The name teddy bear arose from one of President Theodore Roosevelt's (1858-1919) game hunting trips to Mississippi. He felt it unsportsmanlike to shoot a bear his assistants had tied to a tree. A 1902 political cartoon that appeared in The Washington Post about the bear incident generated a Brooklyn's store owner's interest in creating a stuffed bear cub for his toy shop; the stuffed toy was called Teddy's Bear. The stuffed bear generated such a flurry of consumer interest that the store owner, Morris Michtom, founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.

The cuddly toy became Roosevelt's mascot in his bid for re-election. Children around the world were seen with the stuffed bears. Coincidentally the German Steiff firm, unaware of the American bear, produced a stuffed bear designed by Richard Steiff.

Many other toy manufacturers began to produce teddy bears joining in the frenzy of demand for the new toy. Steiff bears remain a collectable toy today. What better way to recycle fabric leftovers than to sew an endearing teddy bear!

Baby Pip Teddy Bear from CraftBits.com

A Free Teddy Bear Pattern from TeddyBearsDen.com

Bev's Mini-Stitch Charity Bear by Beverly A. Qualheim

Make This Teddy Bear by Dorothy Haw and Abigail's Fantasy

FREE Teddy Bear Pattern by Funky Friends Factory

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Some famous bears from literature, TV and film:

The Berenstain Bears from a series of popular children's books;
Br'er Bear from the Uncle Remus folktales and immortalized in the 1946 Walt Disney film Song of the South.

The Care Bears first promoted by American Greetings Cards in 1981 - original artwork painted Elena Kucharik -- later Kenner became the manufacturer of the Care Bears.

Fozzie the Bear – a joke-telling Muppet created by Jim Henson.
Gentle Ben created by author Walt Morey, later made into a film and TV show in the 1960s.

The Three Bears or Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a timeless bedtime story.

Paddington Bear first appeared in 1958 and in many books written by Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum.

Smokey the Bear - mascot of the United States Forest Service created in 1944 as a way to educate on the dangers of forest fires.

Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional bear created by A. A. Milne.

Yogi Bear - a cartoon bear created by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Sew happy, sew well.

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