Funky Friends Ben the Beginner Teddy Bear Sewing Pattern

Ben the Beginner Bear from the Funky Friends Factory is a super cute and easy memory bear pattern. This chubby baby bear was designed for new bear makers to sew and has no complicated arm or leg joints.

Ben sits up on his own and is 30cm (12″) tall when sitting down.  He has a wide, totally flat, single-piece tummy making it perfect for displaying images from t-shirts & baby clothes. He also has a 12.5cm (5″) square grid on the tummy piece so you can quickly centre the fabric design! His feet also have 10cm (4″) square grids giving you lots of room for adding names & dates etc.

Ben can be sewn using most fabrics and, the bear on the front of the pattern has been made from cotton fabric.

The full size paper pattern comes with a 12 page instruction booklet. In addition to this, Funky Friends also have tutorial videos to help guide you through your bear making journey.

Materials you will need to make Ben:-

• FACE Fabric – 33cm x 55cm wide (13″x 22″ wide) *
• TUMMY Fabric – 33cm x 55cm wide (13″ x 22″ wide) *
• SNOUT/MUZZLE Fabric – 25cm x 55cm wide (10″ x 22″ wide) *
• Embroidery thread for nose and mouth.
• Felt for nose – 5cm x 5cm wide (2″ x 2″ wide).
• 18mm black safety eyes
• Toy stuffing
• Sewing thread
• Iron-on light/medium weight interfacing (this is needed only if you are using thin or very stretchy fabrics or, if you are using a mix of different types of fabrics)

If you are making a baby keepsake bear, you will need approximately 8-10 pieces of baby clothing.

Equipment you will need:-

• A sewing needle & pins
• Fabric scissors with a fine tip
• Paper scissors
• Fine tipped fabric pen or a pencil
• Craft Glue & firm card for the templates (cereal boxes are fine!)
• A stuffing tool, haemostats or a chopstick!