The first teddy bear that I made was a jointed bear made from faux fur fabric. I made it in a class and it took several weeks to complete. I gave it to my daughter for Christmas when she was in Kindergarten. She now teaches Kindergarten, so that gives you an idea of my "teddy bear timeline”.
Fast forward to about two years ago. I decided that I wanted to make teddy bears, but I didn't want to break the bank (mine or anyone else's) doing it, and The Bear Boutique was born. I knew that I wanted to sew my bears from fabric, and that I wanted them to be fun to make and fun to own. I chose a Funky Friends Factory pattern and then started shopping. I visited lots of fabric shops and then stepped into the world of online fabric shopping. As you can imagine, I’ve accumulated lots of bears-to-be over the past couple of years.
It takes many hours to make a bear. I usually work on a single bear over two days. Stuffing a bear takes about an hour and requires about half a pound of polyester fibre fill. That's a lot of stuffing! Every bear is cut from the same pattern, but every bear looks different. Each face has its own personality. It’s quite an intriguing process to witness a teddy bear come to life, and it’s lots of fun, too.
I love all of my teddy bears, but when they are adopted I’m thrilled to see them off to their new homes. Last Christmas I made a teddy bear for my daughter. She loves her new bear, but it seems that her bear has been adopted by her cat, Boris, who enjoys spending quality time with his new friend.
I sometimes wish that I still had my childhood teddy bear. I have no idea where it went. Over the years, though, I have bought or received as gifts some wonderful teddies, and each of them has a special place in my heart and in my home.
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