to it I had to try and work out which way up the two body pieces went. I pinned and unpinned it twice before settling on the configuration that I sewed together. I’m 99% certain that it’s the right one, but that’ll teach me to label things if I’m going to be slow about finishing them.

A few weeks ago I stayed home with a cold on the Sunday and this was the final nudge I needed to get him finished. So I did.

I loved watching him come together. I stuffed him really firmly so he’s a tubby little guy but it also means that he holds himself up really well. One of the great things about this pattern is the flat soles mean he’ll actually stand up on his own if you balance him just right (which I suppose is one concession to the legs being made in two pieces).

It was also my first ever go at making a jointed toy. I’ve made LOADS of toys. I’ve actually lost count of how many. In the spare bedroom alone there are around fifteen, plus another two hanging around in the living room and another handful in our bedroom. They crop up all over the house and I’ve given away more. With most of them I’ve learnt a new technique or skill and in this case it was jointing a toy.

I was so nervous of it that I held off doing that bit for ages, studying and restudying the instructions in the book. Luckily it’s really simple. It works so well. I’m dead chuffed with my first go and I’m definitely going to have another go at one of the other teddies in this book, perhaps a larger one, with moving joints.

The one thing I’d improve on Teeny Tiny Teddy is the embroidering on his face. His eyes turned out a bit alieny and I’d like to make them a wee bit smaller and lower down. I was pleased with how his nose turned out. I was nervous that it wouldn’t turn out very well because at first it looked a bit wonky but once I’d gone round the outside edges it evened it up a lot. He’s even got a really cute little smile, which I’m very happy with.

He’s quite the cutie if I do say so myself.