Identi' Teddy - Little Teddies with Big Personalities!

Year six classes have really enjoyed creating their own teddies with symbols they felt represented their personalities - Identity Teddies! Some loved the activity so much they made several teddies and spent most lunchtimes in the art room working on them.

The idea was based on the popular Care Bears franchise and  one of the original artists, Elena Kucharik. Students planned their design on paper first, deciding on colour combinations, bear features and a simple symbol to represent themselves. 

They then cut out templates and traced and cut out the teddy shapes and features from felt. They glued the small features, such as ears, nose and paw pads, to their bear. Some students even glued a little heart, star or other small shape to the bears behind, similar to a Care Bear.

Using a rectangle of felt, that could later be used as a pocket, they practised a running stitch that was curved. When they were confident, they stitched around a white belly circle on the front piece of their teddy. A small amount of glue was used to help keep it in place.

Next, they practised a running stitch, watching several demonstrations to get the hang of it. While it was slightly daunting and a little confusing for some to begin with, once they got the hang of it they had little trouble stitching around the outside of their bears. We created some explicit self talk to help us remember, "If coming from behind, needle comes towards you then, turn it back away and through the loop and pull it away from you." 

Making sure there was a small part left unstitched the bears were stuffed with foam and the gap stitched back up with more blanket stitches. Due to time, some students had to glue around part of their bears using the blanket stitch on just a small part. Finishing touches were made with eyes and any additional features, like little pompom tails. 

They all looked so adorable, each with their own little personality shining through and worthy of a cuddle every time you see them! 💓🐻