#stuffed animal clothes

Coneja’s person first wrote to me back in August.  She was concerned that the Bunny needed to be replaced from the neck down.  Here are her diagnosis photos:

As you can see, her legs, arms and torso were made from the same very thin fabric as her skirt, and over time they just got thinner and thinner.  But her head, hands, and feet were all still sturdy, just a little deflated.

We agreed the best treatment would be to give her a spa, then recover all her clothes in new fabric.  We’d replace the bodice and skirt, but leave the trim as a memory, as it was structural so was ok to keep wearing. 

It took a couple months, but Coneja flew to the hospital in October to begin treatment.  Here she is starting her spa with her bubble bath:

She got restuffed next and of course, got a heart of original stuffing.

I thought those flowers would be nice for her and her person completely agreed: Oh my gosh the heart is perfect ! Thank you so much!

Next up, choosing fabric for her new clothes.  We discussed a couple options.  Flannel was a bit sturdier than her current clothes, but velvet was the next step, and brighter colors, and that’s what her person and I agreed on.  I was going to recover most of the clothes, but replace the skirt.  It was just too thin to hold new fabric.  Here she is bright and sturdy:

Still herself but ready for many more years of hugs!

She flew home and arrived just this week.  Her person wrote:

She just got here! Omg she is actually perfect!!! Thank you so much Beth, you’re incredible !! Even my mom started crying when she saw her!
Thank you so so much!!

Hi all!  I hope you had Happy Thanksgivings and are all staying safe!

As you may’ve guessed, the hospital is pretty full — I think that when the world breaks, people turn to their beloved stuffed companions (who never let us down) and after months at home together, they figure, at least he or she or they can feel better, and then the animal or doll comes to the hospital for a spa and rejuvenation.:-)

In any case, I’ve been saving up stories as usual, and thought I’d start with Paddington’s.  He was here last month for a spa and a new outfit – so I guess he came for a spa and a fitting?  Here’s Paddington’s diagnosis photos:

Not too bad, just a little deflated and with his smile a bit out of sorts.

He began his stay with a bubble bath:

Got a new heart with a bit of original stuffing:

And soon was feeling much better:

So it was time to size him for some new clothes.  Originally, the plan had been a new blue felt coat and yellow hat, a la the books… but then his person decided he should have a red hat, like in the latest movie, and then I thought, velour would work better for his coat, so he could have a proper hood and pockets like in the movie too.  Unfortunately, I haven’t found wood buttons in teddy bear size that are like a traditional Paddington coat buttons, so his are a bit different there, but he’s unique, so he should have something unique to him too, right?

Anyway, here’s Paddington all spiffed up in his new clothes, ready to fly home:

Paddington flew home (to Arizona not London) and his person wrote:

He looks fantastic. Thank you!

Over the last few months, two similar bunnies came to the hospital for similar treatments.  One was fairly local, he came into the studio in person at the beginning of the year.  His name is BunBun, and he is a pink, striped, pj bunny.  Bunny, on the other hand, is a blue bunny who  flew in from Cincinnati.

Similarly, both bunnies didn’t have their original people contact me first.  Rather, people who loved the bunnies’ people contacted me, hoping to rejuvenate the bunnies as a gift.  In BunBun’s case, it was his person’s mom.  In Bunny’s case it was his person’s fiance. Here are the diagnosis photos.

First BunBun:

As you can see, his clothes were awfully thin, see through, with holes and old patches.  I offered several levels of treatment.  His person’s mom opted for a gift certificate, and then his person brought him in.  She opted to recover his pjs, but leave his cuffs and button strip as they were.  We also planned to give him a spa, recover his nightcap (not the rim), and transplant his pj tush flap onto the new fabric.  I had a near perfect match for his fabric, which she approved.  It’s actually specially printed pink stripe fabric I had ordered for an earlier pink stripe bunny.

Here’s BunBun starting his spa (of course he go the pink tub!):

Meanwhile, Bunny’s diagnostic photos showed similar thinning (not quite as see through though). 

Bunny’s people planned to have his clothes and tops of shoes recovered (again I had a near perfect match for fabric) and to give him a spa as well.  Somehow, he managed to avoid a bubble bath photo, but here he is in a rare “patient unstuffed and drying” photo (next to a unicorn who is clearly trying to escape the photo!):

BunBun’s recovering proceeded quite smoothly and she got restuffed with a pink stripe heart to match her new pjs:

Here are her chubbiness approval photos:

And here she is all set to be picked up and go home:

You can see how nicely the new fabric blended with the repaired original fabric of her cuffs, button strip, and tush flap.  His person said: Thank you so much, he looks wonderful!!

Meanwhile, Bunny’s story continued… he also had a very smooth recovery.  And he got a blue striped heart to match his new blue pjs:

Sometimes hearts get fantastic reactions, and such was the case with Bunny.  His person wrote:

Thank you for a picture of his heart! My heart exploded!!!! So so sweet  

Here are Bunny’s first chubbiness photos showing off his new clothes.  At this point, his person opted to keep his original cuffs and shoe soles as is.  We had recovered his pj flap because it had torn too far.  His spine is open here so I can adjust his stuffing:

His person wrote: He looks almost right! I think just a TINY bit more and we should be good! He can be just a hair firmer I think!

So I added just a bit more and sent a few more photos:

The reaction? “ Oh he’s PERFECT! I could cry!!!! I can’t wait to hug him! “

And he flew home to his family’s waiting arms. :-)

Two happy striped bunnies home to keep their families company again!