It’s teddy togs time!

I’ve taken up a self-imposed challenge to up my game with regard to my creations’ clothing.

I like this time of year. Some people clean, others book holidays and dream of summer, but for me spring is when I get creative. (Apart from last year, obviously.)

The longer days and brighter weather seem to bring my muse out of hibernation to sniff the springtime air and ask “what’s next?”

In summer I want to be lazing about outdoors, rather than sweating over a sewing machine. In autumn, making gets a bit frantic and focused on impending festivities. But spring is both relaxed and filled with possibilities. In spring I have time and energy for making, creating, experimenting – and learning.

Upgrading my teddy togs is something I’ve had in mind for a while. I have been inspired by some of the brilliant doll dressmakers on Instagram, who create incredible tiny outfits for Blythe dolls.

Like these, by Hilary of moshimoshi studio:I am nowhere near this standard, nor am I ever likely to be, given my own – ahem – slightly less precise way of working.

But despite this and the limitations of a bear’s more squidgy and pudgy nature, I really want to be able to dress my new creations to better reflect their personalities.

I already own several charity-shopped books on dressmaking for dolls and bears. But unfortunately they haven’t proved the catalyst I was hoping for – the clothes in them are too big, or have too many fussy details and therefore simply don’t work on a tiny scale. Or else they are just uninspiring – full of frou-frou Victoriana, or scary clowns, or 1970s silliness.

I wanted techniques. Not projects and patterns, but tips and tricks – so that I could make what I want to make.

I happened to be browsing online when an advert came up for a course in making miniature clothing. It was on special offer and pretty cheap so I thought, “why not?”

I’ve been dipping in, rather than diligently working my way through it (because I’m a bit impatient and also because I already know enough to not need chunks of it) and that’s just fine.

The course is in Spanish with English subtitles – which can sometimes be a little odd and therefore unintentionally funny. This is actually a plus point, as I love a bit of amusing mistranslation along with my learning!  Despite the language difference I’ve found it pretty easy to understand. Though I sometimes wish the tutor would smile a bit more often, because making tiny clothes is such a joyful thing – although the amount of smiling I’ve been doing whilst following the course has more than made up for it.

It is taking me a while because I’ve been making bears to wear the garments I’m creating as I go along.

I started off with Lorenzo, who was already made and of whom I have grown rather fond. I’m going to struggle to let him go. He is a bit bigger than most of my bears, so he made a good initial model – not too fiddly…He now sports a pair of knit joggers and a nice houndstooth shacket.

Shacket is a “portmanteau” word – and therefore absolutely hated by my teenage son. He only has to hear that TV advert about “housebarrassment” to start cringing and groaning. Needless to say, I use the term shacket within his earshot at every opportunity.

Shackets are a recent addition to the fashion lexicon, a hybrid of shirt and jacket. It’s the perfect term for when what you create falls sort of equally (if not entirely intentionally) into both camps…Here is Lorenzo, modelling his transitional pieces for spring (see how I am learning fashion-speak too!)As you can see from the above picture, Lorenzo has taken to modelling like a duck to water. I fully expect to see him appear on the runway in Paris at some point in the future.

Once I’d got Lorenzo fully outfitted, I moved on to Tiny, who has been my little helper whilst I try to perfect garments on an even smaller scale…I am grateful for Tiny’s forbearance (for-bear-ance, get it?!)

No, really, if this was the Sewing Bee and Tiny was a human model he would have certainly quit the sewing room long ago. And probably reported me for assault, given the limb-wrenching, tummy-squashing time he’s had whilst I’ve been trying to make stuff fit. Put it this way: I had to reattach his legs at one point after a particularly trying fitting, which is (hopefully!) not something you’ll see on TV.

As a well-earned reward for his troubles he has gained a rather spiffy sailor top…Last but not least, there is Dudley. I named him Dudley because for some reason he reminds me of the actor Dudley Sutton, who used to play Tinker Dill in Lovejoy on telly. Something around the eyes perhaps? I could, I suppose, have called the little fellow Tinker, but he looks more like a Dudley than a Tinker.

I can imagine Tinker Dill wearing a similar chemise and scarf combo on a summer’s day (though preferably with the addition of some trousers). Teddy togs time has definitely been time well spent. I’ve learned a lot and had fun, both with the course, and also just from actually devoting time to the project. Which is the only way to learn anything, really. Practice makes perfect, as they say!

And nothing has gone to waste either – both Tiny’s and Dudley’s garments started out as toiles using bits from my scraps bag. A toile [“twahl”] – or a muslin – is an initial mock up of a garment made in cheap fabric so you can check and alter how the pattern fits before cutting into your nice fabric. The bears looked so good in their toiles that I ended up finishing both garments off properly.

I also decided that Dudley needed a hat – for which Ann Wood provided both inspiration and method. Thanks Ann! I would heartily recommend spending a bit of time learning something new, if you can. Whether you choose to do it via a dodgily-subtitled online course, or a book, or just working it out for yourself (perhaps with the help of Miss Google or Mr YouTube). Ann Wood has lots of lovely patterns and free tutorials on her website, should you need somewhere to start.

Maybe there will even be face-to-face courses again, in the not too distant future. Imagine that!Anyway, watch out for more teddy tailoring  – and more swankily-dressed bears in future.

I’m only halfway through the course, so there are lots more teddy togs still to come!