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Three Fun and Easy Crochet Bear Appliques for the Cuddle Buddies Blanket


Crocheted appliques that look like a brown bear, polar bear and black bear attached to two crocheted blankets and a crocheted hat.

I just love the animals on the Cuddle Buddies Blanket. They make me smile and this month's addition is one of my favorites. Who can resist a classic teddy bear? And we're not talking about just one teddy bear, but three. The brown bear, black bear and fuzzy polar bear all use the same pattern but different yarns and colors.


Let's get started!


You can watch the video tutorial here:

Supplies:

This may contain affiliate links which means at no extra cost to you I may receive a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links.

  1. For the brown bear – Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Latte, Ivory, Black and a very small amount of White.

  2. For the black bear – Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Black, Toasted Almond, Gray Beard and a very small amount of White.

  3. For the Polar bear – Bernat Pipsqueak in White, Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Ivory, Black, and a very small amount of White.

  4. Bow – any size 4 worsted weight yarn. I used Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn in Pink.


Gauge:

Not important for this project. If your bear’s face is a little larger or a little smaller, it will still fit wonderfully.


Yardage:

A crocheted applique that look like a brown bear attached to a crocheted blanket all made with I Love This Yarn.

For the brown bear or black bear –Latte/Black (head, ears, nose, paws and claws) – about 25 yards

Ivory (muzzle) – small amount

A crocheted hat with a fuzzy polar bear applique made with Bernat Pipsqueak yarn.

For the Polar bear – Bernat Pipsqueak (head, ears and paws) – I forgot to weigh this one, but I know it takes less than 43 yards.

I Love This Yarn in Ivory (muzzle) – small amount

I Love This Yarn in Black (nose, eyes, claws) – small amount

 

  • The pattern for the hat is available for free here. I made the child's size.

  • I used Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Sea Blue for the hat itself.

  • I used a 3.75-inch Clover Pom Pom Maker and held four colors together - Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn in Pink, White, Black and Sea Blue - to make the pom pom.

 

Stitch Abbreviations:

mc – magic circle

ch - chain

sl st – slip stitch

sc – single crochet

 

Notes:

  • The ch at the start of each row does not count as a stitch.

  • Sl st to the first stitch of the row, not the chain.

  • The first stitch of the row SHOULD be in the same stitch you slip stitched into.

 

Cuddle Buddies Bear Pattern

 

Bear head

G 4 mm hook

With Latte, Black or Pipsqueak yarn

row 1 - mc and place 8 sc in the mc, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (8)

row 2 – 2 sc in each stitch around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (16)

row 3 – (2 sc in the first stitch, 1 sc in the next) repeated around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (24)

row 4 – (1 sc in the first stitch, 2 sc in the next, 1 sc in the next) repeated around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (32)

row 5 – (2 sc in the first stitch, 1 sc in the next 3 stitches) repeated around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (40)

row 6 – (1 sc in the each of the next 2 stitches, 2 sc in the next, 1 sc in each of the next 2 stitches) repeated around, sl st to the first sc (48)

Finish off and leave a long tail for sewing the head onto the blanket (unless you are working with Pipsqueak yarn or a similar fuzzy yarn. See **note below.)

Weave in the starting end.

 

Muzzle/Mouth:

With Ivory, Toasted Almond or Ivory yarn

row 1 - mc and place 8 sc in the mc, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (8)

row 2 – 2 sc in each stitch around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (16)

row 3 – (2 sc in the first stitch, 1 sc in the next) repeated around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (24)

Finish off leaving a long tail to use later to sew the muzzle onto the head.

Weave in the starting end.

  

Paws – make 2

With Latte, Black or Pipsqueak yarn

Row 1 - Mc and place 6 sc in the mc, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (6)

Row 2 – 2 sc in each stitch around, sl st to the first sc (12)

Finish off leaving a long tail to use later to sew the paws onto the blanket (unless you are working with Pipsqueak yarn or a similar fuzzy yarn. See **note below).

Weave in the starting ends.


Ears – make 2

With Latte, Black or Pipsqueak yarn

row 1 - mc and place 4 sc in the mc, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (4)

row 2 – 2 sc in each stitch around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (8)

row 3 – (2 sc in the first stitch, 1 sc in the next) repeated around, sl st to the first sc, ch 1 (12)

The ear should begin to curl and that is the goal.

row 4 – 1 sc in each stitch around, sl st to the first sc (12)

Finish off leaving a long tail to use later to sew the ears onto the blanket (unless you are working with Pipsqueak yarn or a similar fuzzy yarn. See **note below).

Weave in the starting end.

 

Nose

Use a B 2.25 mm hook

With Black yarn

Ch 2

Row 1 - In the second ch from the hook, 2 sc, ch 1 turn (2)

Row 2 – 2 sc in each sc (4)

Finish off and leave a long tail to sew the nose onto the muzzle.

 

Eyes – make 2

Use a B 2.25 mm hook

With Black yarn

Mc and place 6 sc in the mc, sl st to the first sc (6)

Finish off leaving a long tail for sewing the eye onto the head.

Weave in the starting end.

Use White yarn and a yarn needle to add a “sparkle” to the eyes.

 

Bow:

Two hands demonstrating how to fold a crocheted rectangle into a bow.

With G hook

Any color yarn you want

Ch 5

Row 1 - Starting in the second ch from the hook, sc in each ch, ch 1, turn (4)

Rows 2 –4 – 1 sc in each stitch, ch 1, turn (4)

Row 5/border- Beginning in the same stitch as the last sc, sc around the entire rectangle working 2 sc in each corner (17 total single crochets). Sl St under the first sc of the border.

Finish off and leave a long tail.

Using a darning/yarn needle, weave in the starting end. Next weave the long tail you left through to the center of the bow.

Fold the right and left sides of the rectangle up to meet one another and wrap the tail around the middle of the bow 3-5 times. Thread the yarn needle and yarn tail under the wrapped area on the back side of the bow to knot it. DO NOT cut the rest of the tail. Use the remainder to sew the bow to the bear.

 

Attaching all the pieces of the bear with a darning/yarn needle:

**If you are attaching pieces made with Bernat Pipsqueak or another fuzzy yarn, use size 4 medium weight color yarn in a matching color instead of using the fuzzy yarn tails. You won’t be able to see the yarn, but the process will be much easier.

 

  • Sew the nose to the muzzle.

  • Use Black yarn to embroider a mouth onto the muzzle just below the nose.

  • Use Black yarn (for the brown bear or the polar bear) or Gray Beard yarn (for the black bear) to add claws to both of the paws.

  • Sew the muzzle onto the head.

Two hands adding the white of an eye to a crocheted black bear applique.
  • Sew the eyes just above the muzzle.

  • To add the white on the outside of the eye, cut about 12 inches of White yarn. Using a yarn needle, bring the end of the White yarn up through the back of the head just under the top edge of the eye in the center. Now thread the other end just under the bottom of the eye and about one stitch to the outside of the eye through to the back of the head. Use your nail or the yarn needle to “flip” the piece of White yarn to the outside edge of the eye. Tie the two ends of the White on the back being careful not to tighten so much that it pulls it under the eye completely.

  • Sew the head onto the blanket.

Two hands holding open the crocheted ear of a brown bear to point to wear the sew it onto a blanket.
  • Sew on the ears and paws. I sew just the flat portion of the ears on leaving the edges curled inward and “standing up.”

  • Sew the bow onto the ear or at the neck. I sew this down in both the center and a portion of each side of the bow to make sure it is very secure.

 

Add color to the bear's cheeks

If you want to add a bit of color to the cheeks, you can brush on some actual blush. I used Milani blush in the color Berry Amore with a small makeup brush on mine.

A sketch of a crocheted blanket made with blocks and pictures to show where to attach four crocheted animal appliques.

I sewed my brown bear onto a block of the Cuddle Buddies Blanket. You can sew the animals on any which you want, but I wanted to let you know where things were placed in the example I made. And if you are looking for the other free patterns to make a Cuddle Buddies Blanket, you can find them all here.


Whether you are attaching a bear to a blanket, a hat or something else, I hope you enjoy making one of these cute little teddy bears!


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Happy Crafting!

 

This pattern MAY NOT be copied, reproduced, altered, published or distributed in any way. You MAY sell finished products made with this pattern, but please credit me (Find Me Crafting).

 

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