Create the perfect winter décor theme with this delightful bear. Needle felting makes her fluffy suit a perfect fit!

Finished size: 10" tall Bear

Skill: 2   Time: 1   Cost: 1-2

You will need:
•  Craft foam eggs*: one 4 7/8" x 3 1/2", one 3 13/16" x 2 13/16", two 3 1/16" x 2 5/16"
•  Two 1 1/4" craft foam balls*
•  Wool felt (2 oz. each)*: Natural, Brown, Pink, Tan
•  3" x 18" check fabric
•  Three 1/2" buttons
•  Needle felt needle tool*
•  Two 8mm beads
•  Foam pad or felting mat
•  Six round toothpicks
•  Fabric glue*
Candle, serrated knife, pencil, scissors, soft cloth

*The following products were used for this project: Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac Glue • Clover Needle Felt Tool • National Nonwovens Wool Wisps • STYROFOAM craft foam shapes.

Note: For product information, see end of article.

•  Print full-size pattern here.   
•  Allow glue to dry between steps.
•  See photo for details and placement.

STEP 1: Prepare foam. Use palm of hand to flatten balls for paws. For feet, cut one of the smallest eggs in half. For arms, cut second smallest egg into three lengthwise slices (Photo A). Discard center piece. Note: To make cutting foam easier, rub knife edge with candle. To remove loose bits of foam, rub cut edges gently with soft cloth. Wipe debris off work space before continuing.

STEP 2: Make head. Cover narrower half of egg evenly with tan wool. Needle felt. Note: Narrow end of egg is nose. Cover remaining half of egg with Pink wool. Needle felt. Use fingers to gently make indents for eyes. Glue beads to indents, pushing into face. To create shading, use needle to gently poke a thin strand of Brown around eye bead (Photo B). Repeat for second eye.
For nose, place small amount of Brown wool in oval shape at end of egg. Needle felt. For mouth, center a thin strip of Brown wool below nose and curve. Needle felt.
For ears, place a layer of Tan wool on foam pad. Needle felt. Cut out pattern and lay on felted wool. Add wool if needed and felt enough to cut out two ears. Needle felt ends of ears to head, aligning each ear with eye.

STEP 3: Make body. For body, wrap largest egg in Pink wool and needle felt, adding wool where needed. Wrap round sides of arms in Pink, extending wool 1/2" over edge of flat side. Needle felt. Wrap paws in Tan and needle felt. Wrap feet in Brown. Needle felt both sides.

STEP 4: Assemble. Place a small amount of glue on end of toothpick and insert halfway into foot. Add glue to other end of toothpick and attach to bottom of body (Photo C). Repeat for other foot. Attach head to top of body in same way, adding a little extra glue to body surface and pressing firmly in place.
Insert glued toothpicks into ends of paws. Attach to arm ends in same way. Add glue to flat side of arms and press against either side of body, aligning with feet and head.

STEP 5: Add details. For jacket trim, pull three 2" strips of Natural. Wrap one strip around head in front of ears. Needle felt slightly along edges and at back of head. Trim off any excess. Place another strip down center front. Needle felt along edges and trim off excess at bottom. Wrap half of remaining strip around end of each arm. Needle felt at edges. Trim off excess. Repeat for second arm. If you want, pull another strip to wrap around top of each foot. Needle felt at back of foot.

STEP 6: Finish. For scarf, clip 1" fringe at ends of fabric piece. Tie around neck. Glue evenly spaced buttons to center front trim.

Sources:

Beacon Adhesives
beaconcreates.com

Clover Needlecraft, Inc.
(800) 233-1703
clover-usa.com

National Nonwovens
(800) 333-3469
nationalnonwovens.com

STYROFOAM
craft.dow.com