I hope you enjoyed the tutorial last Friday on how to use satin stitch embroidery to give your amigurumi some spectacular looking eyes. I had a lot of fun stitching it, and to tell you the truth, I didn’t stop with the face. In this post I’ll tell you more about how stitch-crazy I went with this bear, and I’d like to also address all of you who asked me about where you can go to get lessons in embroidery.

Before I get started, if you are looking for the pattern to crochet this bear, you’ll find it for free here at the picnic.

Looking for more tips on how to add faces to your amigurumi? Check out my resources page.

I made this particular bear for a friend of mine in Italy and I wanted to make it extra-special. I had found a book on doodle embroidery a while back, and I decided this bear was the perfect opportunity to try it out. Aimee Ray’s Doodle Stitching is so, so, so much fun. You can use her patterns as templates, but for this project, I just picked some of her simpler designs, studied them, and started stitching them all over the bear’s belly. The designs I used can be found in the flower section on page 95 of her book. It was fun to play around and see how the different designs could work together.

Now I’m really looking forward to trying some of the projects in her book, like the bunting with “Happy Day” embroidered on it, the “All-Weather Draft Dodger,” and all of the adorable woodland animals. What can I say, Ray’s whimsical style really speaks to me.

If you’re new to embroidery but are itching to learn, I recommend this, or any of her books, as a great place to start. I’d also recommend NeedlenThread.com. Mary Corbet has been providing embroidery tutorials and instruction online for over nine years. I highly recommend you check her out.

I hope you enjoy learning more about embroidery. I think it’s a fun and unique way to add character and a personal touch to your crochet projects.