Long Armed and Legged Memory Bear Made from a Work Shirt

  

 

Memory bears are great items to help remember a lost one by using pieces of clothing they used to wear.  Given as gifts to babies or children or a cute memorial items for someone to have out in sight, but this bear was one of the most emotional ones I've made and was literally designed to be used a true therapy item.  There was a younger woman having a very difficult time getting over the very recent and unsightly loss of her husband, and instead of cuddling with the shirt all day long her sister suggested to have a bear made out of it with very long legs and arms so that she could hug it and it hug her back.  After a very emotional conversation and a few prayers, I got to working rapidly to make up this adorable long legged bear to start helping this lovely woman start healing from her loss.

 

 

 

Here was his very worn flannel lined work shirt.  You wouldn't think it would be hard to cut up a shirt that isn't your own but after hearing the stories behind the shirts or sweaters or other items, I can't help but take a moment to reflect on the life that will be represented with what I'm about to transform it into.  The two sisters had a few very specific requests for bear like very long legs and arms.  The woman wanted some of the flannel to show throw in places, she wanted one of the pockets on the tummy to be able to hold special items, and to use some of the seams from the shirt to outline the face.

 

I found a basic pattern online and modified it to create the shape of face the ladies requested and laid out the pieces on the shirt to cut them out.

 

This is the cute little fella I came up with.  I was able to use the flannel for the inside of his ears, his nose and the ends of his arms and legs. 

 

I reused buttons to create the eyes and the pocket on the tummy turned out great.

 

A little view from the back to see his nice round back.  I could machine sew all the arms and legs to the body but had to hand sew his neck to the body after stuffing it all.

 

I was even able to get the label from inside the shirt and put it on the back.

What an absolutely amazing project that I was asked to make and doing things like this for people just rejuvenates my passion for my work!

Quiet Book / Soft Activity Book for Kids

I love creating quiet books!!!  I think it comes from my original passion for scrapbooking as it has been the best way to combine sewing and scrapbooking ideas.  This fun book was created for a little girl and in a different style than I've done in the past.  I used to sew all the pages together in a quilted cover by this book is expandable with rings binding the pages so new pages can be added as the little girl grew up and wanted more challenging activities.

 

 

The cover was made of a fun cotton print that was reinforced with heavy duty iron on interfacing on the insides.  Then I sewed in a cute satin ribbon to make handles.

 

 

The first page has 9 flaps made of felt that can be lifted up to reveal some fun pictures.

 

 

As you can see, I have used some colorful novelty patterns that I cut into squares and using heat n bond light to tack down the fabric then I stitch over the edges to hold them down.

 

 

On the next pages I have an apple tree and a texture page.

 

 

The apples have Velcro on the back and can be "picked" and put in the basket at the base of the tree.

 

 

On the opposite page, I found nine different fabric types, all with different textures and colors!  Burlap, netting, corduroy, terry cloth, fake fur, satin, minky, fleece, and felt.

 

 

The next pages are super fun with a colorful felt caterpillar and a friendly spider in a bit of a shower.

 

 

The cute caterpillar are made of felt circle pieces with button holes that help little ones practice their fine motor skills with taking the circles on and off the buttons.

 

 

The colors can be mixed up on the colorful buttons.

 

 

This itsy bitsy spider has googly eyes and can climb up and down the water spout.

 

 

The rain cloud lifts up to reveal a beautiful sunshine sky.  The grass is soft and fluffy along with the frilly flower that can be "picked" by taking it off the button.

 

 

The next page features a lovely little girl with bows in her hair that can be untied and tied up again. 

 

And her long locks can be straightened out or braided up pretty-like.

 

 

Opposite the little girl was this cheeky lady bug that unzips its wings and the dots can be pulled off and stored inside.

 

 

The dots or other fun things can be stored inside the lady bug.

 

 

On the last page is the latticed pie that helps little ones play pretend but also practice their weaving skills.

 

 

The pie "crust" is made of felt and using a pinky shears you can create a fun zig zag affect on the edges.  I used a fun red swirly fabric underneath to make it look like a fruit pie.

 

 

Her you can see that I used loose binder rings that I sewed into the cover with small pieces of fabric braces to hold those rings in tight.  Each page had button holes sewn in them to fit in the rings.  The pages can be removed or new ones can be added.

Using a Multi-Needle Embroidery Machine to Create Fun Patches on Kids Jeans

Sewing on fun patches to kids pants can be difficult with a typical sewing machine but I've found that I can use my multi-needle embroidery machine to create fun patches to cover holes or to add fun appliques to add character to a old pair of jeans.

I set up a design file for the shape I wanted, in this case a simple heart shape with a bean stitch (triple stitch). 

 

Then I slip the whole leg into the arm of the machine and it's hooped up using quick connect frames with a bit of sticky stabilizer.  I run the stitching with a coordinating thread color.

Then I trimmed up the excess fabric but left about 1/4" of fabric and brushed along the edges to create a frayed look.

 

A super cute little patch in the shape of a heart and all done with my embroidery machine!!!

 

To finish them off I created a cute little fabric belt by taking a long strip of fabric, turning right sides together and stitching along the long side.   Turn the fabric inside out and turn in the edges and stitched them closed.  Now you have a stylish pair of pants instead of throwing out a pair of jeans with a little hole in the knees.