If you go out in the woods today…you better go in disguise. Bears are synonymous with woodland decor, add a forest friend and bring some imaginative fun into any playroom, nursery, bedroom, etc.
This bear is made using the Lion & Wildcat Ride-on Toy and Wall Decor Sewing Pattern and Tutorial. With just a few small modifications you can hack the lion to make a bear! I’ll show you how.
What You'll Need
- -Lion & Wildcat Ride-On Toy and Wall Decor Sewing Pattern and Tutorial
- -Materials/Supplies listed in the above tutorial
- -Supplemental Template for Muzzle & Nose (link at the end of this tutorial)
Template Chart for Bear
The only modified template piece is piece 1C, the muzzle. For the bear the dart has been removed from the muzzle to make it more narrow. You’ll find this template piece at the bottom of this tutorial. All the other templates are unmodified and located in the Lion & Wildcat Ride-On Toy and Wall Decor Sewing Pattern and Tutorial.
Hack the Lion Pattern to Make a Bear
This bear is made with a long pile faux fur then shaved to achieve the shorter fur on the face blended into the longer fur on the cheeks and head. See the tutorial here for more info on shaving faux fur.
This bear is made using Shannon Fabric’s Luxe Cuddle® Seal in Chocolate for the primary color and Sand for the muzzle.
Notation 1: The fabric choice is obviously a critical component of hacking this pattern, primarily the colors you choose. Minky, fleece and fur are all good choices.
Notation 2: I used the “split color muzzle” line option on the head gusset. Refer to the Lion tutorial for creating split color pieces from a single template.
Making the head gusset a split color will have the effect of making the muzzle all in one color when the “Muzzle Sides” and “Chin Gusset” (1D) are also the same color as the bottom portion of the split color head gusset.
Notation 3: The eyes are placed slightly lower than on the lion as noted on the pattern template.
Notation 4: The nose is the dimensional nose specific for the bear, however the flat nose option will work as well. Follow the instructions provided in step 28 to create the dimensional nose. The construction is the same even though the shape is slightly different.
Nostril Plugs: To fill in the large nostrils, simply roll up a piece of scrap fabric from the fabric you used to create the nose and tuck it inside. If you need to secure this piece, you can add some hot glue or fabric glue into the nostril hole and along the inside edge of the nostril and press the ‘nostril plug’ fabric against the inside of the nose until the glue holds.
