Julie the Bear Girl Free Crochet Doll Pattern

Julie the Bear Girl is my newest teddy bear-themed doll free crochet pattern!

Read on to learn more about my design process and inspiration, or scroll to the end to get the free pattern. If you’re in a hurry and need to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here.

An adorable girl doll with a teddy bear outfit!

Dolls are one of my favorite types of projects to make, and this project was no exception! My previous project, Kitsune the Fox Doll, is one of my most popular patterns. I love her cute chibi proportions and the super sweet suspender skirt.

Julie the Bear Girl (also pictured below) is very similar to Kitsune the Fox Girl, but she’s slightly taller, using my 6″ doll base. I gave her slightly longer hair, and her hat is new and improved with FPDC/BPDC ribbing!

I really enjoyed adding a new installment to my “series” of adorable mini dolls wearing animal outfits, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make more soon!

It’s been about three years since I published Kitsune, and it’s so interesting to see how my style has changed (and yet remained so similar!) over that time.

Kitsune the Fox Girl free pattern here!
Julie the Bear Girl!

Tips for making your first doll!

If you’ve never made a doll before, it can feel a little intimidating! Often, making humans can be tougher because we have an instinctive eye for what a person is supposed to look like, so it can be easier to accidentally make your project look a little off.

One of the tricky parts can be connecting the legs. The reason this is a stumbling block for beginners is because most dolls use this exact technique to connect two legs together, but it’s not usually technique that you come across unless you’ve tried making a doll with this construction before.

If you’re working on the pattern below and feel like the connecting legs portion is tripping you up, check out my blog post below which has a full photo and video tutorial to help you out. Just click below! If this is your first time, it’s a good idea to review this technique first so you know what you’re getting yourself into.

How to Connect Amigurumi Legs Seamlessly (video tutorial)

If you want some more help with the doll base, I have an entire video tutorial that goes through the exact doll base I use in this pattern.

The only differences are that in Julie the Bear Girl, I switch to white at round 12 to create the white shirt effect and work round 16 in the BLO to make it easy to attach the skirt later. Apart from that, the doll base I use in this pattern is exactly the same as in the video below.

If you’re feeling unconfident about creating the doll base, just follow along with the video tutorial below and keep an eye on the written pattern at the same time so you can get some visual help with how the doll base is supposed to fit together.

I hope these resources help!

Technical Notes

  • If you want to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here!

Description

Julie the Bear Girl is a charming amigurumi doll with a simple outfit. The skirt is worked directly onto the body and the shirt is made with a color change — no need to crochet any extra pieces! Learn a simple way to crochet realistic hair and finish it off with a super adorable teddy bear hat.

Yarn

Confused about materials? For all my personal recommendations of my most-used tools, yarns, and supplies, check out my favorites in this complete guide!

  • WeCrochet Brava Sport (sport)
    • (<1 skein) Dark Beige (light brown)
    • (<1 skein) Cream (fair skin color or any color skin color yarn. Check out this post for the best skin tone yarns!)
    • (<1 skein) White
    • (<1 skein) Chocolate (dark brown)

Notions

  • Size D 3.25mm Clover Amour hook
  • 6.0mm safety eyes
  • fiberfill stuffing
  • tapestry needle
  • stitch markers
  • pink embroidery thread
  • blocking materials (for straight hair)
  • (optional) hot glue gun
  • two 7/8″ brown buttons
  • brown embroidery thread for sewing buttons

Abbreviations

  • BLO: back loop only
  • BPDC: back post double crochet
  • ch: chain
  • CC: contrast color
  • dc: double crochet
  • dec: decrease
  • FSC: foundation single crochet
  • FPDC: front post double crochet
  • FLO: front loop only
  • hdc: half double crochet
  • hdc inc: hdc increase (2 hdcs in same st)
  • inc: increase (work two single crochets in one stitch)
  • MC: main color
  • MR: magic ring
  • rnd: round
  • RS: right side
  • S: strand (of hair)
  • sc: single crochet
  • sk: skip
  • x sc: work x number of single crochets
  • sl st: slip stitch
  • st(s): stitch(es)
  • tr: treble crochet
  • WS: wrong side
  • x sc: sc x number of stitches
  • (x sts): total number of stitches for the round
  • (…) x: work all steps within parentheses x number of times

Technical Notes

  1. Crochet in continuous spiral rounds, unless specified otherwise. Use a stitch marker or piece of yarn to keep track of the last stitch in each round.
  1. When filling with polyester stuffing, pull apart each large chunk into many smaller chunks. This ensures an even distribution of firmness within the amigurumi.
  2. To avoid large holes in the crochet fabric, increase tension until the holes cannot be seen, or choose a crochet hook a size down.
  3. Stuff the head and the body firmly at the openings so that the neck is stable upon completion.
  4. Use sewing pins to secure parts of the amigurumi before you sew them. For extra sewing tips, see my post here!

Special Stitches

  • Invisible finish off: tutorial here
  • FPDC BPDC Border (tutorial here)
    • Work a double crochet stitch by inserting the hook around the post of the previous row either from the front (FPDC) or back (bpdc)
  • Foundation Single Crochet (FSC): tutorial here

Final Size

6″ x 2″

The Pattern

LEGS (in Cream. This pattern is almost identical to my doll base tutorial except for the color change in rnd 12 of the body.)

  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)
  • Round 3-11 (9 rnds): sc all around (8 sts)
  • Stuff firmly, using the back of a crochet hook or chopstick to push the stuffing down. Finish off (this is leg 1) and then create a second leg identically, but do not finish off the second leg (this is leg 2).

Connect the legs (full tutorial): With your hook still connected to leg 2, pick up and work a stitch anywhere on leg 1, then work the remaining 8 single crochets all around leg 1. Then, pick up and work a stitch on leg 2 right next to the last stitch from round 11, and then work the remaining 7 stitches around leg 2. The two legs should now be connected with a total of 16 stitches around.

BODY (switch to White)

  • Round 12-15 (8 rnds): sc all around (16 sts)
  • Round 16: in the BLO, sc all around (16 sts)
  • Round 17-20 (4 rnds): sc all around (16 sts)
  • Round 20: (6 sc, dec) x2 (14 sts)
  • Round 21: sc all around (14 sts)
  • Round 22: (5 sc, dec) x2 (12 sts)
  • Stuff firmly. Finish off, leaving a long (~12 inches) tail for sewing (see fig. 1 below).

HEAD (in Cream)

  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: inc x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 3: (sc, inc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 6: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 7: (5 sc, inc) x6 (42 sts)
  • Round 8-16 (9 rnds): sc all around (42 sts)
  • Place 6.0 mm safety eyes between rounds 13 and 14, 8 stitches apart.
  • Round 17: (5 sc, dec) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 18: (4 sc, dec) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 19: (3 sc, dec) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 20: (2 sc, dec) x6 (18 sts)
  • Stuff.
  • Round 21: (sc, dec) x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 22: dec x6 (6 sts)
  • Finish off and weave in end. Using the tail from the body, sew the head and body together.
  • Nose (tutorial here): Using Cream, embroider three horizontal stitches directly between the eyes to form the nose (2 sts long).

ARMS (in Cream)

  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)
  • Round 3: sc all around (8 sts)
  • Round 4: (2 sc, dec) x2 (6 sts)
  • Round 5-9 (5 rnds): sc all around (6 sts)
  • Do not stuff. Finish off, leaving a short tail. Fold flat and then sew to the left and right sides of the seam between the head and body.

Fig. 1: (Top left) arms, (bottom left) head, (right) body

HAIR (in Dark Brown)

  • Begin: With Dark Brown, make a magic ring.
  • Round 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: inc x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 3: (sc, inc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24 sts)
  • We have now created a circle which will form the center of the hair piece. We will now create 20 hair strands (S) branching off from rnd 4 of the center, leaving the last 4 sts in rnd 4 unworked.

  • S1: Ch 21 off the side of rnd 4. Sc in the 2nd ch from hook and sc across. Sl st into the next st in rnd 4. (20 sts)
  • S2-20: Repeat S1, creating hair strands all around rnd 4, until there are 4 sts left which will remain unworked.
  • FO, leaving a tail for sewing. Lay the hair piece flat and steam block so that each hair strand is straight and does not curl (see fig. 2).
  • Place the blocked hair piece on the head with the WS up and with the unworked sts from rnd 4 facing the front of the head. Pin down the hair to your liking and secure by sewing or with hot glue (see fig. 3). Weave in ends.

Fig. 2: Halfway through pinning hair strands down on a blocking mat and blocking.
Fig. 3: Hair secured on the head and glued down.
Side view.

SKIRT (in Light Brown)

  • Hold the doll base with the head pointing towards you, face down (fig. 4).
  • Round 1: Insert the hook into the unworked front loops from rnd 16 of the body with hook pointed towards legs and attach yarn. Chain 1 to secure. Then, pick up hdcs all around the body. (16 sts)
  • Round 2: hdc inc x16 (32 sts)
  • Round 3: (hdc, hdc inc) x16 (48 sts)
  • Round 4-5: hdc around (48 sts)
  • Invisible finish off, weave in end (fig. 5).

Fig. 4: Insert hook into the front loops of rnd 16 of the body with hook pointed towards legs.
Fig. 5: Finished skirt.

SUSPENDER STRAPS (in Light Brown)

Pick two points on rnd 16 on the left and right sides of the front of the doll. Insert hook into rnd 16 of the body, where the skirt is attached to the body (see fig. 6). Chain 1 to secure.

Work 8 FSC (see Special Stitches) to form the suspender, then sew to the back of the doll on rnd 16 where the skirt meets the body (fig. 7).

Repeat with the second suspender strap, then sew on two dark brown buttons to the front of the dress. See fig. 8.

Fig. 6: Insert hook into rnd 16.
Fig. 7: Back of doll.
Fig. 8: Finished suspender straps.

HAT (in Light Brown. See Special Stitches for FPDC and BPDC.)

  • Round 1: 6 hdc in MR (6 sts)
  • Round 2: hdc inc x6 (12 sts)
  • Round 3: (hdc, hdc inc) x6 (18 sts)
  • Round 4: (2 hdc, hdc inc) x6 (24 sts)
  • Round 5: (3 hdc, hdc inc) x6 (30 sts)
  • Round 6: (4 hdc, hdc inc) x6 (36 sts)
  • Round 7-8 (2 rnds): hdc around (36 sts)
  • Round 9 (see photo tutorial below): (FPDC, BPDC) x18 (36 sts)
  • Round 10: (FPDC, BPDC) x18 (36 sts)
  • Invisible finish off (see Special Stitches) and weave in end (fig. 9).
Fig. 9: Finished hat.
Fig. 10: Finished ears.

FPDC, BPDC Tutorial:

Begin working a dc, but insert hook through post of the stitch in the row below from the front.
FPDC finished.
Begin working a dc, but insert hook through post of the stitch in the row below from the back.
BPDC finished.

Julie the Bear Girl is all done! I hope you enjoyed crocheting her and found the pattern helpful. I would love to see your finished amigurumi, so share a picture on Instagram with me by using the #littleworldofwhimsy and tagging me @littleworldofwhimsy.