Crafting4Jesus.com Memory Bear Directions Material required: - 2 pieces of clothing - black felt - Simplicity Pattern #5461 - Black Fabric dye pen 1) Start out with Simplicity 5461 using the 18” bear pattern. Cut out front (belly), bottom of feet, and inside of ears from one fabric and the rest out of the other. - 11 oz. fiberfill - 15 mm animal eyes - iron on sheets for dark fabric 2) Iron on the heart to the front left side, 1.5” from the top, and ¾” from the center seam. Follow directions by peeling off backing and use parchment paper (included) to cover heart. Make sure the face area will not be too dark or too busy to show the brown eyes, black nose and mouth. Use hearts pdf file from website. 2) When joining head center (nose) to the sides, use a lot of pins. Have the flatter part facing down so you can slowly ease fabric out of the needle’s way as to avoid bunching. 4) 2” from the nose seam and outside of the head center, cut a small slit. Place eye through slit and snap rivet on from the back. Pins are placed perpendicular to sewing foot and sticking out ½” to ease removal and limit damage if you sew over pin. 5) Pin the bottom of the foot to the rest of the leg forcing the bottom flat. Sew from the top to prevent sewing in creases or folds. Make sure both pieces of fabric are caught with each seam before moving to the next step. We used PrintWorks Dark T-Shirt Transfers purchased at Targets. The quality and easy of use is better than similar products. The eyes are attached before the back of the head is sewn on. Join the two halves of the back of the head and join to the front pinning from the center seam to the edges. 6) Join the legs to the bottom of the front before joining to the back. The pattern joins the legs differently. The bears are a great way of giving people permission to grieve and to give them comfort. It also helps them let go of some stuff if they know there is something left to hold on to. Even if we know we’ll be reunited in heave, it still hurts. Memory Bear Directions 7) Always line up center seam and work pinning to edges. Shown is the neck area with the front and back being lined up at seams between legs. Clip off any excess material to make sewing easier. Crafting4Jesus.com 8) lace a pin to locate the center front of the head. First bear’s head was sideways. Place right side out bear into inside out body and sew around neck. Pattern calls for turning body right side out, then attach arms. We inserted the arms right side out into the unturned body so arms were facing belly or front. And stitched in place. 9) Stuff bear starting with head and body. Don’t stuff arms much near neck or legs near body. Make sure bear can sit before closing up. Close bear up and weave pins in and out to make hand sticking easier. Knot along the way without breaking thread so all the stitching is not lost if thread breaks. Create a loop, pull thread through and pull tight to close first loop and make second. Feed needle through loop and pull tight. Then continue sewing. 11) Use the fabric dye pen to draw a mouth first in the seam below the nose and then curve up in a smile. The mouth is about 1 ¾” wide. 10) Cut nose out of felt a little wider than pattern and round out corners at top. Use Fabri_Tac to glue nose to face lining up to seams. 12) Cut 36” length of 1.5” width wire ribbon and tie into a bow. The bible verse, ‘Do everything with love. 1 Cor 16:14 NLT’ is a nice reminder to love others. The best way to get over our problems is to help or love someone else.