Bear girl

By Paloma Rocha

With easy to follow

instructions and life
size Patterns.
 Bear girl
l t d o l l
Fe
Size: 9.5” tall

Please, read all of

the instructions before
starting your
project.

Materials
. Dark brown felt.
. Medium brown felt .
. Light brown felt.
. Flesh tone felt .
. Turquoise felt .
. Scraps of white felt.
. Stuffing.
. Pencil or felt marker.
. Embroidery floss:
Dark, medium and light brown, red, white, black pink, flesh tone, turquoise.
. Embroidery needle.
. Scissors.
. Chopstick or pointy tool.
. Pipe cleaners.
. Tweezers or pliers.
. Artist pastels (red or pink).
. Fabric glue.
. Turquoise ribbon.
. Pompom trim (pink).
.Pink ribbon.
2
 Print a page 14 of this pdf, and
cut out templates using scissors.
Trace templates onto felt using a
felt marker or pencil and cut out
on the line. Cut carefully so edges
are vertical, not slanted.

Felt
Felt can basically be divided into two types: wool felt or washable felt. Wool felt is
recommended for this doll. These quality materials help dolls look their very best.

Cutting tiny shapes

Sewing and embroidery

This doll is embroidered and stitched together with embroidery floss.
In case you´re not familiar with one of the stitches, you can practice the stitches a few
times on a felt scraps before working on a doll. None of the stitches are difficult, but can
take some practice to get perfect. Always keep your stitches and the space between them
the same length. Be consistent with your sewing tension.
Or, if you want to keep embroidery to a minimum, you can sometimes glue on certain
elements, instead of embroidering them.
You can experiment and use your imagination to customize the project.
3
 Embroidery stitches
1. Appliqué Stitch: Stitching a felt piece onto a felt surface. Place the appliqué on the background
felt. Make tiny stitches perpendicular to the edge of the appliqué.
2. Overcast Stitch: Simple stitch over the edge of the felt. Also called whip-stitch, is used to attach
two pieces of felt. This isn´t a decorative stitch, so always use floss that matches the color of the felt
and make the stitches small and neat.
3. Straight Stitch: Use a simple straight stitch to create a motif.
4. Satin Stitch: The satin stitch is composed of parallel rows of straight stitch and is often used to fill
in an area with floss. The make very nice eyes and noses on softies.
5. Blanket stitch: The blanket stitch is both decorative and functional. Use this stitch to accentuate
an edge or to attach an appliqué.
6. Back Stitch: This simple stitch creates a solid line so it´s great for outlining shapes or creating text.
A backstitch gets its name because you create it moving the needle a stitch backward before moving it
forward to create the next stitch.
7. French Knots: The French knot produces a rounded knot that can be used to create a series of
decorative dots. To make it, bring the needle up at the point at which you want to make your French
knot, hold the thread and wrap it around the needle twice, as shown. Bring the needle back to the
starting point and put the point back through the fabric very near where it emerged (be careful not
use the same exact hole) . Pull the needle to the back of the felt and pull taut. To make a bigger knot,
wrap more twists of thread around the needle and/or use more strands of floss in your needle.
8. Ladder stitch: The ladder stitch is used to attach separate parts such as a doll’s head. It’s called
the ladder stitch because the stitches look like a ladder until you pull the stitches tight to close the
seam. Pull every four or five stitches as you stitch. When the thread is tightened, the stitches should
be virtually invisible.
9. Running Stitch: The running stitch is simple to make. Make this stitch by weaving the needle
through the felt at evenly spaced intervals. Just be careful to keep the length of your stitches and the
space between them same length.
These illustrations will help you with any unfamiliar stitches.

1. Applique stitch 2. Overcast stitch 3. Straight stitch 4. Satin stitch

2 in

1out
Keep thread
at right angle

5. Blanket stitch 6. Back stitch

1out Working
2 in direction
3 out 2 in
1in 3 out

Carry needle 1 stitch

Working beyond previous stitch
direction

7. French knot 8. Ladder stitch 9. Running stitch

le
circ
Entwice

Working
direction

4
 Face
Brown
Hair running stitch
Hood

Face App
Snout
App stitlciqué
h
stitlciqué
Nose h
Brown
straight f
stitch Stuf

App
stitlciqué
h Ey ho
placeem le
s
ent eye
Insert

Carefully position the hair at the top of the face piece. Adjust the hair so that it´s centred
correctly and pin in place. Sew the hairline onto de face using tiny running stitch and one
strand of dark brown floss. Place the hood front onto the face as shown and adjust the face
so that it´s centred correctly and pin in place. Attach the hood to the face with appliqué
stitches worked with two strands of brown floss. Keep the stitches small so you´ll barely
see them when you´re finished.
Sew the nose on the snout using appliqué stitch and matching embroidery thread. Thread
an embroidery needle with two strands of brown embroidery floss and embroider the
mouth with a single vertical stitch and add two tiny straight stitches at the base of the
vertical stitch, following the positioning in the picture.
Take the front head piece and use a pin to stick the snout in position, checking against the
picture to position them correctly. Thread an embroidery needle with one strand of white
embroidery floss and sew around the snout with a small, neat appliqué stitch. Lightly
pad the snout with a little toy stuffing, using a toothpick to help you to get padding even.
When the padding is evenly distributed, stitch the nose closed.
Carefully, make two tiny holes with the tip of a very sharp pair of embroidery scissors.
Insert safety eyes and connectors at back.
5
 Black
straight stitch
Embroidery face

Black
back stitch

White
straight stitch
Pink
straight stitch Black
satin stitch
Red Red
back stitch satin stitch

Draw the face (see page 15) with a felt marker or a pencil. If you use a pencil, be careful.
You will have to be precise and be sure to cover every mark when stitching. The pencil is
not easy to remove. You can practice the motive a few times on a paper before working on
a doll.
Embroidery: Thread an embroidery needle with two strands of black embroidery floss
and sew the eyes and lashes onto the face piece. The eyes are made using a few curving
backstitches, and the eyelashes with two small straight stitches for each eye. Embroider the
pupils with tiny circles of satin stitch. Make doll´s eyebrows by sewing two tiny straight
stitches for each one and placing at a slight angle. Re-thread the needle with red floss
and embroider a small, curved mouth with a few backstitches. Now, stitch the lips, using
horizontal straight stitches positioned very close together. Embroider the nose with a tiny
straight stitch.

Ears
Overcast
stitch

f
Ears Stuf

Align the two ears pieces and sew together with a overcast stitch, using two strands of
brown embroidery floss. Leave a gap at the base of the each ear and fill it with a tiny amount
of toy stuffing, using a toothpick to arrange it evenly. Don´t use too much filling; it should
be lightly padded, not stuffed. Overcast stitch the gap closed.
6
 Arms and legs
Leg shape Open
Finish here

Arm shape Fold

in half

Overcast stitch
Overcast stitch

Start here
Open Fold
in half

Fold the arms and legs shapes in half. Thread an embroidery needle with two strands of
floss (using floss that matches the color of the felt) and overcast stitch around the edges
using small stitches, leaving the top open. Make the same with the two arms and the
two legs.

Arms

Pipe cleaners
Pipe cleaners

Fold Fold

Fold
in half

Legs

Use pliers or an old scissors (don´t use good scissors to cut wire, it will ruin them) to
cut 3 or 4 pipe cleaners: two or three 11.7” and one or two 5.5” long. Blend a small loop
on each end of the short pipe cleaner to form hands (use round-nose pliers or your
fingers).
Fold the long pipe cleaners in half. Using the picture as a guide, push the limbs onto
the pipe cleaners.

7
 Body
Appliqué
Whtiitne B
stitch sa tch
sti strarown
stitcight
h

Stuff

W
back hs ite Brown Brow n
titch satin back
stitch
or pin stitch
Glue

Overcast
Stuff stitch

Referring to the illustration, arrange the neck and bear head shapes on the body front and
glue or pin them in position. Use neat appliqué stitch in matching embroidery thread to
sew all these pieces in place.
Center the tail on the back body shape, checking against the picture to position it correctly.
Thread an embroidery needle with one strand of brown embroidery floss and sew around
the tail with a small, neat appliqué stitch. Lightly pad the tail with a little toy stuffing, using
a toothpick to help you to get padding even. When the padding is evenly distributed, stitch
the tail closed.
Embroider the tiny face onto the bear shape. Thread an embroidery needle with one strand
of dark brown embroidery floss and sew the eyes and lashes. The eyes are made using three
curving backstitches and the eyelashes with two small straight stitches. Embroider the nose
using a few satin stitches and a single vertical long straight stitch underneath them. Using
two strands of white floss and back stitch, sew a circle and a vertical line to form the snout.
Pin or glue the legs and the arms in place on the body shape. Insert a pipe cleaner in the
neck. Align the two body shapes together and thread an embroidery needle with one strand
of turquoise embroidery floss. Stitch the pieces together around the edges of the body using
overcast stitch, sewing through all four layers of felt in the arms and legs areas, leaving a gap
open. Pad with toy stuffing, using a toothpick to distribute it evenly, then sew shut.
8
 Assembling
Head
front Glue or
Head pin
back

Ears
Openifnfing
g
for stu

Stuff

Overcast the p Inser

cast ipe c t
Overitch stitch
lean
st er

Use craft glue to fix the ears in position on the wrong side of the second head piece. Align the
two head pieces together, right sides out. Thread an embroidery needle with a two strands
of brown embroidery floss and sew the two head pieces together with a overcast stitch.
Using the picture as a guide, insert the pipe cleaner in the bottom of the head. Stop stitching
when opening is small enough for stuffing. Fill it with toy stuffing and stitch it closed. Knot
thread and cut off excess.

9
 Doll front

Doll back

Ladder Ladder
stitch stitch
Doll back
Doll back
Couture
Doll front Doll front

Position the head so that it overlaps the body. Using an embroidery needle and two strands
of floss, attach with embroidery thread using a ladder stitch and going round and round
till the head is nice and secure. If it seems wobbly, go back around one more time with the
stitching.

Se
the w on
bow
t
Paineeks
h
the c

Running stitch

Paint the cheeks using artist pastels. Rub the pastel on a piece of paper and then apply the
resulting powder with a soft brush.
Using the picture as a guide and running stitch, attach pompom trim in place around the
body with matching thread. When you have sewn all the way around, trim excess pompom
and sew a few stitches over the end. If you like, use one button to cover the join in the
pompom border. Add a ribbon if you like.
10
 Puppet
k White Black
Blaicght back back
a
str itch stitch stitch
st

Appliqué White
stitch satin stitch
Brown Brown
satin stitch straight stitch

cast on
Overitch Stuff Sew bow
st the

cast
Overitch
st

Using the picture for reference, stack the white snout on one of the head shape, and stitch
them together using appliqué stitch and one strands of the white embroidery floss. Then,
sew the tummy piece to the bottom of the body front using white floss and appliqué stitch.
Embroider the face. Thread an embroidery needle with two strands of black embroidery
floss and sew the eyes onto the face piece, checking against the picture to get the placement
right. The eyes are made using three curving backstitches. Make puppet´s eyebrows by
sewing two tiny straight stitches for each one and placing at a slight angle. Make the nose
with a few tiny horizontal overlapping straight stitches, and a single vertical stitch. Add
two curved horizontal stitches at the base of the vertical stitch for the mouth, following the
positioning in the picture. Thread an embroidery needle with two strands of white floss and
back stitch a line across the head.
Align the two head pieces together, right sides out. Thread an embroidery needle with two
strands of grey floss and sew the pieces together with a small overcast stitch. Leave a gap at
the base of the head and fill it with toy stuffing. When the padding is distributed, overcast
stitch the gap closed.
Align the two body shapes, right sides out, and use a needle threaded with two strands of
brown embroidery floss to overcast stitch the pieces together. Leave the bottom of the body
open so it will fit over the doll´s hand.
Position the head so that it overlaps the body. Using an embroidery needle and one strand
of brown floss, overcast stitch the head and body together, stitching through all layers of felt.
Tia a bow with the pink ribbon and sew it in place.

11
 Bonus

Tags for your gifts

12
Photo gallery

13
 Nose (cut 1)
Dark brown

Hair (cut 1)
Hood Front (cut 1) Dark brown
Brown

Face (cut 1)
Flesh tone

Snout (cut 1) Ears (cut 4)

White Brown

Head (cut 1)
Brown

Neck
(cut 1)
White Leg (cut 2)
Hood back (cut 1)
Brown Tail Brown
(cut 1)
Brown

Body (cut 2)
Turquoise
Puppet

Head (cut 2)
Brown
Snout (cut 1)
White
Body Arm (cut 2)
Tummy(cut 1)
(cut 2) Flesh tone
White
Brown

14
 Embroidery
face template
(real size)

15
Please, visit my etsy shop: [Link]
for more downloadable PDFs.

Bear girl
pattern
©2013 Paloma Rocha.
This pattern is intended for personal use only
and not for commercial resale. Photocopying,
emailing and the other copying to share these
instruction is strictly prohibited by law without
the designer´s written permission.
Thank you for respecting the
designer´s copyright.