Sewing a Memory Bear | Sewing Pattern Review

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Looking to hang on to something that your little one has outgrown? Consider sewing a memory bear.

Sewing a memory bear is not completely new to me. A while back, I sewed a memory bear for baby Luke (he’s not a baby anymore). You can read about that here.

This memory bear was made in memory of Luke’s father. It was constructed from Luke’s father’s clothing.

I was asked to make another memory bear, this time for Luke’s cousin.

What is a Memory Bear? What is it Made From?

A memory bear is the repurposing of an item into a bear. Sometimes, it is in the memory of a passed loved one – you could take that person’s clothing and make a memory bear. It can also be baby items that your child has outgrown.

For Luke’s cousin, I was asked to make a memory bear out of a beautiful crib sheet. She no longer sleeps in the crib and so the fitted crib sheet has now been upcycled into something new that she can keep with her.

The crib sheet had a lovely floral pattern on it. I can see why the mother wanted to repurpose this item. It was also a knitted fabric. I chose to interface all of the pieces to add stability and to prevent stretching while I sewed the memory bear. The pattern suggests using cotton as a lining, but I found that interfacing was perfectly fine. I used Pellon 403 interfacing, a standard fusible interfacing.

Memory bears can be made from woven or knitted fabrics. It does not take a lot of fabric to make a memory bear.

The Pattern

For me, the hardest part was finding the right pattern.

For Luke’s bear, I found a free pattern. Free is always good, but I can’t say I was thrilled with how it turned out. It was much bigger than I anticipated.

So I went on a quest to find the perfect pattern. Perhaps I’m really fussy, but it was hard to find a pattern that I liked. The majority of them were quite big – 18 inches seated, which seemed to be the standard size. I wanted something smaller and so that limited my search immensely.

I also wasn’t a big fan of how many of them looked. For me, it’s all about the face. The face can’t be too long. It has to have the right proportions and look just right.

I ended up choosing a pattern I found on Etsy – the Stuffed Teddy Bear Pattern by BL Handmade. The pattern makes a 12-inch bear, sitting, but more importantly, it had a nice-looking face.

Sewing a Memory Bear – Sewing Pattern Review

The pattern had all the pattern pieces well labelled. The only thing that was missing was that for most pieces when you cut 2, they should be mirror-image. So keep that in mind if you are making this pattern. It was not mentioned in the instructions. If you are a relatively new sewer, you may not know this.

The sewing instructions are very clear. It is not a complex pattern to assemble. The instructions have good photos to help you determine the next step. The pattern pieces are clearly labelled with markings making them easy to assemble.

This sewing pattern is labelled as an intermediate-level pattern. I would agree with this. It actually isn’t too hard to put together. The only challenging thing for a beginner would be working with some of the curved seams as they can be tricky to match. Specifically, I’m thinking about the soles of the feet. But other than that, the memory bear came together quite quickly and easily.

There is also some hand sewing required for this pattern. More than you’d probably expect – the back, each arm and the base. It’s not hard to sew the openings closed, but you may not expect to do so many.

Tips for Sewing a Memory Bear

The entire pattern can easily be sewn using a standard sewing machine. I started out using my serger but quickly moved to my sewing machine as it was easier to control. Certain assembly parts, like the head, where you are sewing the front, the back and the ears together, I found to be much easier using my sewing machine.

As with Luke’s memory bear, I used flocked HTV for the nose and the eyes. I find this better as the recipient is young and I’d worry about small pieces, like buttons, coming off and being swallowed. For information on flocked HTV, check out my post here. I did the same thing for his cousin’s bear.

Be sure to apply the flocked HTV to the individual pattern pieces. They are marked for the eyes and the nose. It makes it easier to apply before the head has been assembled.

If you are like me, be careful to not over stuff. I tend to do that with my crochet amigurumi and it results in a distorted, stretched-out look. It is better to stuff with a bunch of small tufts, rather than one large tuft.

To personalize it, I like to add an initial on the bear’s foot. I think it’s very sweet.

I finally have found what I consider, the perfect memory bear pattern. It’s not too big and has a sweet face. It sews up easily and I know the little recipient will be so pleased.

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