This bear needed clothes, a warm blanket and a pillow--or so I was told. You see, the seven-year-old has a best friend. The best friend just had a birthday. And this was my daughter's idea for the gift: a bear (which we bought) dressed in clothes, which we made. SImple!
Unless you, like me, are no good at patterns. How does one tailor to a furry, fat lady with a tail?
I made a pattern from some existing doll clothes, which almost fit the bear. I kept the clothing shapes simple. And I ignored the tail, which meant no pants.
A ruffle was required on the dress, naturally.
My daughter, who wanted to sew much of this project herself, couldn't get the hang of moving the fabric along in time with the machine--so her job was to run the pedal (I am afraid for her future driving skills) while I stooped above her, guiding the fabric.
It was a good time to forget about my advanced degree, useless for this sort of motherly teaching moment. It was a good time to forget about health worries, school worries, house worries: it was a good time, in short, to shut down all the nonsense that typically exhausts me each day.
It was a good time to be pleased with my daughter's generous heart and love of bright colors.
And the dotty scraps we have left? They are just waiting to be made into coasters for our Moomintroll mugs. The successful completion of one skirt, one shirt, one dress, a pillow and a blanket: that was quite a good time for a coffee.
