OCTOBER 8, 2020
Have you wondered what to do with children’s stuffed animals or as some may call them stuffies? Quite often an infant will receive a bear when they are born. Many children have one that is their favourite over all others. And in some ways they are a child’s first friends.
After years of daily cuddles they become scruffy and later set aside as children grow out of them. That doesn’t mean they are unwanted, even into young adulthood they are not to be donated or thrown out. Honestly, I feel the same way. They hold memories for me too.
My daughter and son both had their bear that was the one. It was the same style of bear, 16 inches tall, one had a brown one, and the other one was white.
They should be considered as textiles and won’t do well in a scruffy box stored on a shelf in the garage or attic enduring decades of exposure to heat and cold. After a run through the wash cycle they should as a minimum be wrapped in acid free tissue paper and kept in a climate controlled situation.
When I was thinking about how to store the bears, I thought about how it is the convention that women’s quality handbags include a dust cover to protect them when not in use. That is where my idea came from to design a custom dust cover for the bears.
To begin, I gave the bear one final wash. The results were not dramatic but any remaining dust was removed before storage. The bear had developed a wattle in the neck area, a characteristic of aging for anyone. The stitches around the head had come lose so I was able to fill in the neck with some stuffing before stitching back up. I found a curved upholstery needle and 12 weight Sulky Cotton Petites made the sewing less cumbersome.
Cut a length of fabric that allows for a 6-½ inch overlap and some extra length to accommodate the curve over the head, snout and the rounded tummy.
I programmed the text—the bear’s name and the year of my child’s birth—on my embroidery machine. The embroidery could be equally successful stitched by hand with the fabric stretched in an embroidery hoop. Machine embroidery goes a long way in helping those with less flexibility in their hands. On the other hand it is known that hand embroidery is relaxing.
Sew a narrow double folded hem across the width at both ends. You could use the same colour thread as the embroidery. The side seams are sewn as a French seam, shown here, but a one-half inch seam that is pinked or overlocked would work as well.
Here it is! Embroidered pillowslip completed, 20 x 16 inches.
Snowball . . .
Goodnight bear!