Looking for a Fun New Project? Sew a Stuffed Animal for Your Little One and an Outfit to Match!

Maria has been ALL about her American girl dolls these days. She has “Rebecca” and has been obsessed with matching her doll. She’s been wearing a ton of these knit dresses and dressing Rebecca in the matching versions. Dressing and accessorizing her dolls has provided hours of entertainment (she gets it honest…dressing my living “dolls” is one of my favorite things) and It’s made me feel like the boys’ have been left out. They don’t seem to take as much interest in her dolls, but they do love “stuffies.” They love bears, dogs, crocodiles, deer…basically anything that looks like an animal and can be squeezed.

Enter, this amazing stuffed animal pattern. After seeing some similar inspiration images of this cute stuffed animal in upscale shops on Instagram, I decided I had to make the boys stuffed animals with matching outfits so they could join in on Maria’s fun. Here is a similar pattern in case that one sells out.

I used this fabric from Farmhouse Fabrics to make sweet stuffed bears. I used these little eyes and noses but they could totally be substituted for embroidery or shank buttons. The pattern was very straight forward and perfect for beginners. I couldn’t recommend it enough for a new sewist, particularly if they are young enough to really enjoy a stuffed animal. I’m thinking I may try to scale the pattern down so that Maria can make one for her doll at some point in the future. If you’re a seasoned sewist, this is a fun make that you can do quickly (in my lingo-its a “one-napper.”)

To match the bears, I made the boys a Children’s Corner Johnny and a Children’s Corner Taylor. To make it a little less matchy-matchy I made the Children’s Corner Johnny in a pique and added a sweet sailboat appliqué (use code JKDAFF17 for 15% off). I added length to both the Johnny and the Taylor and am regretting it at this moment but I know I’ll be happy I did when they both randomly grow two inches overnight…which inevitably happens if I don’t add length.

Of course, once I made the boys’ bears, there was no way I could not make one for Maria. So she got a bear in a liberty lawn, with a matching Children’s Corner Katina. My Liberty was from farmhouse fabrics, but the exact color way has sold out. I linked a different color way above, the print is named “Betsy” and comes in many versions.

Every pattern I’ve used in these images is perfect for beginner sewing. So much so, that I had my three and six year old help stitch and stuff these little bears. Maria even helped sew closed the hole used for stuffing the bear with hand stitches. They were so proud to have contributed in making them!

They’ve each slept with them every night since we’ve made them 🙂

If you’re new to sewing for children, these are the patterns for you 🙂 If you’re an old hat and just looking for a fun gift idea, these bears are PERFECT. I’m glad none of my nieces or nephews know how to read yet, because they’re all getting teddy bears for Christmas.

I was also able to make a bear using a single pillowcase…how cool is that? If you’ve got an old pillowcase that you’re not using, this is a perfect way to repurpose it! I’ve heard of using a grandfather’s old shirt as fabric for these bears as well….that would be too sweet!