Sears Build A Winnie the Pooh Bear: Hundred Acre Wood Works

Once upon a time, there was a retail giant called Sears.  Sears was well known for selling hardware and appliances.  But there was also a softer side to Sears.  In 1965, Sears began an alliance with Disney to exclusively sell Winnie the Pooh merchandise.  In the 1970s and 1980s, Pooh and his friends were essentially mascots for the children's section of Sears.  Among the clothing and toys sold at Sears were Bucilla Stitchery Kits.  If produced, these were probably the best looking plush representations of the characters that Sears designed.

The kits were not simply patterns.  They contained the materials to make the characters.  While they were sort of early versions of the Build A Bear concept, these look to be a lot more work, and curiously, some include wooden dowels.  So they were not exactly cuddly plush toys.  They were craft projects.

Winnie the Pooh seems to be the easiest of these kits to find.  Pooh's kit includes a Chenille Bee--these Bees are pretty common even today in craft stores.  And a cuddly wooden stick.

Eeyore is also a kit that seems to be easy to find.  Eeyore is made using a denim material.

Eeyore features printed eyes, nostrils, and other facial features.  They did the main detail work for you on these projects.

Eeyore doesn't include a wooden dowel rod.

Stuffing is also not included with these kits.  I can't remember if Sears sold stuffing.

Kanga and Roo are kind of difficult to find, and are generally a bit more expensive.

Kanga and Roo seem to be made of the same thick, furry material as the Winnie the Pooh project.

No Wooden dowel for Kanga and Roo.  This project seems like a lot of work, considering it is two characters.

The toughest character to find in this series is Tigger.

This project is my favorite by far, and easily the best Tigger item Sears ever did.

Tigger is made from a chic Tiger print material.  Perfect for a Jersey Shore housewife's coat, or a toy tiger!

Like Pooh, the towering, tall Tigger requires a wooden dowel rod for his construction.

I'm not sure if there were any more characters in this set, but so far I've only encountered these four.