8/10: Wyatte the 1/2 & 1/2 Bear

This shirt and trouser combo jumped out at me when I visited the volunteer office. I really wanted to be the one to create the bear but saw the requester wanted a 1/2 & 1/2 bear, something I hadn't been shown how to do yet. I was assured by Carol at the office that I would be able to do it, so I left with this outfit and the shirt for Mike Bear.

Between helping to care for my mom after her strokes and the fear of starting something new, it took me awhile to get going on the bear but once I started it I did enjoy making it. I took several pictures along the way so I could remember how to do it when I make another 1/2 & 1/ 2 bear. 

front pieces cut

The bear is basically made with shirt as the top half and the pants as the bottom half. That means taking the two front pieces and the two back pieces, cutting them in half, extending the pattern for the seam allowance, cutting them all out and then sewing them all together so they match up. Then the rest of the top half is made with the shirt fabric and the rest of the bottom is made with the pants fabric.

Back Paw

Front Paws

I was fortunate to discover that the pant pockets were made with yet another fabric so I used that for the paws on the arms and the legs and the inside of the ears. There was a seaming detail on the pockets that I was able to incorporate into the paws. Sadly not enough of that detail to add to the ears, although I tried!

This bear was fun and challenging to make. I did get a little surprised when a well-worn pocketknife fell out of one of the the pockets when I started in on the project. I saved it and put it in the back pocket of the final bear. I think his lovely wife will be glad to know it was with him all this time and is being returned in his pocket, just where it belongs.

The rest of the story ... When the family came in to pick up their bear, they were told the story of the found knife. The wife said they had scoured the house trying to find it since it was a favorite of his. They were very happy to know it was with his clothing and not lost at all. Just waiting for the right time to return. This story is one that reminds me why I make these bears. Families care.

June 2010: Mike Bear

After the degree of difficulty of the Edward bears, I wanted to do something a little easier. I chose this shirt because I knew there would be no pattern matching and I also knew the fabric would be nice to work with. Plus, it was requested by Mike's daughter and that touched me. I'm still not ready to make one with my dad's shirt, but I sure could start on one for another daughter. 

I cut all the pieces out on a Sunday, planning to put Mike bear together the next weekend. You know what happens when you make plans, right. The Thursday before the planned weekend, my mother had two strokes and my family's life took a new direction. I had no idea when I would be back to sewing or even back to my own home. I considered turning the pattern pieces in and asking someone else to make the bear, but I really didn't want to do that. Fortunately, my family all pitched in and after a couple of weeks, I did have some free weekends to sew.

Getting back to sewing the bear was a pleasure. It gave me the opportunity to focus on something other than my job and my mom, which was important right then. The bear went together so easily, I was amazed. I wonder if Mike was an easy-going kind of guy. The pieces went together nicely, there wasn't a lot of fraying on the edges so I didn't have to use any lining, and the weather was nice and cool. Who could ask for more?

I made a little pocket for the front, turning the fabric wrong side out. I did the same thing for the soles of the feet for contrast.
I did a little something different with this bear, adding the tag to the bottom of the back pocket. I think it looks a little like a tail and it adds a touch of whimsy to the bear. I hope Mike's daughter likes it!

May 2010: Edward Bears

When I went to get the clothing for new bears, I fell in love with both these shirts and thought it would be fun to make two bears for the same family again. Both shirts are long-sleeved flannel and both were soft from washing and wearing. The red/blue one seemed playful while the brown/blue one seemed more serious. I could hardly wait to get started on them because I was already seeing the shirts as bears and knew they would be well loved.

What I didn't think about until I went to cut them out was that it would be necessary (for me anyway) to match those plaids vertically and horizontally. The red plaid has a large pattern to it and matching it up was a challenge. Actually, it was a "bear" to do and it tested my patience and my crafting abilities. However, it felt so good to make it work! I was glad I did the red one first because it made the smaller pattern on the other one seem so easy!


I finished the red, white and blue bear on the Memorial Day weekend and posted it on Facebook to commemorate that day . I like to think Edward would have liked taking part of the celebration of life.  What do you think?  The brown and blue bear was finished the next weekend. When I look at the two bears together I see the fun and serious sides of Edward. I hope his family remembers both sides of this man who was loved when they see their bears.

Edward Bears May 2010

11/17/09: Beginning the Bear Journey

Yesterday I took the first step in my journey towards being a Sharp Hospice Memory Bear Volunteer. This is something I've been wanting to do for quite awhile but the timing of the training never seemed to work out for me. I took yesterday as a vacation day so I could get the training and get going on my first bear.

What? You don't know about these bears? You can read all about them here Sharp HospiceCare Memory Bears. Basically, they are bears made from the clothing of a loved one who has passed away. Sharp Hospice volunteers make them for the family member who requests them. All experienced local people who sew are welcome to take the free class and begin creating a Memory Bear that very day.

Yes, that's right. There's no practice or waiting time. There's a long list of people waiting for their bear and the volunteers are put to work immediately! It's a little intimidating to think about but it's really a good plan. It's possible to back out at that point, but I doubt anyone has. The volunteers to teach and demonstrate and support the trainees are so helpful and optimistic that one feels quite confident they can do this. 

Pam, who has made over 800 Memory Bears in 8 years, demonstrated how to sew and assemble the bears. Oh my. She made it look easy and assured us that we could do it that easily after we put four bears together. Apparently that's the magic number. Good to know. Her fabric was from a woman's capris, very colorful in spring tones. She put the head together first and that little bear came alive for all of us right then. I got a little teary-eyed looking at that little face, knowing that soon it would be a bear for someone to love. Pam finished making and stuff her bear in an hour, all the while talking to us about what she was doing and giving us helpful hints along the way. Amazing!


When that was finished we were free to choose a bag with a garment in it and get started on our first Memory Bear. I was drawn to a bag with a blue Hawaiian print shirt. When I opened the bag I got a whiff of the person's smell and realized why we aren't to wash the clothing. Then I read the name of the man who wore it and that it was his dad's favorite shirt. Well the tears came in full force at that point. One of the volunteers assured me that was normal and let me be alone with my thoughts and prayers. 


Some people started right in cutting their garments open and ironing them flat, pinning pattern pieces on and cutting away. Not me. I had to sit for awhile with the shirt and honor the man who had worn it and feel right about starting it on a new life. I spent the rest of my time looking at what others were doing and asking questions of the volunteers. I knew I was on another life-changing journey and I wanted to savor the beginning of that with Phillip's blue Hawaiian shirt.