Growing up with four older brothers, my daughter doesn’t have as many “girly” toys as she’d probably like. That’s ok with me – I love watching her play with LEGOS and trains and all those other things hers brothers have enjoyed – but I recently realized that out of the boxful of Build-a-Bear clothes we have, not one outfit is for a girl bear! Apparently all her stuffed animals have been running around nekkid all this time because they don’t want to wear “boy” clothes. I figured it wouldn’t be hard to come up with a cute girly top and bloomers for her teddy bears to wear, and I put together a tutorial and FREE PATTERN so you can make some girly bear clothes too.
Sometimes (read: lots of times) I think something is going to be so simple…and then it isn’t. For one thing, all Build-a-Bear animals are not created equal, as in they vary a surprising amount in size – specifically neck size. That made drafting up this simple pattern a little less simple. Then both my sewing machine and my serger decided to get fouled up on the same day, causing me to complain dramatically to my husband that the sewing universe was conspiring against me.
But once I have a project in mind, you better believe I’m going to finish it, even if that darn top and bloomers did end up taking three times as long as I had planned. But once I finally got the pattern figured out (with an adjustable neck!), I was able to sew up a second set in about an hour, making my daughter (and her bears) very, very happy.
This really is a pretty easy sew, and it should fit most Build-a-Bear sized stuffed animals pretty well. Here’s the front & back view:
Click here to download the free teddy bear top and bloomers sewing pattern. Print it out, making sure to print at 100% or full size. There’s a grey box that should measure exactly 1 inch by 1 inch. Tape the pieces together (do not trim them first!) and cut out the pattern pieces from fabric, making sure to line up any edge that’s labeled “fold” with a folded edge of fabric.
Here’s how you sew the top. Cut out two top pieces (on the fold), in contrasting colors or prints – did I mention this top is fully reversible? Be careful when you cut because you really need these pieces to be pretty exact.
Place the two pieces right sides together, and sew as you see below, leaving the tops of the straps open. Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance. When sewing the curves that will go under the arms, start and stop at the dots marked on the pattern.
Iron a small rectangle of interfacing at the spot where snaps will be attached (marked on the pattern).
Clip the corners and curves, and turn the whole thing right side out, then iron it all flat.
Now, fold back the right side as you see in the 1st photo below, lining up the straps. Open up the straps and sew them together, 1/2 inch from the edge, as shown by the blue dots on the 2nd photo. Make sure the seams in the middle of the straps line up as you sew.
Now you can turn the straps back right side out and press them flat, folding in the part that isn’t sewn together. Topstitch close to the edge all around each armhole. You may also top stitch around the hem/neckline if you’d like.
I added a faux collar using mini ric-rac. I just pinned the ric-rac to the front of the top (lots of pins is helpful) and then sewed it on with a straight stitch. I clipped off the excess ric-rac and used a dab of Fraycheck on it.
Then I added a snap in the back to close the shirt. NOTE: the bear I was making this shirt for is a little tubby with a thick neck, so I just overlapped the back pieces enough for one snap. If you’re making this for an animal with a skinnier neck, you may want to overlap the back pieces quite a bit more, and use two snaps, one at each corner.
Cute, yes?
On to the bloomers! Cut one front and one back piece (both on the fold).
Lay the bloomers front on top of the bloomers back, right sides together, and sew as shown:
Next, finish the edges of the waist and leg holes with a serger, or by zigzagging close to the edge. I think it looks cute with a contrasting thread color (I used white) but you can use matching thread if you like.
Cut three pieces of narrow elastic (1/4 inch or 1/2 inch wide). One piece should be 14 inches long and the other two should be 7 inches each. Overlap the ends of each piece and sew together, creating three circles of elastic.
Take the longest piece of elastic and pin it to the waist of the bloomers on the inside, just below your serged or zigzagged edge. The elastic will be quite a bit shorter than the waistline, so distribute it evenly inside the waistline and pin in about 4 places. Sew the elastic to the waistline using a straight stitch, stretching the elastic as you sew so that it lays flat along the fabric. Once it’s sewn on, it will gather up the waist, creating a cute little ruffle along the top.
Repeat with the shorter elastic pieces in each leg hole.
Finally, try on the bloomers and snip a hole (straight up and down) for the tail to go through. For the most professional look you could actually put in a buttonhole. Or, if you’re like me, you could just cut the hole and figure you’ll go back and sew a straight stitch around it later to keep it from fraying too much.
And that’s it! My daughter now has a pair of very well dressed bears.
If you make a teddy bear outfit using this pattern, I’d love to see a photo – thanks!
Want to sew more stuff for your bears?
Stuffed animal sleeping bag pattern
Kerry says
Thank you for doing all the work required to share these patterns with us. My grand daughter has a Build a bear. This afternoon I made two of the little suits like you made and I adapted the pattern to make pyjamas. Now I am going to knit some hats, socks and a sweater. Thanks again.
Chris Burrows says
Thank you so much for this pattern. It worked really well & was surprisingly quick to sew! The reversibility is fantastic! I made 2 for my granddaughters as ‘lockdown’ gifts while I can’t be with them.
Chris
Mollieanna says
I make my own full sized clothes and now I can match my teddy, who travels in the car with me, with my outfits.
I found this pattern very easy to follow, but the shoulders were a bit fiddly for my fat fingers!! But I got there in the end.
Very pleased with the end results. Thank you for being so clear and explaining every step.
Grandma Riley says
I am enjoying creating the Build-A-Bear pj’s for my granddaughter. I have seen some other patterns that I want to try. So, Thank you..
I printed out the patterns, but I can’t read the directions because the print is a light color. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Grandma Riley
Betty says
Thanks for this; I’ve been making boy Build-a-Bear clothes, and need to think about some for the girl. This outfit will be perfect. I found your comment about the neck sizes rather interesting. I had read that Cabbage Patch patterns would work for B-a-B, but still had neck issues. Glad it wasn’t just me . . . .
I noticed that someone mentioned shoes for these bears. Those things have big feet! I tried a crocheted pair (sneakers) for a different bear, just changing to heavier yarn/larger hook to make them bigger, and that bear couldn’t even get his big toe in that shoe (well, he couldn’t have if he had actually had a big toe, but you get the idea). I re-did the shoes, making sure the sole was as big as the bottom of the foot, and I’ve been told they fit. I haven’t actually seen them on the bear yet, though . . . . I do think crochet may be a better option than trying to sew shoes, though.
Kerry Brophy says
Hi there I am just wondering if you have any other clothes patterns
for the builder bear bears
Helen Rafferty says
I made the teddy bear outfit but can’t figure out how to s post it.
Debbie Swick says
Very cute pattern. I just got a new teddy from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company and want to make some clothes for her. Do you have any idea where I might find a pattern for a 3 foot teddy bear. I would like to find a dress pattern for it.
autumn says
Oh, I don’t know! I do know my kids would love a bear that huge!
Susan M. says
I can’t believe the timing – I was just this a.m. searching for free pattern for these guys. Plan is to take my three granddaughters to Build-a-Bear as a Christmas present and wanted to be able to have an additional outfit for them to open. So thank you so much!
BTW, I have an entry in this challenge: SAYS IT ALL PLAY MAT. If you or any of your readers would feel compelled to vote for it/me, I would be ever so thankful!
Off to make bear clothes….
Anne says
Adorable! Thank you for sharing the pattern! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow morning that links to your tutorial:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/free-pattern-teddy-bear-pinafore-and-bloomers/2014/09/29/
–Anne
Shannon says
Will you make some bear shoes too? Those little BAB shoes are darling but pricy.
autumn says
Oh, I hadn’t thought of making shoes. I’ve made baby shoes before and they’re a little tricky just because they’re so small. I think build a bear shoes might be even tricker. I’ll have to think through that and see what I can come up with!
Lynda says
Thank you so much! Little man just told me that his B-A-B rabbit needs pjs. This pattern will come in very handy. I just made her a pillow case style dress last night. The things we do for our little ones! LOL.
Meghan says
Thanks so much, what a great tutorial!
KT Hom says
Oh! Thank you for this idea PLUS the pattern! I don’t have grandchildren yet, but I’ve started a board on Pinterest called “To Do with Little Ones” and this idea has been pinned!
Kathy says
Cutest things ever, hope Lilypad gets some new duds, makes me want to take my serger in to get fixed.
Lara says
Thank you for this. The pattern is supposed be JPG not PDF right? I just want to make sure.
autumn says
Good catch, Lara! Totally supposed to be a PDF but I put the wrong link in – it’s fixed now. Thanks so much!
Lara says
Thank you, funny thing yesterday Build-a-Bear sent me a $12 coupon off of any stuff it animal, so we went and got a new one today. Just in time for me for me to sew something for this new bear – Lilly
kimberly says
Hey! I have a question about the straps. I still can’t wrap my mind around sewing them and it still be reversible? When I saw it I had a major seem across the top. What am I missing?? Thanks
Patty says
I hope you made this work. It was a little odd. But once it’s been turned inside out, then you sew across the straps (looks like 4 parts that are RST). That’s so the eels stay on the inside. And she left the opening along the side of the seams so you can sew the top of the straps RST. (I hope this made sense.)
Patty says
“Eels” should be “seams”. Sorry for the typo.