Wednesday 28 October 2015

Childhood Sewing: A Bear for My Sister

Our attic clearout continues. This weekend's rediscovered childhood treasures included a box of soft toys belonging to my youngest sister, including the very first bear my mum bought for her when she was a day old (awww).

One of the teddies in the box was not like the others. His nose is very wonky, he's not very well stitched and his stuffing is showing but his reappearance still prompted squeals of delight. He's a scrappy teddy bear I made for my sister when we were both very small!

  
I was in primary school when I made this, I'm guessing maybe ten years old? (Update: my mum reckons I was actually about eight).


I loved sewing and one of my mum's friends, who did lots of dressmaking, would sometimes give me bags filled with fabric scraps to sew and craft with. There were some lovely velvet-y scraps in one of the bags - I wanted to make a soft, cuddly bear for my sister, and this fine fellow was the result.

 

His nose is a button I repurposed from a craft project we did at Brownies (the crafts were always my favourite bit about Brownies). His body is an old handkerchief, and he's stuffed with fabric scraps.

I didn't follow a tutorial or make a pattern, just stitched him together as best I could from the fabric I had. The result is very lopsided but quite charming, I think? My sister loved him, anyway!

 

It's delightful to have rediscovered this bear after all these years, especially as I now I design and make stuff like this for a living :)

8 comments:

Ariadne said...

Indeed this is touching to see what you made for your sister and you were so young!AriadnefromGreece!

bairozan said...

He is so sweet! And it's a lot of sewing, too :)

Anonymous said...

This little bear should be kept and treasured for ever! Honestly. He is truly lovely. I am really touched seeing him. I love his patchwork-ness, and he is such a sweet shape with his little legs. Very lovely of you to make this for your sister as well. Such a nice thing to show us. Thank you.
Sara

Monica said...

It looks like he was loved. What a sweet present for your sister. It turned out so cute for all your hard work.

amy said...

Very, very charming. As others said, very touching to see. Obviously a treasure and made with love.

Bugs and Fishes said...

Thanks for the comments, everyone! It's great to be able to share this rediscovered project with you guys xxx

Gianna said...

Awe, that's sweet! How old were you when you made that? That's so cute!

Bugs and Fishes said...

We think I was about 8 years old when I made this :)