Meet the Anywhere Bear

Isn't he a cutie? The Anywhere Bear is a very versatile little pattern. I designed him to fit on my free Swell Stocking pattern - and that's what you see here.

But as I was working on the pattern I realized he could be used on lots of other things. Once you get the basic applique steps down you could add him to a pair of jeans, a handbag, a tote bag, a pillow - anywhere really. And he's not just limited to fabric uses either. I have a HUGE stack of paste paper that I've made at my job at Penland School of Crafts. And look what I did with some of it.

Instead of fabric I used my paste paper. Instead of embroidering the face I used a Sharpie. Instead of sewing him in place I glued him to the front of a card. Easy peasy and so much fun!

The pattern includes full-sized templates for the bear - sized to fit just right on the Swell Stocking or a regular-sized greeting card. There are also complete step by step instructions (with photos, natch) on how to applique the bear to fabric. There are even some notes and suggestions to help kids with the project.

Download the free Swell Stocking pattern here.
And the free Neato Ornaments pattern here.
And purchase the Anywhere Bear pattern ($5) here.

P.S. In 2011 I'll be launching the Shiny Happy Sewing School - offering weekly video tutorials for beginning sewists of all ages. Sign up for my newsletter or "like" Shiny Happy World on Facebook now so you don't miss a single thing! And if you know someone who wants to make "Learn to sew" one of their New Year's resolutions - please forward them the link. Thanks! And happy sewing!