By Teddy M. Bear (@thisbear)

In the past, clothes for small bears tended to be limited to cast off baby clothes or being forced to squeeze your stuffing into a dolly's frock.

Luckily companies like bespoke fashion house Bearmani or the off-the-peg Build-a-Bear have come along to revolutionize bear wear.

The world of knit wear is slowing catching up and the stylish bear can now add a cosy jumper or a natty knitted hat to his Bearmani outfit without destroying the look with a badly fitting cardi or an unflattering pair of mittens.

This is about knitting for bears - not by bears. I have tried. Don't be tempted. Yes, a big pile of yarn is a comfy place for a snooze and those pointy sticks are very useful for prodding things but being untangled from a big ball of chunky acrylic can ruffle the fur.

Find a knitter. Don't be put off if you are told that no one knits these days. There are plenty of knitters out there. If you don't have one already available then look for places that sell cake. You will usually find a knitter or two. They like to get together to eat cake and ogle each other yarn and pointy sticks.

Found your knitter?

Now you need to look for a pattern. Online is a good place to start.

Ravelry (https://www.ravelry.com/) is the biggest site for knitters. WARNING - do not allow your knitter to use Ravelry unsupervised or your plans for a neat little sweater will disappear under a load of shawls, socks and knitted bunnies.

But you will find ideas, advices and patterns - a lot of them for free :o)

We found the pattern for my favourite jumper on another site - Knitting Pattern Central
(http://knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/teddy_bears.php)

My knitting madame tells me that Monkster's Sweater (http://www.kidsknits.com/free/monkster.htm) is a very simple seamfree pattern that can be easily altered to fit or change the shape - adding a turtle neck or a hood. It can even be worn by monkeys!

There are a few knitting books for bears out there. Our favourite is "Knits For Bears To Wear" by Amy O'Neill Houck. Very up-to-date designs (you can see photos here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/plainsight/sets/72157608657543697/) and plenty of help to get the right fit. There's also a companion book called "Crochet For Bears To Wear" if you have a hooky assistant rather than a knitter.

Be careful if your knitter is into vintage patterns. There are few out there for bears. My madame has come home with old patterns that she thinks she'll knit for me but no way is this Bearmani wearing bear stepping out in a knitted romper suit with attached mittens on a string and a matching bobble hat!

One last though - encourage your knitter to use the best yarn they can find. They might try to fob you off with odd scraps and leftovers or a ball of nasty acrylic that makes your fur stand on end and sparks crackle between your ears. Tell them how much more pleasant it is to knit with a nice hand dyed hand spun or some buttery soft merino or a cool silk and cotton blend and how huggable you will be in the result :o)