Island Batik Ambassador- April Project- Funky Friends Factory Challenge- Melody Memory Bear

It is time to share my April project as an Island Batik Ambassador. This month’s challenge was to to make a stuffed animal using Island Batik fabric and a pattern from the Funky Friends Factory.

 

They have so many wonderful patterns to chose from so it was a difficult decision. Blue Bear said that he wanted another bear friend, so we decided on Melody the Memory Bear.  

This is the cover of the pattern.

The idea behind the memory bear is to use a child’s outgrown clothing or a loved one’s clothing to make a memory bear. The Funky Friends Factory pattern was very well written and easy to follow. I don’t usually do this type of sewing, so I followed the pattern meticulously. There also was a blog entry where you could follow along with detailed notes and photos while making the bear.

I wanted my bear to have a natural look, so I used Island Batik’s Evergreen and Pine collection. The green and tan colors were perfect for this project.

The Funky Friends pattern has paper templates for you. I roughly cut them out and then pinned them to freezer paper. I then cut the template shape out carefully on the outside line. I was then able to iron the freezer paper template onto the various fabrics and then cut out the shapes. Some of the shapes need to be reversed. This is where the beauty of working with Island Batiks comes into play. There isn’t a noticeable right or wrong side to the fabric, so when I was cutting out the shapes, I was able to cut several shapes at the same time and the bottom one could then be reversed if I needed a reversed piece of that particular shape.

 

The fabrics are sewn right sides together and a good amount of the sewing is straight lines. There are some curves, but they are very gentle and not difficult to sew. I carefully pinned the curved pieces together and slowed my sewing down for accuracy.

I used two old buttons I had for the eyes.

Once the bear is pieced and you have left an opening, it is time to stuff the bear with some poly fill stuffing. You stuff the head real good so that it’s easy to sew on the nose and mouth. The arms and legs are stuffed next and then finally the body. I wanted my bear to have a heart and to be kind, so I also stuffed him with a little red mylar heart.

 

Finally, I blanket stitched on the nose and embroidered his mouth and Buttons the Batik Bear was born.

 

From the back and sides, you can see all of the different beautiful Island Batik fabrics that I used.

 

The supplies I used to make this project were provided by:

Island Batik Evergreen and Pine collection.

Aurifil 50 wt Thread

Schmetz 70/10 Quilting needle

Funky Friends Factory  Melody Bear Pattern

Thank you Island Batik, Aurifil Thread, funkyfriendsfactory.com

and Schmetz Needles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have two Spring quilt patterns for sale through the month of April. They are Golden Gate Park Table Runner and Spring Friends Table Runner.

Blue Bear says hi!

Please let him know how much you like his new friend, Buttons, by writing to him in the comments. The comment box is at the top left of the blog post, below Reed’s picture.

The other amazing Island Batik Ambassadors are also posting their April Funky Friends Challenge projects. Check out their projects by clicking on the links next to their names to be directed to their blog posts.

#islandbatikambassador #islandbatik #iloveislandbatik #aurifil #aurifilthread #schmetzneedles #bernina #janome