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Warren the Charity Bear... |
It wasn't until I recently saw them again — when she made several more — that I realized I had to get in on the fun.
I had originally dismissed the project via the I have no need for it, therefore why make it school of thought. But with babies beginning to appear on the horizon for a new generation of extended family members, I suddenly had a need and an excuse.
Not only that, I had the perfect fabric: my Luminescent Ocean Dreams in minky. So bright and colourful — stimulating for babies — and soft to the touch. (The design is based on photographs and feature an underwater scene embellished with butterflies.)
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Fabric is my own creation called
Luminescent Ocean Dreams... |
The free pattern is by Wendi Gratz, of ShinyHappyWorld.com. (Would that we had such a world, huh?) She's got all sorts of fun stuff there, so I definitely recommend that you take some time to browse. And maybe download the pattern and start making your own family of bears; the pattern can be reduced for smaller versions.
Warren (named after Warren Buffett apparently) was developed to be an easy to sew and easy to customize stuffie that can be made assembly line style for charitable giving.
It's a perfect pandemic project that you can do with your whole family to introduce them to the pleasures of sewing. Kids in particular will have loads of fun deciding what elements to add to their bear to make him one of a kind.
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A simple shape... |
The pattern comes with a variety of noses and muzzles — to create actual expressions — as well as an option for an oval belly patch or a heart. (Fleece is recommended, but I used a double layer of felt instead.)
There are options for the eyes depending on the age of the recipient. Since this is going to an infant, I glued and sewed all of the additional elements. I also made the eyes bigger since they might otherwise get lost in the busy print of the fabric.
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Face elements glued and sewn on to front... |
I played around by placing the pattern pieces on my fabric after cutting out the body and ultimately decided on a medium nose, with a wide muzzle and a heart patch.
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Warren ready to be sewn up... |
It's not part of the pattern, but I also gave him a tail on his back side. :-)
By the way, while it's faster to sew up one of these with a sewing machine, this can be completely sewn by hand. I might even venture that — amount of total time notwithstanding — it might even be easier to sew by hand, since taking those extreme curves around the ears, arms and legs could pose a bit of a challenge.
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It's the day before a walloping winter storm when I take
Warren outside for a photo shoot... |
My original intent was to make a family of Warrens in different sizes, but then I had a thought to take this in another direction.
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Warren inside... |
Why not turn him into a baby mobile? All you need is some single sided fusible Peltex, felt, fabric, glue, and fishing line.
I really liked how the template by itself looked so cute with the pudgy arms and legs. (Once you cut and sew the project, the seam allowance reduces the size of the arms and legs.) So I thought that if I reduced the template and used it to create a flat item that could hang, it would be yet another version of a baby gift.
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Trace template onto a piece of Peltex... |
Planning to make a mobile with three bears, I went with two templates, one
that was reduced from the original by 50% — which I thought was perfectly
sized for a "baby" version — and a second one that was upsized from the
first by 125%.
For the fabric, I selected a black and white print that I had created for a
Spoonflower competition
two years ago. (The high contrast combo of black and white is apparently
good for the brain development of infants.)
Check out crafty classes at Creativebug!
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The process is simple. For each bear, trace the template onto a piece of Peltex and a folded piece of fabric (to get two pieces, for front and back) and cut.
Next, cut pieces of felt to make whatever other elements to personalize each bear. I didn't bother with templates for those, I just snipped freehand with a pair of scissors, ensuring that each bear would end up unique.
Hand sew the mouth, and then it's time to fuse the Peltex to the top panel. Finish by zig-zag stitching all layers together.
To hang, thread some fishing line through the top of the head. Ensure that each line is a different length and the bears can simply be hung from the ceiling over a baby's crib or changing table.
Here is a picture that provides an idea of the size difference between the stuffed bear and the largest one used for the mobile.
Love how these turned out and I'm hoping that the recipients will appreciate them too! Highly recommended as a charity sewing project. Or for someone who loves to cuddle during this year's rule of "no hugging allowed".
The process is simple. For each bear, trace the template onto a piece of Peltex and a folded piece of fabric (to get two pieces, for front and back) and cut.
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All three bears have different sized eyes, noses and hearts... |
Next, cut pieces of felt to make whatever other elements to personalize each bear. I didn't bother with templates for those, I just snipped freehand with a pair of scissors, ensuring that each bear would end up unique.
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| Felt features glued on; smile sewn in... |
Hand sew the mouth, and then it's time to fuse the Peltex to the top panel. Finish by zig-zag stitching all layers together.
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Complete Warren Family ready to be hung up... |
To hang, thread some fishing line through the top of the head. Ensure that each line is a different length and the bears can simply be hung from the ceiling over a baby's crib or changing table.
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| Floating baby bear... |
Here is a picture that provides an idea of the size difference between the stuffed bear and the largest one used for the mobile.
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Warrens in two different styles... |
Love how these turned out and I'm hoping that the recipients will appreciate them too! Highly recommended as a charity sewing project. Or for someone who loves to cuddle during this year's rule of "no hugging allowed".
Have a safe week before Christmas, everyone.
'Til next...
Thank you for the heads up! Warren is adorable.
ReplyDeleteThey are addicting to make, right? I used up all that velour I had for years making mine. The mobile idea is great too! That fabric will keep baby interested for a long time. This reminds me I hadn't shared the quilt and bears I made for a great nephew, who was born a year ago! Better find the photos I took to share that.
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful! I like the mobile idea. I'm sure the parents will, too.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks! I feel pretty certain the gift will be appreciated too. ;-)
DeleteYour project is adorable! I think I have that pattern saved on my computer. I need to check that out.
DeleteKathleen -- kakingsbury at verizon dot net
Rochelle, I love the idea of using the template for a mobile. I would like to mention that if there is any chance that the baby could be handling it, using a short straight stitch instead of a zigzag is better. The reason - fragile little fingernails can get caught in the zigzag stitches. I learned this for doing applique on baby quilts.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your post every Saturday as I know that you will have something worthwhile to say. Besides, it's great to have posts from a fellow Albertan. I live in that other major city down the road. Mary
Welcome, Mary; always happy to hear from Canadians both near and far. (Even those "others" from down the QE2 — LOL!) Thank you so much for the kind words of support. It's heartwarming to know I'm not just writing for my own amusement. ;-)
DeleteAbout the zigzag stitching around the edges, I fully intend to inform these new parents that the mobile part of this gift is not baby safe. I only glued on the embellishing features (i.e., did not sew them) so if they were to be scratched off, they would be a potential choking hazard. Thank you for the tip, though, it's good to know.
Hello. Love your bear. You mentioned that you used the fabric: Luminescent Ocean Dreams. Is this 100% cotton or polar fleece?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maggie. The fabric I used was actually minky. (But it also comes in fleece and cotton.)
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