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.

The Many Outrageous Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh

When most folks hear about "Classic Pooh," they typically don't imagine a gray-haired Winnie the Pooh dressed in a suit. But at the height of the bean bag craze at the Disney Store and Catalog (around 2002 to 2005) the gang from the Hundred Acre Woods had to expand their horizons and go where they had never gone before.

Pooh became an intimidating Super Hero! What was Pooh's power? He could control the world's bees, and could make them sting his foes! Pooh's catch-phrase was "Oh, Bee-have!" (yes, he got permission from Austin Powers). Piglet was enlisted to become Super Pooh's sidekick.


Piglet was given growth hormones, and as pigs tend to do, he got huge!

Winnie the Pooh had already established a Beatles cover band, so naturally the quartet assumed the identity of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.


They hope you enjoyed their show!

When an asteroid threatened to destroy Earth, Pooh and his crew decided to become astronauts.

Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck and Aerosmith destroyed the asteroid before Pooh and his friends completed Space Camp training.

Pooh later moved to Chicago, Illinois to perform with the Blues Brothers.



Pooh adored the Blustery City. I mean, the Windy City. He also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, did guest appearances with Bozo the Clown (he even helped set up the buckets for The Grand Prize Game), and was a reporter for WGN News.

Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore later joined the circus! Eeyore was not a fan of dressing up as an elephant, or Pooh's strict training process.


Not shown is Kanga as the Bearded Lady.

Pooh may be stuffed with fluff, but he's a also a stocky tough guy that is buff. He took up weightlifting when he went to Australia.


Piglet became a Judo Master in Australia, and opened a training studio called "Pork Chops."

Pooh then went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he hoped to finally open the "Disney's America" theme park that had originally been planned for Virginia in the 1990s.



As was the case in Virginia, the locals protested, and the park wasn't built. The "Disney's America" sites later became lackluster shopping centers.

After spending so much money traveling, Pooh and Piglet temporarily became vagabonds, and hopped on trains to get around the country.



When they finally landed a new gig, they were able to travel first class again.

And what a fantastic new show they got!

Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore put on a show that the world had always wanted to see. A Winnie the Pooh Barbershop Quartet!



Pooh and his friends now can be seen sporting their handlebar moustaches and performing musical numbers on Main Street at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland!

Elvis Presley Winnie The Pooh And Other Characters, Too!

Do you remember that time when Winnie the Pooh decided to be an Elvis impersonator, so he got a black leather costume like the one Elvis Presley wore in his '68 Comeback TV Special? Pooh put on a highly successful concert in the Hundred Acre Woods. Kanga probably would have thrown her underwear at Winnie the Pooh while he was performing on stage, if Kanga ever wore any clothes.

At the height of the bean bag craze at the Disney Store and Disney Catalog (around years 2002 to 2005), Winnie the Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Woods got themselves in to some outrageous situations. I do not own any of these bean bags, but I thought these were hilarious and outlandish.

Piglet, Eeyore and Pooh love to dress up as monsters to scare off the Heffalumps and Woozles. And everyone else.


They sure are scary here! I think this set was released when "Monsters Inc." debuted.

Pooh and his pals also performed in a Beatles cover band! It's not that hard to imagine, since they are all from the United Kingdom.



Of course, the Beatles decided to branch out as cartoon characters for a while, so it was alright with everybody.

Dr. FrankenPooh decided to make a FrankenEeyore monster, but nobody in the Hundred Acre Woods really noticed him.



Tigger did not participate in this project, because he had dressed up as Franken-Tigger years earlier!

Piglet and Tigger spent some time in school. They did not really hang out together.


Do you think Jock Tigger picked on Nerd Piglet? No way! Piglet later started his own successful business on the Internet, and Tigger is now one of his bodyguards.

Pooh stole too much honey from the bees and was sent away to live in Australia for a while. While he was there, he tried to blend in with The Outback animals.


Crikey! It's Platypus Pooh and Lizard Pooh!

Eeyore, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger later started competing in 100 Acre Wrestling Federation matches.



I think Piglet was on steroids.

Pooh also joined a 1980s hair band.


Pooh had a successful career, but developed an even more severe honey addiction while on tour. Pooh is currently working on an album with Blondie.

Tigger tried to be a Vaudeville performer.

The outfit alone got Tigger laughs when he went on stage.

After years of intense studying, Piglet and Pooh got jobs at the Hundred Acre Woods University.


Winnie the Pooh, what did they do to you? I think I had a few teachers that looked like this in school.

Stay tuned for more wild and wacky Winnie the Pooh!