Memory Bear

Pieces cut and sewing begun

Goal number five on my October list was to make a memory bear. I'm using flannel from the sheet set my daughter had when she was around ten. This is the same fabric I'm using to weave the rug I posted about in the past.

The head is together

The reason I decided to make the memory bear was that when she saw the rug project, she said, I thought I would get a bear. Goodness! Look at all the time I've spent storing that sheet set and pondering what kind of project I could actually finish for her, when all it would have taken was less than a pillow case made into a bear!

Body sewn together, legs and arms started

Following the online tutorial was a challenge for me. I like following a printed pattern best. Over time and a few sessions with "Jack," I did manage to sew all the parts to the bear. 

Cutting batting scraps

Next up was stuffing the bear. I had a small bag of batting scraps that I used to partially stuff the body, the arms and the legs. I had planned to finish stuffing the bear with poly fiberfill. Then I decided why not continue using my leftover batting scraps. My four year old granddaughter, who loves to cut, took on the job of cutting the scraps into smaller pieces. I actually wore her hand out with the cutting job. When I cut the batting scraps, I use a rotary cutter so my hand is not going to tire!

She added her pile of scraps to the body but, there was room for more so it was back to the batting scrap pile to make more bits! My granddaughter did not like adding the bits to the body. It was much too slow a job!

Adding the mouth

She also was quite concerned that there were no arms or legs on the bear. She didn't see how it could be a bear with legs and arms! I was also informed bears have eyes and a nose. She said the bear needed a ribbon tie too. Such a lot of "needs" to make it work. . .she didn't know if I would be able to accomplish making an actual bear! For being four, she is quite the thinker!

Arms and legs ready for attaching

We did embroider a mouth. We decided the eyes could be buttons which we will work on today. We may also work on the nose. I ordered a set of doll needles to attach the arms and legs. This will likely arrive after she leaves. We did select a recycled ribbon from the wrapping paper that will make a great tie.

While I didn't finish the bear, the project is far enough along to share! Linking to: Finished Or Not Friday and Patchwork and Quilts