Care Bears

Care Bear Craft Variation

Renetta Brovont, Shelby, MI, took Jayne Loenen’s basic bear pattern and personalized it to make cuddly gifts for her grandkids. To see how she gussied up her girl bear, click on the above photo.

Her soft toys send cuddles abroad.

For 6 years, Jayne Loenen has been sending bear hugs to children in need throughout the world.

Her colorful hand-knit teddy bears, made from leftover yarn, take shape in her Richmond, British Columbia home. They are simply styled, with striped pants, coordinating sweater and a bright contrasting scarf that a child can tie. Each bear’s facial features are raised to allow a blind child to feel its friendly smile.

“I’ve tried different patterns, but this is my favorite,” Jayne says, adding that she adapted the pattern from one she received years ago at a Mennonite fundraiser.

With help from a knitters’ and stitchers’ group in Victoria, packs of appealing teddies have traveled to places like Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nigeria, Uganda, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
Not only do the bears give orphans and other needy children something of their very own to cuddle, Jayne says with a smile, “They make me feel useful.”

Her sister-in-law Biny, another avid knitter, started her on the project. Each bear takes her about 2 days to complete, and Jayne now completes an average of 125 bears a year.

Supplies for her project have never been a problem. “Both friends and strangers are always ready to donate their leftover yarn—I have enough wool for two lifetimes!”

That’s fine with Jayne, because as she says, “the need is endless.” She likes knowing her bears bring comfort and joy to children who have so little.

 

Materials Needed:

Worsted-weight yarn—small amount each of black, brown, orange, orange variegate, pale yellow, red and white

• Size 3 (3mm) knitting needles
• Two stitch holders
• Yarn or tapestry needle
• Ruler or tape measure
• Polyester stuffing
• Scissors

Teddies bearing irresistible grins are bound for an orphanage in Thailand. Jayne Loenen knits these charmers, who often accompany missionaries, medical teams and other aid workers.

Gauge: Working in St st, 20 sts and 24 rows = 4 inches. Stitches are worked tightly to prevent children from pulling the stuffing out between the stitches.

Stitches Used:

Garter Stitch:
     K across each row.

Stockinette stitch St st:

     Row 1: K across row (RS).
     Row 2: P across row (WS).
     Repeat Rows 1 and 2.

Finished Size: Teddy bear measures about 11 inches across x 13 inches high.

Directions:

Teddy bear is knit in one flat piece starting at the bottom. It is worked up to the top and then down to the bottom, forming the front and back in one piece. After knitting is completed, the knitted piece is folded in half at the top of the head and the sides are stitched together.

LEG (make 2): With brown, cast on 10 sts.

Rows: 1-10: K each row: 10 sts.
Drop brown, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.

Rows 11-40: With orange variegate, k each row: 10 sts.
Place 10 sts on stitch holder.
Repeat to make another leg.
With RS facing, place 10 sts from each leg on needle: 20 sts.

TOP OF PANT: Rows 1-18: With orange variegate, k across each row: 20      sts.
Drop orange variegate, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.

SWEATER: Rows 1-24: With pale yellow, k each row: 20 sts.
Drop pale yellow, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.

HEAD: Row 1: With brown, k across row: 20 sts.

Row 2: P across row: 20 sts.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until brown head section measures 7 inches.
Drop brown, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.

SWEATER: Rows 1-24: With pale yellow, k each row: 20 sts.
Drop pale yellow, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.

TOP OF PANT: Rows 1-18: With orange variegate, k across each row: 20 sts.
LEG (make 2): Row 1: With orange variegate, k 10 sts (place remaining 10 sts on stitch holder).
Rows 2-30: K each row: 10 sts.
Drop orange variegate, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.

Rows: 31-40: With brown, k each row: 10 sts.
Bind off, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.
Pick up sts from stitch holder and repeat to make another leg.

ARM: With pale yellow, pick up 14 sts centered on each side of head at top of sweater (7 sts each on front and back of sweater section): 14 sts.

Rows 1-20: With pale yellow, k each row: 14 sts.
Drop pale yellow, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.

Rows 21-30: With brown, k each row: 14 sts.
Bind off, leaving a 12-inch tail of yarn.
Repeat on other side of teddy bear to make another arm.

SCARF: With orange, cast on 80 sts.

Rows 1-5: K across each row: 80 sts.
Bind off loosely.
Use yarn or tapestry needle to weave in loose ends.

FINISHING:

1. Fold teddy bear in half at top of teddy bear’s head with RS facing and edges matching.
2. Using tails of matching yarn, sew edges together to form head, two arms, body and two legs, leaving a 2-inch opening on one side of sweater.
3. Stuff firmly with stuffing.
4. Sew opening closed.
5. With brown yarn, sew a running stitch around base of head. Pull yarn slightly to indent for neck. See Figure 1 for all stitch illustrations. Fasten off and weave in loose ends.
6. With black yarn, satin-stitch eyes and nose. With black yarn, backstitch smile and outline eyes as shown.
7. With white backstitches, outline each eye.
8. With red yarn, satin-stitch mouth.
9. With brown yarn, make long straight stitches across the corners on top of the teddy bear’s head to form small ears.
10. Wrap scarf around teddy bear’s neck and tie ends in front.
11. Using matching yarn, tack scarf to back of teddy bear’s neck. Weave in all loose ends.

ABBREVIATIONS
k                       knit
p                       purl
RS                 right side
st(s)              stitches
WS                 wrong side

Figure 1:

Running stitch	Satin stitch	Backstitch	Long and short straight stitches

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