Making chenille stem bears

What you will need :

Chenille stems. Go for the  nice fluffie ones 

Tweezers

Tacky glue

Small scissors.

Beads for eyes 

Step 1. Cut a  piece of chenille long enough  to make the  head  and  the body. This decides the size of your bear. I used 10 cm folded in half for a really small bear.

Step 2.  Fold over at the folded end of your chenille and bend top forward for nose.  You can make this bigger or smaller to change the faces of the bears  you are making.

Step 3: Cut a small piece of chenille to make the ears.  Roll up both  ends to shape the ears. The bigger you cut this piece, the bigger the ears will be. Slip ears under the fold we made in step 2. Check for size. I usually add a bit of glue to keep the ears in place.

This is what your bear should look like now.

Step 4 :  Measure  a piece of chenille for the arms. It is up to you to decide how long you want the arms.  Cut a piece twice as long  as the length of the arms. 

Twist ends together into a loop, and fold in half.  Try on bear for size. The twisted end is at the bottom. This will help to add a little bit of volume to Teddies finished body.

 Step 5 : Repeat step 4 for the legs but make them  a bit longer.
They  are placed on the body with the twisted  bit  pointing upwards.

Step 5 : Fold the body parts that  are still showing under the legs upwards to finish the body  and to keep arms and legs in place.  You can once again add a little bit of glue to make sure everything stays in place .

Step 6 : Shape arms and legs by pinching and folding till you are happy with your basic bear.

Now it is time for some beauty treatments :

At the spots were the chenille has been folded over,  you will  notice  the wire inside the chenille showing.  In the photo above you will notice this at the tip of the nose and the front of the feeth and and the hands.

Covering up this spots will make your bear look more professional.

With small sharp scissors cut some chenille away from the wire.  Make sure you do this over a container or it will be everywhere.

Apply a little tacky glue  to the spot you want to cover 

Carefully add a little bit of the lose chenille and leave to dry.

Bear with finished nose job on the left , his brother on the right is the next in line for the makeover.

If you want your bears to look even better you can add chenille to other areas that need to look a bit better in the same way.  Often a bit added to the belly area or the ears will really work well. But it is all up to you for it is your creation.

Trying eyes and nose for shape and placement. 


Now you can shape your bear and add details. A little bit of blusher added to the inside of the ears and the soles of feet and hands adds a nice touch. 

Little bows, sweaters and accessories etc will hide a multitude of sins and will add character to your little bears.


 This is my basic bear. The ones I make to sell get a bit more work done to them but I am keeping a few little secrets between me and the bears .

If you would like to adopt one of my  little friends, feel free to contact me.