This weekend I attended a quilting retreat with friends. On my way out the door I spied a project that had been sitting on my sewing table for about a year and a half and decided to take the retreat as an opportunity to finish it off.
Project: Jointed bear in vintage fabric
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| Hello! |
Pattern: Personal pattern based on a 1906 Steiff bear
Materials: Vintage 1960's paisley and floral fabric of unknown content with silk organza underlay, organic cotton stuffing, antique shoe button eyes
Notes:
I started by measuring many many parts of my old bear, and used those measurements to create a pattern. I made a muslin of the bear and used that to refine the pattern- the original bear had thick fur, resulting in a rather severe looking bear once it was made up in muslin rather than fur! I used an organza underlay because I wanted my bear to be fairly solid, and the fabric would never withstand being stuffed to the degree that I knew I would want. The joints are fiberboard discs with outer metal discs, and the joints in the limbs are attached to the hip and shoulder joints inside of the body with cotter pins.
What did I learn?
Although I absolutely love the organic cotton stuffing, it is nearly impossible to get a needle through when packed tightly. This guy almost ended up with no eyes!
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| I love the wild fabric! |
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| From the side. The hump back, long arms, and large feet come from the 1906 bear |
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