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Thursday, March 26, 2015

TEDDY BEAR JOKES



Some teddy bears are sedate. You can tell they exist to brighten the corners in which they sit. They wear hats and enjoy minding their manners while they sip tea.

Then there’s the “Build-a-Bear” family to which Annabell and Rosabell belong. They are play pals and enjoy good jokes.

The bear in the bunny suit is one of the best jokes of the spring season, and when I adopted this notion for Rosabell, I couldn’t shake it. I had the fabric -- a soft fuzzy knit remnant taking up space in my stash, just waiting for the right project. However, finding the pattern was not so easy. I spent hours searching the internet for a bunny suit pattern.

Now, I don’t like to improvise and alter. My creativity is in my head and I have trouble putting it on paper. If I could do that, I’d be someone else. But there aren’t patterns specifically for the “Build-a-Bears,” so I clumsily step up to the challenge of redrafting patterns for other dolls and bears. Developing my ideas is a matter of experimentation and not an exact science.

First, I purchased a bunny costume pattern for American Girl dolls from Pixie Faire, but my alterations were less than satisfactory – no reflection on the pattern, of course. With time drawing short, I cut the jumpsuit using a Cabbage Patch clown pattern that Chris gave me. That worked fairly well, but (wouldn’t you just know it?) I was well into the project when I found a bunny suit pattern for a “Bitty Baby” on an Etsy Shop (Gennie Wren) that might have been better. As it was, I used it to make the hood, which in my case is separate from the jumpsuit.

Well – there it is. I finished it, and I can tell you everything that’s wrong with it. But – the overall effect is not awful, and I’m pretty sure it won’t fall apart. I hope Emmy and Rosabell have some fun with it. Rosabell can pretend to be a bunny and see if she fools anyone. KW

5 comments:

  1. It's perfect!! And don't you dare say it has its flaws, because really, there aren't any. It's adorable, it fits her well, and it's just too much fun! WELL DONE!!

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  2. I know you're right, Chris. Once memory ceases to cling to disappointment, it will look better to me. I cut the sleeves -- and maybe the pants -- a little shorter than they needed to be. And the fabric had a stitching line in it which made it difficult to find the seam. I actually cut a hole in the fabric for the tale because I couldn't find the seam.

    Time to move on to something else -- not sure what.

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  3. I like the length of the sleeves and pants. It's good to show a good portion of his brown to contrast with the white costume. I think it highlights the humor.

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  4. To be honest, Hallie, I had the same thought. To be sure, it doesn't matter.

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