Sewing Patterns for Build-A-Bear Clothes
There are a few things that I’ve wanted to sew over the years that I had a hard time rounding up sewing pattern sources for and Build-A-Bear clothes is one of them! All three of my kids loved their Build-A-Bears when they were younger, though, and I DID eventually manage to find a few good sources for patterns.
The question came up in one of my sewing groups recently of whether or not you can use doll clothes patterns to sew clothes for Build-a-Bear animals. The answer is no, since 18” dolls are very differently shaped from teddy bears, but it did spark the idea to round up a solid list of sources for sewing Build-A-Bear clothes. So that’s what I’m going to do today! This list is a good mix of free and paid, beginner and more intricate, so I hope it’s useful to many of you, no matter your budget or skill level.
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Sewing Patterns for Build-A-Bear Clothes
Bear Wear Patterns
First up is my very favorite resource, Bear Wear Patterns. This is where I finally discovered great patterns for Build-A-Bear with a nice variety of styles. I love that they go beyond the basics and offer more intricate designs for clothing. For this reason, I would call these patterns intermediate as far as skill level goes.
I was able to make my son’s “Doggie” an Army jacket using one of my husband’s old uniforms and that felt pretty special! (So many years ago now — this boy just turned 13!)
Bear Wear patterns are all PDF, so you can print them to use at once, and I find their prices very reasonable. They do offer a FREE pattern for how to make three outfits out of a bandana.
Best Dressed Bears
Etsy really has it all, doesn’t it? While there aren’t very many sellers with patterns just for Build-A-Bear on Etsy, there is one shining star and that’s Best Dressed Bears. This shop has many cute and stylish patterns to choose from and it gets five stars from reviewers!
FREE Top & Bloomers Pattern
It’s Always Autumn has a very cute pattern for free on her blog for a teddy bear top and bloomers. This pattern fits Build-a-Bear animals and is easy to sew, so this would be a great place for a quick pattern that’s beginner friendly. You can then lengthen the top into a dress and the bloomers into pants if you wanted!
Printed Patterns
The big pattern companies have released patterns for teddy bear clothes patterns in the past to fit Build-A-Bear animals. While none of them are currently in print as far as I can tell, it’s not hard to find out of print patterns that aren’t very old. Once you get your hands on one, you can adapt all the views to mix and match and make even more styles, so you can get a ton of mileage out of just one pattern. Here are three to look for from Simplicity:
Simplicity 5283
Simplicity 5280
Simplicity 4723
I usually look on Amazon and Etsy. I’m not much of an Ebay user, but I’m sure you can find them there too.
Cabbage Patch Patterns
Cabbage Patch clothes also fit Build-A-Bear! Did you know that? Several people on that thread in my sewing group mentioned sewing Cabbage Patch clothes for Build-A-Bear animals. This is another genre of patterns that is out of print from the big pattern companies, but the good news is that there were lots more of them over the years, so they’re not hard to find at all. I’ve bought them on Etsy before and still have some (because Cabbage Patches will never be out of my heart!) Make sure you’re buying the patterns for the larger Cabbage Patch dolls, not the newborns (just typing that, I could smell those dolls, ha!)
One thing to note: if you use Cabbage Patch patterns, you’ll need to leave an opening in the back seam for the tail that animals from Build-A-bear always have, so if there’s not center back seam, you’ll need to make one. That’s a small alteration, though, so these patterns are a great option, especially if you prefer printed patterns.
Why can’t I use regular doll clothes patterns?
The answer to this might be obvious to some, but I’ll address it anyway, because it’s been asked in my sewing group more than once.
18” dolls are taller and skinnier than animals from Build-A-Bear. Not only is the body wider and the limbs shorter than an 18” doll, the arm, leg, and neck openings need to be bigger. Of course you can adapt anything to fit, but with all these great options for teddy bear clothes, it makes more sense to get the right patterns for the job!
I hope this has been useful to you if you have little ones who want more clothes for their Build-A-Bear dolls! Let us know in the comments if you know of any other great resources.
Cheers :)
Nikki
