Beginners and experienced crafters alike will appreciate this expert guide to making one-of-a-kind teddy bears and their outfits. It presents step-by-step instructions, basic patterns, and instructions on how to customize the bears in order to create truly personal keepsakes and gifts. Illustrations include over 150 diagrams, plus 16 color and 11 black-and-white photographs.

According to Ted Menten, premier authority on the subject of collectible teddy bear construction, making these plush little companions can be a highly creative pursuit. Unlike other toys that were once handmade and are now machine-produced, teddy bears remain basically the same as they were when first created in 1903. Emphasizing the fun, expressive aspect of this time-honored handcraft, Menten offers a unique new technique developed in his popular teddy bear-making classes, using basic patterns that can be modified and interchanged to create uniquely personal bears any crafter will display with pride. Ted Menten is the author of Gentle Closings and After Goodbye. He also created the magazine Teddy Bear Review, has written 19 books on the subject, and conducts teddy bear-making classes around the world.

Award-winning photographer Mark Nixon has created a trove of quirky and nostalgic portraits of teddy bears and other stuffed animals that have been lovingly abused after years of play. MuchLoved collects 60 of these images along with their accompanying background tales. An exhibit in the photographer’s studio led to a small sensation on the Internet when a few of the pictures circulated unofficially on scores of blogs and on many legitimate news sites. Viewers have been intrigued by the funny, bittersweet images and their ironic juxtaposition of childhood innocence and aged, loving wear and tear. When you see these teddy bears and bunnies with missing noses and undone stuffing, you can’t help but think back to childhood and its earliest companions who asked for nothing and gave a lot back. Praise for Much Loved: “Much Loved is impossibly endearing in its entirety.” —Brain Pickings

Provides patterns and detailed instructions for constructing a teddy bear and offers tips on assembling and adding character to each bear

Teddy bears are an iconic symbol of childhood. They are often our first and best-loved toys right through to adulthood, often passed on to our own children to enjoy. This beautifully illustrated, comprehensive guide takes you into the magical world of teddy bear making and shows you how to create your own traditional bear to hand down through the generations. The book begins with a short history of the teddy bear, followed by detailed information on tools, materials and essential bear-making techniques. There's guidance on finding design inspiration, and three complete step-by-step projects to get you started. There's then detailed guidance on how to create different eyes, ears, noses and mouths to give your bear a unique personality, and sewn outfits to dress them in. The book ends with notes on care and repair, ensuring your treasured creation will last a lifetime.

This comprehensive, step-by-step handbook of techniques for making adorable teddy bears is a guaranteed treat for all teddy bear lovers! Enchanting bear designs range from traditional and miniature teddy bears to bears with Jiggle Joints and flexible limbs. There's even a teddy bear that moves her head to music! -- Contains 14 projects that mirror both old-world and modern collectible styles, including a standing circus bear, a sweet baby bear, and a bear reminiscent of early 1900s teddy bears -- Features an all-inclusive reference section covering every aspect of teddy bear construction, from basic supplies to specialty stuffings -- Reveals expert tips for creating emotion in teddy bear faces and for making pattern alterations -- Includes clothing and accessory patterns, plus fun and informative "Bear Facts" sprinkled throughout the book

A top celebrity portrait photographer, Jill Greenberg has a unique ability to coax powerful emotions out of her subjects - whether human or animal. Her portraits of bears, collected here for the first time, surprise and engage. We encounter cubs as cute as a child's Teddy, grizzlies that look like they might swallow you whole, and Polar bears seated in Sphinx-like tranquility. Full-grown brown bears, grizzlies, black bears, Polar bears, and bear cubs are photographed on location against a portrait backdrop. The poses and facial expressions are at turns oddly comedic, pensive, terrifying, and sometimes unexpectedly human. Alive with Greenberg's signature lighting and seen through the unique perspective of her lens, these startling bear portraits bring us face to face with our fears and fantasies.