This Bear Has a Story

This is Olive Blazer, the bear with a past life. She comes with a bit of a story.


Olive's story begins many years ago when I ordered my husband a tweed blazer for Christmas. When the item arrived in the store the salesperson phoned our home and asked to speak with Olive Blazer. There was a confused pause at both ends of the phone until simultaneously both the salesperson and myself realized the woman's mistake. She was reading from the wrong line on the phone list. The ITEM was an olive coloured blazer. The person to speak to was the name next to it of course. The family has laughed over that one for years.

As far as I know this is the only item of clothing my husband has ever had that actually has a name.


With a family story like that behind it I just couldn't send this blazer off to a charity shop when it grew hopelessly out of style. No, Olive Blazer had to live on. I found a sewing pattern that worked with the narrow pieces I had available once I deconstructed the jacket.


The wool blend tweed was used for the exterior of the bear. Portions of the shoulder pads created the contoured stuffing for the ears, and the lining and a button from the blazer were used for the collar of her little jacket. Olive's eyes were scrounged from the family heirloom button jar.

The outside of her fancy tweed jacket is made of a remnant from our living room drapes and its lining is cut from a poly/cotton bathroom curtain. The embellishment on her jacket was done with scraps of felt, embroidery floss and a few beads I had in my stash. The only things I had to buy to bring Olive Blazer to life were the pattern and the stuffing.