Smirky Bear: The Polar Bear Who is Headed South

After making a toy Monkey for Ava, I thought I would never make another stuffed animal again. Although once I saw Ava with Marie the monkey I decided , "Nah", they are just to cute  and making them provides so much satisfaction. 

Shortly after Marie, I found this great Polar Bear pattern at Two Owls Design.  The minute I saw it I knew who I was going to make it for.  

This is a very simple pattern that I chose to make out of white fleece. The pattern actually calls for corduroy, but the fleece is so easy to work with. I might try corduroy or chenille next time.

I started out hand stitching the pattern, but soon realized it would be pretty easy to do on the machine. So away I went: a piece here, a piece there and you can see the bear coming to life. 

The fun part about this was making the face. You can see the mouth below and then the two button eyes. He ( or she ) actually looks like he has a personality. My sis calls him "Smirky". She says he has a  constant smirk on his face which makes her happy. 

Because my sister likes polar bears, I asked her one day, "How come most of the polar bears I see have a red scarf?" I didn't get a straight answer so I decided to go with a cute blue print with polar bears on it from the Little Fabric Shop which I just love.

As you can see, Smirky looks very cute with his blue scarf.

Who knows, he could be starting a new trend in polar bear wear.

Have fun in North Carolina Smirky and be sure to stay indoors during the heat in the south.  I know you will have a good home and be very well taken care of.

Do you have a favorite stuffed animal pattern you like to make?  I'd love to hear about it.

Smirky is linked at: