The name “Teddy” actually comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who was commonly known as “Teddy” when he refused to shoot an exhausted and tied down black bear during a hunting trip in 1902 and instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery.
Death is not the greatest loss in life.
The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.
Norman Cousins
The incident soon became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. When Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt, he was inspired to create a teddy bear. After sending a bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to use his name, the toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.
Even till this day, teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are often given to adults to signify love, affection, congratulations, or sympathy. Perhaps every lovely soul who crochets would have a teddy bear project in his/her to-do list.
As for me, it happens to be my first amigurumi project.
A little ambitious for an amigurumi noob back in 2015, who had ONE crochet hook (a Japanese crochet hook size 1/0-2/0) and some left over acrylic yarns huh? Well, my guts told me to go ahead anyway and found myself a cute teddy bear tutorial on YouTube.
TADA~ MY FIRST AMIGURUMI TEDDY BEAR!
😑I know, totally no resemblance to the ones shown in tutorial.
Well, like I mentioned earlier, I only had one Japanese crochet hook (1/0-2/0) and some left over acrylic yarns during that time. So this cutie was stuffed with toilet paper (not joking) and the eyes were glass beads instead of safety eyes. It was very discouraging when the outcome was not the same as the one shown in the tutorial (nothing like a Teddy.. LOL) so, I stopped crocheting amigurumi for a while and went back to crocheting bags. Then in 2016, I decided to try again and started with something smaller — a snail.
(We will Get There)
Well, at least this one looked like a snail huh? I think there is nothing wrong with being ambitious, but when it comes to crafting, unless you are one of the super talented ones, it is better to take small simple steps during the early stage.
Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh
(Shades of Pink)
After completing my third amigurumi, I started my journey in “bringing a series of small things together”. There were ups and downs along the way, with many mental debates on whether I should change my path to crocheting instead. Eventually I started my Esty shop in 2018 and have received unconditional supports from my family and friends. I am very thankful to be still hanging on at this moment.
Just a few days ago, after updating my shop and wondering what I should do next, something came up and I decided to crochet that Teddy bear again. Using the same crochet hook and a similar yarn but this time, I’ve had all the materials needed.
Same pattern but different outcomes?
From this “experiment”, I realized that in the world of amigurumi, the skill that we’ve acquired is not really only about crocheting but how we “sculpt” all our crocheted components.
I have to admit that assembling the components is still the most intimidating part for me but ironically, it is the very same thing that we need to master well in order to give “life” to all these cuties!
Sometimes you have to do what you don’t like to get to where you want to be.
Tori Amos
Thank you for reading this post and have a wonderful day ahead! Do stay safe, healthy and happy!
Till then,
Cheers & TTFN~ 😀
Symplestuff in Life 