i saw a photo of my Lee bear in south africa today and decided to cast on another right away! :)

i much prefer hoodies to scarves. a bit more work but more satisfying, no worries about attaching them, and fun for small hands!

10/9/2012: sent to MN
1/17/2013: Eureka bear with friend in South Africa!
4/1/2013: Laurel, Douglass, Irving and Gates bears with new friends in Zimbabwe, photographed by Amy!

how to hoodie: hold bear with feet close to you, face up. pick up stitches around the top of bear torso, starting at right front (2-6 sts), then around right shoulder (2-3 sts), back (18 sts), left shoulder (same # st as right shoulder), and left front (same # st as right front) for a total of ~30-36 sts. turn and knit flat with garter on each edge (3-5 sts) and stockinette in middle (or whatever stitch pattern you like) until long enough to cover head with working stitches folded in half. optional for a more fitted/less pointy hood: when hood is almost as long as head, decrease 2 st on every remaining (~5) RS row (1st decrease ssk, 2nd k2tog positioned symmetrically about center). to close: after final WS, put half of stitches on a separate DPN, then fold live stitches in half with RS together and 3-needle bind-off (WS).

note: for these bears, i added hood at the end after head was stuffed and neck cinched however it’s easier to pick up hood stitches before the head is stuffed. a round of purl at the top of torso also makes it much easier to pick up stitches for the hood.

bear ears:

for bears 1 & 2 of this set (Broderick and Laurel), i did a running stitch on both sides of ear cinched at bottom. ok but pointy.

for my bears 3 & 4 (Douglass and Eureka), i tried a new ear technique following this youtube video by rjhuggz. much less pointy.

for bear #5 (Irving) & #6 (Gates), i did the running stitch on both sides (as for bears 1 & 2) but before kitchenering, i also passed the 4 outside stitches (one on each end of both needles) over the next stitch in and dropped (i also do this for sock toes to prevent pointy corners) and i tried to catch the ear tip when working in the ear-cinching-yarn to make it more round. this method gives my favorite ears so far.

modifications/details:

• Broderick bear (purple & blue striped hoodie): picked up 30. 3 stitches garter on each edge. no decreases. kitchener.

• Laurel bear (red cabled hoodie): picked up 36. 4 stitches garter on edge, 8 st moss in middle panel. decreased from stockinette on either side of moss on last 3 RS (30).

• Douglass bear (blue tweed striped hoodie): picked up 32. 4 stitches garter. striped stockinette section changing colors every second row using second MC ball for solid garter edging on one side (instarsia-style). decreased in center on 3 RS (26). 3-needle bind off on WS using MC garter and CC stockinette.

• Eureka bear (rainbow hoodie): picked up 31 stitches (oops). decreases around 1 center stitch until 21 remaining. 3-needle bind off with k3tog in center.

• Irving bear (blue & orange herringbone hoodie): picked up 32 stitches. decreases around center stitch until 24 remaining.

• Gates bear (yellow & orange woven stripe pattern from a treasury of knitting patterns by barbara g. walker): first bear with non-solid fur (used 2-ply from gma’s stash)

good final dimensions when flat:

• width: 4.25”
• height: 11.25” (head 3.5”, torso 2.75”, legs 5”)
• sweater: below arms 1.75”, sleeves 2”, hood 5”
• pants: front rise 2”, pants below crotch 1.75”
• paws: foot 1.25”, hand 1”

total bear count: 14