Well, Christmas has come and gone and the new year is almost upon us. Everything that needed to be made for this year's festivities has been made, and I have time for new projects (or the continuation of old ones).
Recently I was asked to make a "memory bear" for a child whose father died this past summer. Part of the request was to make the bear out of dad's t-shirts. I had never heard of memory bears before, but, after doing a bit of research, found they are not unknown in the wider world. It took a bit of time to procure a pattern that matched the request, but I finally did (Simplicity 5461). When I read the pattern instructions, I had a bit of a moment, as the fabric to be used on the bear was NOT knit fabric, as t-shirts are. Would t-shirt material, which stretches in all different directions when pulled (or stuffed) even work for this pattern?
Not wanting to cut into irreplaceable t-shirts, I decided to make a bear from some of our old t-shirts that had been waiting for "just the right project". In case I haven't mentioned it, I tend to hoard fabric of all types, just in case...
Well, the pattern worked wonderfully with the t-shirt material and I had fun making this bear. And it sure brought back memories for me. I used a t-shirt my eldest received in 2006, when she attended the Pearson Seminar for Youth Leadership for 3 weeks at Lester B. Pearson College. She had an amazing time and was so excited to have been able to participate in the program. The back of the t-shirt had the slogan "Live like you plan on staying" and the bear now sports that on its arm.
To make a long story short, the t-shirt fabric worked well, the bear is bigger than expected and very huggable, and everyone in our house has had a smile on his or her face when holding or seeing the bear. I think I'm ready to cut into those other t-shirts now.
Recently I was asked to make a "memory bear" for a child whose father died this past summer. Part of the request was to make the bear out of dad's t-shirts. I had never heard of memory bears before, but, after doing a bit of research, found they are not unknown in the wider world. It took a bit of time to procure a pattern that matched the request, but I finally did (Simplicity 5461). When I read the pattern instructions, I had a bit of a moment, as the fabric to be used on the bear was NOT knit fabric, as t-shirts are. Would t-shirt material, which stretches in all different directions when pulled (or stuffed) even work for this pattern?
Not wanting to cut into irreplaceable t-shirts, I decided to make a bear from some of our old t-shirts that had been waiting for "just the right project". In case I haven't mentioned it, I tend to hoard fabric of all types, just in case...
Well, the pattern worked wonderfully with the t-shirt material and I had fun making this bear. And it sure brought back memories for me. I used a t-shirt my eldest received in 2006, when she attended the Pearson Seminar for Youth Leadership for 3 weeks at Lester B. Pearson College. She had an amazing time and was so excited to have been able to participate in the program. The back of the t-shirt had the slogan "Live like you plan on staying" and the bear now sports that on its arm.
To make a long story short, the t-shirt fabric worked well, the bear is bigger than expected and very huggable, and everyone in our house has had a smile on his or her face when holding or seeing the bear. I think I'm ready to cut into those other t-shirts now.
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