Patterns
Sort By
Marketplace
About Us
Community
" Easier to sew than you could
possibly imagine! "
Photo Album
Ashley is a little girl battling cancer.
Jody - a friend of Ashleys Grandmother who made, and donated Sleepy Bear to Ashley.
Ashleys mother Stacy wrote the first 'Thank You letter to Jodi, and Grandma wrote the second. (below)
Jody subsequently passed the letters onto me in hopes that we would allow her to produce more bears for charity (see below).
When I made available my first 3 ft bear , I never EVER anticapated that there would be a market for a second large bear. But people kept asking for another then a third etc.
As the years progressed I began to hear the same story over and over. That the bears were being used in theraputic settings- to help children in all types of trauma.In a practice known as "Touch Therapy"
I've learned that because the bears are so large, they can become substitute "humans". They are used with children who have been traumatized. The children in turn confide in them.
In this case, "Peter Pan" helped Ashlley work out the trauma associated with her illness.
Dear Judi,
I
bought the 3 ft Sleepy Time bear pattern years ago, and I have since made several for my nieces and nephews. The biggest hit is using them as a "Birth" bear and putting their Name, Date, Weight, Height, Length and Time of Birth on the paw pads. The very first bear I made for my nephew was lost in a house fire about a month after I gave it as a birthday gift. Of all of the things that he missed the most, he said he missed "Tony", so of course I had to run right home and produce "Tony Jr."
I just wanted to say thanks for your wonderful patterns. I just received several for Christmas (a little early) and I plan on making some VERY big smiles in the future.
Melanie McCarter
Hello, I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful pattern.
I just made the bear for my son, who just turned one as his birthday present.........I forgot all about the work when I saw him cuddle the bear in the morning...Taisei loves the bear and loves to cuddle and wrestle with his new friend!
Only mistake that I made was to use the minky fabric that you specifically advised against....
Well, I used the super silky minky fabric. Since my son loves the soft fabric, I just had to...I know, silly mommy.
Thanks again for a great pattern!
Love, Satoko Berg
Hi Judi,
I finished my Chinchilla Grissly and she turned out beautifully! Soooo soft. Here's a few photos of Chinchilla and Polar Grisslies for you.
I really love that pattern; You make it so easy and especially fun. My next project will be your "Pretty Kitty" pattern, except I'm going to try to make it into a lion cub. Should be fun.
Thanks again
Take Care,
Sue Westbook from Snowy Wisconsin
Judy,
Here is a picture of my most recent floppy bear. The one in the middle was a second birthday gift for my two year old grandson.
Each of the boys have received a bear when they turned two. If you remember the gray one with the sleeping two
year old, ABOVE you might not recognize him in these pictures. He was well *loved* and generally put upon.
After about five years, his body gave up the ghost (probably more due to scissors wielded in little brother's hands than design failure). I was going to remake him entirely using the camo fabric that was picked out by his boy, but somehow he kept staring at me as I made the new body and I just couldn't kill him off. Therefore he still has the same head...just a new suit. Thanks Again Kathi
Hi Judi,
Thought you might like to see the final product from your pattern that I ordered a couple months back. We just finished stuffing him tonight, my seven-year-old and I.
I have to tell you that your pattern was wonderful! I was pretty intimidated by it when I started, but everything fit together perfectly, without any problems. I never have sewing projects that work like that!
The only modification I made was to add a layer of felt inside the ears to make them a bit stiffer, since I used fleece for the bear, and the fabric is very soft. Otherwise, I followed your instructions to the letter.
Dear Judy,
I thought you might like to see how my 2-year-old grandson likes his bear. LEFT
Thanks again for going above and beyond to get me the pattern in time for his birthday.
Kathi Swindell
Hi Judi,
Thank you for your story of how you started. I am 54 and had to stop working to take care of my 88 year old mother in-law.
It has been very hard on us financially so I decided to make dolls and toys to sell and I love your patterns.
I try to change each pattern so that none turn out the same. I don’t know if I have the talent to design a pattern and I’m not sure that I will try.
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement in your endeavor to make it.
God Bless, Phyllis Johnson
Hello,
I just had to write! A couple weeks ago I ordered the pattern Early 1900 Rabbit with Stripe. Last night I traced all the pattern pieces onto templates and thought I may be getting in over my head. But your instructions were wonderful and thorough.
I completed 2 bunnies with no problem at all except to wonder why I thought this pattern was going to give me trouble.
Thanks for the great pattern and instructions! I had fun making the rabbit and will look for more of your patterns in the future!
Sincerely, Stacy
Judi
.........your pattern was great and very easy to follow. The ONLY thing that I would have liked to have seen was a layout for the material. But, I got it done without.
Anyway, got the bear done and my 17 month old granddaughter loves it! It was so big that we were concerned that she would be afraid of it. She walked in, saw it there, sat down and scooted back so she was right up next to it!
Thanks again for all your help!
Deb
Frazee, MN
Hi, Judi!
Here's a picture of "Joe Bear Johnson". He is a full time resident of Dixie, Idaho, where he lives with his adopted parents, Kathy and Ells. His hobbies include snowmobiling, chipmunk watching, and foraging for candy bars in their cozy cabin!
Thanks for a great pattern! Sincerely, Debra ( Joe's "stitcher")
P.S... I'd love for you to put Joe Bear's picture on your site..... Joe the Bear went to our local fair, and won a blue ribbon, and a purple "Best of Class" ribbon as well. The judges were really wowed, and had great comments, too.
Thanks for designing such wonderful patterns, Judi. They're all "winners"!
Sincerely, Debra Tack
Hi Judy,
Here are some pictures of the bears I made. They really turned out great. All of the children were thrilled with them.
Thanks, Elaine Winkle
Hi Judi,
I just thought I'd let you know that I've finished making the jumbo bear pattern I ordered from you last month. Attached, you'll find pictures of "Rufus," who has turned out better than I ever thought he would .....
.......this was my first sewing project beyond simple repairs to pants, skirts, etc. Your pattern was very easy to follow, even for a beginner, and your helpful tips were wonderful.
If it's possible, Rufus would like to have his picture added to your "Satisied Customers" site.I also wanted to thank you for your help with altering the pattern to include paw pads. Hopefully they show up well enough in the photos.
Thanks again for such a wonderful pattern!
Paula Moore
Dear Judi,
I am enclosing a picture of me with Rumbles and "Cuddle Me" bear. I am SO proud of them!!
The sewing machine is NOT my friend! These are the first items that I have ever sewn with any success using the machine and I THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for making sucn easy to follow patterns.
My husbannd and I do craft shows...and I had thought that I would take them along....Don't have much room in my pickup for many of these guys!! If anyone wanted one of these two origionals, i would have a hard time parting with them. i just love them.
Again, thank you so much for the wonderful patterns. You surely have helped my self-esteem!
Sincerely Jan Wiswell
Bartlesville, OK
Dear Judi Lynn,
The do not put in dryer message in fabrics, reminded me of a wonderful and sad story of my husband and his first wife and their two children's 7 stuffed bunnie rabbits.
Iris decided to wash all 7 bunnies at the same time in the washer in the basement. Upstairs, she saw smoke coming through the electrical outlet so she called the fire dept. They came, and seeing the smoke, took an axe and chopped a hole in the kitchen wall.
Dear Judi
I made your floppy bear and much to my surprise it went so easy!
I'm new to sewing and this was a wonderful first teddy bear project.
I'm now making two more for my little cousins for Christmas. Thank you so much for such a wonderful pattern!!!
Sincerely, Stephanie Warren
Marion, VA
I believe this may be the very wall which is now covered with ceramic tile. Then the firemen went to the basement to find that the washer had jammed up and burned out the motor which had created the smoke. The wet and smokey bunnies were pitched. The kids now in their 40's, with many degrees by their names, still tell of how traumatic it was to lose their beloved bunnies.
Barbara Boucher
Dear Judi,
I thought you might like to see how much the bear with the orange face and pink belly is loved. I've made a story book about it on shutterfly........ He is truly a loved bear! Sometimes as I was putting him together, I couldn't see how the pattern directions were going to work, but then they did so - easily.
I'm amazed at how you designed them to make them easy to sew.
Thank you for sending me the pdf of the head to make it go faster and for looking up my phone to talk with me. Bear helped make our Christmas a very happy one, particularly when Dashiell whispered "It's what I JUST wanted!" to his parents.
Jane Smith
Judi
Your pattern, once I got my head on straight, was easy to use and your instructions were quite thorough.
Thank you,.
Karon Ismari
Hi Judi,
I didn't sleep much this weekend, but the bear is complete and my son loves it!! ;-) Your 10 hr estimate was a good guess. It took me a little closer to 12 hrs due to my slowness at hand-stitching the head & mouth, but I am really pleased with the final product.
Attached are 2 pics. One is of my son & the finished bear, and 1 sitting next to my 6 ft tall husband (I think it helps show the size of this bear!).
The king-sized blanket worked perfectly for fabric. If I make it again, I'll probably look around more for a fuzzier blanket, but for the sale price, it was perfect......
Thanks so much for the pattern and help!
Molly
Except for sewing on the paws, which my son didnt't want me to add. My old Kenmore was even able to plow through 8 layers to sew the ears on without my needing to hand sew :)
Anyway, thanks so much for the great pattern.
All the best, Sarah
