Crochet bear pattern, eight pieces and 118 rounds
A free crochet bear pattern for a sitting bear about 16 cm tall, worked on a 2.5 mm hook in two colours of cotton over roughly six hours. Sc, inc and dec are the only stitches anywhere in it: the head is where the work is, twenty-four rounds from six stitches out to forty-eight and back to six, and every piece after it is that same idea at a smaller scale. All 118 rounds are written out across the eight pieces, each round carrying the count it ends on.
Maths verified, not yet made. Every one of the 118 rounds was checked against the round before it by machine — the counts, the increases and the decreases all add up. What nobody can promise you yet is how it sits in the hand.How we check
6 of 8 checks ran on 2026-09-04
- 1 format and stitch chainscripts/validate.py — 113 patterns, all counts chain.
- 2 catalogue auditscripts/audit-patterns.py — 113 audited, 0 errors, 66 warnings.
- 3 geometrygeometry-check.py — 113 checked, 0 errors, 4 warnings.
- 5 not a duplicate113 distinct display names across 113 patterns
- 6c target on the recordseo.headKeyword, confidence and demand present and cross-checked by scripts/validate.py
- 8 page readinessscripts/check-completeness.py --gate — 0 required fields missing, 114 editorial flags, 0 unearned claims.
Not yet checked
- 4 render matches the pattern — no image has been compared against its own prompt, so a render showing a piece the rounds do not make would not be caught here. Nothing has counted how many do.
- 6a recognisability — provenance.recognisability is empty in every pattern, so there is no feature list to check the parts against.
Why it is rated Medium
Medium for length rather than technique: sc, inc and dec are the only stitches, but there are 118 rounds across eight pieces and the head closes from forty-eight stitches to six over its last eight.
Sell what you make. Anything you crochet from this pattern is yours to sell — any quantity, no fee, no credit required.
00
00What you need before you start
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What you need before you start
Yarn — two colours, all weight 2
1 ballCotton 4-ply
scrapsCotton 4-ply
Tools
2 you probably own, 3 to buyYou likely have
Tapestry needle
Scissors
You need to buy
Polyester stuffing
8 mm safety eyes
Black embroidery thread for the nose
Optional
Stitch marker
Gauge and finished size
the last check before you cast onTension
Tight enough that no stuffing shows between the stitches.
Finished size
~16 cm tall sitting
Worked on a 3.5 mm hook with DK instead of 4-ply, the same 118 rounds give a noticeably larger bear. Nothing in the counts changes; only the fabric gets looser, so stuff more lightly to keep it from showing through.
How to make the bramble bear, piece by piece
Switching rewrites every round:US6 sc in a magic ringUK6 dc in a magic ringWork a US sc as a UK single crochet and the fabric comes out looser and taller.
1
01The head
Twenty-four rounds out to forty-eight stitches and back to six, with…24 RNDS
starts in bramble· magic ring· Piece 1 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [24] [24] [30]
Out to the widest band
RND 1–121[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[24]
5[24]
6[30]
7[30]
8[36]
9[36]
10[42]
11[42]
12[48]
Four rounds straight
RND 13–1613[48]
14[48]
15[48]
16[48]
Closing over the stuffing
RND 17–2417[42]
18[36]
19[24]
20[24]
21[18]
22[18]
23[12]
24[6]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
When this piece is doneStuff it firmly as the count comes down, not all at the end. Close the last six stitches and leave a long tail on this one; the head is sewn to the body with it.
2
02The body
Thirty rounds, and fifteen of them are the same thirty-six stitches…30 RNDS
starts in bramble· magic ring· Piece 2 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [24] [30] [36]
Out to thirty-six
RND 1–61[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[24]
5[30]
6[36]
Fifteen identical rounds
RND 7–217[36]
8[36]
9[36]
10[36]
11[36]
12[36]
13[36]
14[36]
15[36]
16[36]
17[36]
18[36]
19[36]
20[36]
21[36]
In to six and closed
RND 22–3022[30]
23[30]
24[24]
25[24]
26[18]
27[18]
28[12]
29[12]
30[6]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
When this piece is doneStuff firmly from round 24 onward, while the opening is still twenty-four stitches wide. Close the last six, then set it on the table and check that it sits without leaning before you sew anything to it.
3
03The arms
Fourteen rounds each. Out to twelve for the paw, in to eight at round…14 RNDS
starts in bramble· magic ring· Piece 3 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [12] [12] [8] [8]
Out to twelve
RND 1–21[6]
2[12]
The paw, then in
RND 3–53[12]
4[12]
5[8]
Nine rounds of arm
RND 6–146[8]
7[8]
8[8]
9[8]
10[8]
11[8]
12[8]
13[8]
14[8]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
When this piece is doneStuff the first five rounds only, which is the paw. Flatten the open end and sew it to the body along that flat edge rather than closing it.
4
04Right arm
— the same 14 rounds again, worked from piece 0314 RNDS
starts in bramble· magic ring· Piece 4 of 8· mirrors the arms
First six rounds[6] [12] [12] [12] [8] [8]
1[6]
2[12]
3[12]
4[12]
5[8]
6[8]
7[8]
8[8]
9[8]
10[8]
11[8]
12[8]
13[8]
14[8]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
5
05The legs
Twelve rounds. Out to eighteen for the foot, three rounds at that…12 RNDS
starts in bramble· magic ring· Piece 5 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [18] [12]
Out to eighteen
RND 1–31[6]
2[12]
3[18]
The foot, then the ankle
RND 4–64[18]
5[18]
6[12]
Six rounds of leg
RND 7–127[12]
8[12]
9[12]
10[12]
11[12]
12[12]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
When this piece is doneStuff the foot end firmly out to round 6 and leave the last six rounds soft. Leave the top open and flatten it; the bear sits on that join, so it wants to hinge rather than hold.
6
06Right leg
— the same 12 rounds again, worked from piece 0512 RNDS
starts in bramble· magic ring· Piece 6 of 8· mirrors the legs
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [18] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[18]
6[12]
7[12]
8[12]
9[12]
10[12]
11[12]
12[12]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
7
07The ears
Two cocoa discs, six stitches out to eighteen in three rounds, then…6 RNDS
starts in cocoa· magic ring· Piece 7 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [18] [18]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[18]
6[18]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
When this piece is doneLeave them empty and press each one flat. Sew the flattened edge to the head in a shallow curve so the cup faces forward.
8
08Right ear
— the same 6 rounds again, worked from piece 076 RNDS
starts in cocoa· magic ring· Piece 8 of 8· mirrors the ears
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [18] [18]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[18]
6[18]
US termsMRmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreaseststitch
You are here
Eight pieces from five lists. Three lists — the arms, the legs and the ears — are written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.118 ROUNDS IN ALL
Three notes on the bramble bear
Read themClose
01The eyes go in before the head is closed. Once the opening narrows you cannot reach inside.
02Stuff as you go rather than all at the end.
03It is the longest thing here. The head is the hard part; everything after it is the same three stitches again.
Four questions this pattern answers
Not questions anybody asked. Each one is written from this pattern's own record, and every answer is read off the fields it names.
How many pieces make up the bramble bear?
How much yarn will the bramble bear take?
What hook will the bramble bear need, and what is the finished size?
How long will the bramble bear take to crochet?
A round that will not add up?
Tell us the piece and the round number — the stepper already knows where you are.There is nowhere to send one yet.
Put the laptop down mid-round
The iPhone app keeps your place — piece of 8, round of — and hands it back where you left it.
