My body temperature regulatory system is out of whack sometimes. That means that I’m cold, most of the time. You can regularly see me walking around the house in a second sweater. It’s large, beige, has thumb loops in the sleeves and a hood. It’s hideous but I love it. I decided recently that I needed another like it. Something fluffy, warm and preferably a little whimsical.
Original 
New front 
New back
So I put a mat on the floor that I could pin into, put some pattern paper on that and grabbed the original. I spread the sweater onto the paper and started drawing the edges and pinning the seams of the pieces. It took a while, but I eventually got all that I needed. I cut those pieces from a black fleece blanket and freehand cut some ears. The pocket bags were cut from an old discarded jersey top. I sewed everything together by treadle and got out the overlocker to finish all those seams. That last step was very relevant because this fabric sheds like you wouldn’t believe.
Bear ears 
Thumb hole 
Pocket inside
The thumb loop and all visible edges were finished with jersey bias tape, same as the beige original. I discovered that sewing with the nap was so much easier, so I had to do some interesting manouvering to make that possible. Since I finished it about a week ago, it’s been in regular rotation as something to just chuck on. It might not be the prettiest, or most elegant thing I’ve ever made, but it perfectly does the job it was intended for. Time to live out my ultimate baby bear dreams!
