Three Memory Bears

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I was asked to make some Memory Bears for a customer. She had some clothing that belonged to a deceased loved one, and wanted the bears made out of them. I wish I had taken a photo of the three lightweight jackets she sent me before I cut them up. They were beautiful. It took me two weeks to be able to put scissors to the jackets, because they were that pretty. This project took me a lot longer than it should have to do. First, I my chronic pain flared up, and would not allow me to sit at my sewing machine long enough to accomplish anything. Then, my eyes started hurting and were hard to keep open. Did you know that if you have Rosacea, that it can get into your eyes? I had no idea! My eye doctor gave me some medicated eye drops that helped. Finally, when summer was almost over, I was able to get in there long enough to make these adorable bears.

I made the green bear first. The fabric used was almost too stretchy. It seemed to take more stuffing than I have ever stuffed into a bear to fatten him up, but at last, he was able to sit up all by himself. Then I had to find the right buttons to use for the eyes. (Don’t worry, these bears are for adults, not babies.) Here he is before he got his eyes and nose:

Next, I made the purple bear. The fabric for this one was not as stretchy, but it had a very interesting texture. It was had to cut and hard to sew because of all the textures but he did turn out really nice. He is a unique bear for sure.

The last memory bear is made from fabric that is reversible. Because it is reversible, it made it hard to sew as well. Every seam had doubled fabric due to it being a two ply type of material. I think he was the hardest one to sew. On top of that, even though I marked and measured twice before I started to sew his head on, it came out being turned to the side, like he was perpetually looking over his shoulder! I had to get out my trusty seam ripper and take his head off, not once, but TWICE! I was very frustrated with this one but finally, he came together and turned out looking pretty good.

These little guys have been shipped to their new home in Florida. The customer messaged me the other day and told me they arrived and are so cute! If you would like to have a Memory Bear made from clothing that belonged to your loved one, leave a comment or email me at fabgrandma@gmail.com. I sell them for $35 each, you provide the article of clothing from which it is made and pay shipping both ways. I have two different patterns for teddy bears, which I can send pics of if you decide you want a bear (or bears) made. I stuff them with poly fiber fill and use buttons for eyes and felt for the nose.