Sewing for Fun and Profit – The Top Places to Find Great Teddy Bear Sewing Patterns for Free
: March 31st, 2012
: SKadmin No other home-based business offers the opportunity to enjoy your work while making a profit more than teddy bear sewing. Teddy bears are liked by almost everyone. Fact, sales of all stuffed animals including teddy bears reached $1.3 billion in 2006. You may not want to go that big selling your teddy bears, but you can easily make tons of money selling them at craft shows and flea markets.
But before we start, here’s a list of some great sites that have free teddy bear sewing patterns.
- www.teddy-talk.com – Goldie – A 13 1/2″ Teddy Bear – A Teddy Bear sewing pattern for a cuddly, huggable teddy made from mohair
- www.allfreecrafts.com – How to Make a Panda Teddy Bear Sewing Pattern – A pattern for a panda-ish Teddy Bear
- www.teddybearandfriends.com – 6 inch Teddy Bear – Instructions to make a teeny tiny bear
Teddy Bear Sewing Companies that Grew into Big Corporations
There are two different companies in the US that started out with just one person sewing teddy bears, that is now a large corporation. One lady that wanted a toy bear for her son, Barbara Isenberg, started sewing just one bear at a time. You now know that company as the North American Bear Company.
John Sortino didn’t like that most teddy bears were foreign so he began making his little son bears by himself. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company was the business that John and his wife actually started, of which is the largest teddy bear manufacturer in the country today. You can start a profitable teddy bear sewing business on a smaller scale to make the money you need for extras or to help support the family.
Getting Started
To start with, it is important that you love to sew and have some basic sewing skills. The business of teddy bear sewing will require love for sewing in order for you to sit and sew for several hours per day. In fact, intermediate skills are needed it you want to them to be good enough to sell.
Basic supplies needed:
A good sewing machine that can handle fur and other heavy fabric
Various sizes of sharp scissors
Many colors of threads to match fabrics
At least three different bear patterns
Bear joints for movable arms and legs
Goals and Business Plan
You will also need a marketing plan to let others know about your unique craft business. This could also be in the form of business cards or brochures from which you sell your teddy bears. Some crafters throw home parties to introduce their crafts to potential customers who have been invited to the homes of friends and families.
While others are only selling at craft shows you will be covering several venues. Because teddy bears are easy to ship you can also think about importing them over seas, because bears pack down well and shipping them for foreign sales would not be hard.
You can also use your bears as fund raisers and donate one of them to be auctioned off in a contest or auction. You can use these two methods to make people see you and your teddy bear business.
Forums are a great place to learn more about how crafters work their business and it could bring you some customers as well. You can also be a regular on craft blogs that allow you to comment and place your website URL in the comments section.
The idea of a home-based craft business has been presented in this article. Two different manufacturer began at home, just like you can, and have made millions. You have been informed of the basic supplies needed to get your craft business off the ground and several ideas for marketing your business. Please search the Internet to find even more information on how to start your craft business at home on a shoestring.
Looking for more teddy bear sewing patterns? Please click www.iloveyouletsmeet.com to visit Teddy Bears Paradise, it has everything Teddy Bear related and everything in between, including teddy bear sewing patterns to teddy bear pictures. It really is a Teddy Bears Paradise!
