Why You Cannot Simply Photocopy a Pattern Bigger

The quickest route to a bigger teddy is to lay your pattern on the glass and press 150%, and it goes wrong for one reason: seam allowances do not scale with the rest of the design. A 6mm allowance on a 20cm bunny becomes 9mm on a 30cm bunny, and once you add that extra fabric to both sides of every seam, joints sit in the wrong place, muzzle curves flatten and paws come out too fat. Grading properly means scaling the stitching line only, then adding your usual allowance back at the end. It takes an extra twenty minutes and saves you an afternoon of unpicking.

Redraw the Stitching Line Before You Scale

Work from the seam line, not the cutting line. Trace the original pattern piece onto fresh paper with the allowance marked clearly in a contrasting colour, then measure in by your standard 6mm all the way around. Keep every notch and copy across every reference point: eye position, joint centre, ear root, stuffing gap. These points matter more than the outline.

• Transfer notches as marks on the stitching line, not the outer edge.
• Mark the grain line and any fold lines before you start scaling, so nothing shifts.
• Note the joint disc or eye size on the master pattern — you will need it later.

Scaling with a Grid, or with a Percentage

Two methods, both reliable. For a grid, draw a square grid over the master, say 2cm squares, then draw a new grid at your chosen square size and copy the shape square by square. Squares of 2.5cm give you a piece 25% larger. It is slow, but it is forgiving of awkward shapes and it keeps curves honest.

For a percentage, measure three or four key dimensions — body length, head width, leg length — and divide your target by your original. If the body is 18cm and you want 27cm, that is a 1.5 multiplier, or 150%. Check the other measurements: if they give you 1.45 and 1.55, decide whether you want a long, lean version or a chunky one, and adjust the outline by eye. Every plush pattern reaches a point where the maths stops being tidy, and that is where your judgement takes over.

One deliberate distortion is worth keeping. When you scale down, leave the head slightly larger than the maths suggests — a strictly scaled-down bear reads as an adult in miniature, whereas a proportionally bigger head reads as a cub. Scale up and do the opposite: shave a little off the head, or you will end up with a toy that looks top-heavy on the shelf.

What Should Not Scale — Joints, Eyes and Turnings

Hardware comes in fixed sizes, and that constrains your grading more than the outline does. A 25mm joint disc does not become a 37mm disc; you are choosing between 30mm and 40mm and altering the limb width so the disc has somewhere to sit. Do that adjustment on paper, not on the toy.

• Safety eyes: scale the diameter roughly with head width, but check the post length against your fabric plus any wadding. Two layers of thick fleece will not close on a short post.
• Joints: pick the nearest available disc or cotter pin, then widen or narrow the limb to suit it.
• Narrow pieces: arms, tails and ears need at least 1.5cm of finished width to turn and stuff comfortably. Below that, keep the original width even if everything else shrinks.
• Embroidery: placement scales, stitch length does not. A nose stitched in the same 3mm stitches on a small toy looks heavy; drop to two strands or shorter stitches.

Stuffing: Think in Volume, Not Length

Doubling the height of a toy multiplies its volume by roughly eight, so stuffing quantities never match the scale factor you used on the pattern. As a rough guide, a 15cm bear takes 40–60g of polyester fibrefill, a 30cm bear around 150–200g, and a 45cm bear 350–450g. Treat those as starting points and judge the rest by feel.

Small toys want to be firm — soft stuffing lets the curves collapse and the face goes slack. Large toys want a firm inner core with a softer outer layer, so the surface stays smooth without the seams straining. On anything over about 40cm, add 100–150g of plastic pellets or rice in a separate bag at the base so it sits rather than topples. Leave the last few centimetres near the closing seam deliberately under-filled, or the ladder stitch will pucker.

Mock Up in Calico Before You Cut the Good Fabric

Sew one full test toy in cheap calico or an old sheet before you touch your mohair or velvet. Mark every reference point in pen as you go — where the eyes land, where the limbs attach, whether it stands on its own. Sit it next to the original and look at them together from a metre away. Adjust the pattern once, then again if needed. Two calico bears are cheaper than one ruined piece of good fabric, and the second make always fits better than the first.