By Miriam Erasmus 
Teddy Bear needs a makeover.
I think this lovely bear deserves a story all of his own.
We found this old fully jointed Teddy Bear in the depths of a box as we were sorting through the stored things.
I think he is a long lost family heirloom, as he is old and threadbare, a sure sign of a well loved soft toy. I wish John were still here to tell us his story.
Along with the other toys I mentioned before, he was put into a pillow case, washed, then dried in the lovely hot South African Autumn sunshine.
After much thought as I worked on the other toys I realised that I am not confident enough to take him apart completely, so I just replaced the parts that I could.
Stitching the pads
I began by cutting out paper patterns of his felt ‘pads’ then finding felt from my collection when I was making puppets, in a colour that matched. I cut out the felt and stitched tiny little blanket stitches to attach the felt to his body – a skill I had learned at Wallands Junior Primary School in Lewes 70 years ago !!!
By the by, I am always amazed at how many dextrous skills I learned way back then from my Grandparents and from a school system that still valued hand crafts.
As I have been working on these pieces of fabric that are shaped into various dolls and animals, I have realised how much we animate and put personalities into our ‘stuffed toys’. I have been chatting away merrily to each one as I stitched, restored and remade clothing for them.
This little bear was no exception, and I could feel his gratitude with each stitch. After replacing his pads, I was in a quandary as to how to mend his face. So I found some black wool and unwound it to get one strand. I very gingerly replace the markings of his mouth and nose and it worked – he looks good !! 
Nearly there
There was a slight tear in the seam under his eye, so I found a thread as near his colour as I could and repaired it with minute stitches. His eye didn’t want to move, so he still has a ‘cockeyed’ look, but that is part of his charm. 
Happy Bear
He will not be given away like some of the other toys, but has found a home with my other cherished characters. ( Note the tiny jointed bear I made for John !!)
