Tuesday, February 26, 2008

From a Sketch to a Bunny Bear

I had a lovely e-mail from Catherine of Bumpkin Bears (she designs and makes the most adorable bears). Catherine asked me if I have ever thought about making my bunnies out of furry material ..... I haven't ...... but it got me thinking.

I love anything fluffy but unfortunately I'm still on my "buy no material" crusade .... and I don't have any furry material in my large bin of material delights ... but while I was in a cleaning mood I came across two very dusty coats that I had bought back in 1999 and I hadn't worn them since I moved to New York 4 1/2 years ago! 100% wool ... they were prime recycling material.
So I ripped them apart, washed them in a very hot wash, tumble dried the material to felt the wool as much as possible ... drew a picture in a taxi ...
... made a little paper template to work out my seams ...
.... and then made my wool bunny bear ......
There are certain things I like about him. The wool is lovely to the touch and his seams make him look quite tailored ... but I think he looks more like a kangaroo than a rabbit (his feet/legs don't sit flat on the floor) ... and I think he has a little bit too much back muscle (cue the adorable tail shot)...
... but he is quite sweet ...
... and for the first sewing pattern that I have ever made from scratch - he could look a lot worse!!

3 comments:

Joanna said...

Well done on making a sowing pattern from scratch. I'm trying to do that for a captain rupert. I have some legs sitting on my desk need to get on with the rest. I had meant to add you too my links when updating them today and have just reminded myself, I will add you if you don't mind.

Bumpkin Hill said...

Hi Rachael, I think he is fabulous and oh so sweet with a really soft delicate face. His wool looks really lovely and would be so cute to cuddle for a child or adult alike :) My gosh, if that is your first patten then WOW :) I love the sketching part of creating bears and bunnies - can't wait to see more :) Beary Hugs, Catherine x

{kimmymade} said...

Rachael, I am so impressed!!