Now back to the story...
I know you have to be wondering how Red Heart plays a part in this. I had driven to a city about 45 minutes from my home to drop off some things that I had agreed to make for a friend's son's wedding. Always one to make sure I do more than one thing at a time if possible. I loaded up some pod casts I'm behind on. I was listening to Creative Yarn Entrepreneur and Marie Segares was talking to a woman named Carrie from Red Heart Yarns about the yarn, the industry and pattern submissions and so on. For whatever reason, this brought to mind the teddy bear I made.
But even more, the bear was made with Red Heart acrylic yarns and bought at Sears [this tells you how long ago this was (many years ago, my dad sold furniture there and we got the employee discount)], the local discount department store and anywhere else I could lay hands to skeins. Red Heart yarns have made many changes over the years, some for the better, some not so much. My hands have also made many changes over the years and things that never bothered me as a kid now cause immense misery. At the time of the crocheting, Red Heart yarns were softer than Super Saver is today, but weren't as limp as Soft is.
I encourage you, if you are crocheting along, to use proper fiber fil for this project. Barring that, there are also beads out there that are used to stuff bean bags/beanie babies/bean bag "chairs". These may or may not give your bear enough structure while being soft and squishy and potentially light in weight that you desire. If you use the beads, please line your bear to prevent them from popping through. Definitely keep from the hands of children or even teens and adults if there is a chance of someone putting these in their mouth. They can pose a choking hazard. Plus, I speak from experience here, my dogs have gotten some beanie type toys in the past. Our beagle loved to tear the bean bag out of the butts. (This seemed to be the usual location to make the animal sit up like a person.) Sometimes they came out intact. Mostly not and the polyester beans were everywhere. They caused a slip hazard on the hard surface floors and a mess for the vacuum on the carpets.
I do remember my bear had a very stretched out neck and needed a necktie to delineate his body from head. Dad gave me one of his I think. I also know his head was oversized. It was as wide, if not slightly wider, than his body. I will be making corrections to my memory of him to the pattern. This bear's head will be smaller.
Teddy Bear part 3
Stuff the body. Make sure there are no lumps if using fiber fil or similar. Make this as firm or soft as desired. Remember, firmer equals heavier. Softer might not sit up on his own.
The neck:
Work 3 rounds of straight dc in dc as you have done for the body and legs.
The Head:
Increase Rd: Ch 3, dc in 4 dc, 2 dc in next dc. * dc in 5 dc, 2 dc in next dc. Rep from * around. Sl st in top of ch 3.
Repeat Increase Rd.
Work Straight Rnds as for the body and legs until head measures 12" from the beginning of the neck. Stuff the neck and head. Make the neck firm so the head doesn't sag and loll off to the side or front like he's inebriated or sleeping, unless this is a look you want.
Start the decreasing to the top of the head.
Dec Rd: Ch 3, dc in 8 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts, * dc in 9 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts. Rep from * around.
Straight Rd: Ch 3, *dc in dc. Rep from * around.
Dec Rd: Ch 3, dc in 7 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts, * dc in 8 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts. Rep from * around.
Straight Rd: Ch 3, *dc in dc. Rep from * around.
Dec Rd: Ch 3, dc in 6 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts, * dc in 7 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts. Rep from * around.
Straight Rd: Ch 3, *dc in dc. Rep from * around.
Dec Rd: Ch 3, dc in 5 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts, * dc in 6 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts. Rep from * around.
Dec Rd: Ch 3, Dc in 4 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts, * dc in 5 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts. Rep from * around.
Stuff Head more.
Dec Rd: Ch 3, Dc in 3 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts, * dc in 4 dc, dc dec over next 2 sts. Rep from * around.
Continue decreasing in this fashion until you have dc dec with no stitches between. Finish stuffing the top of the head. Fasten off leaving a tail to weave around the top of the stitches. Pull tight and fasten off. If there is a hole, sew across it in a star fashion until there is no hole. Fasten off again and weave tail.
Weave tails as needed in both the body/head and the legs.
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