I went to a doctor’s appointment this morning and left Roxanne with a babysitter for two hours. And she did great. I was nervous about leaving her because she is so focused on mommy and she hardly ever stays with anyone else during the day. She cried for five minutes when she first woke up from her nap, and then was totally fine. I was so glad.
Today I made a bear from a thrifted Banana Republic wool scarf and some vintage curtain fabric for the dress. I am trying to make my bears baby friendly which means two things: soft and safe. So, I have put aside some of the itchier wool in favor of the soft furs and fleecy things. And, I bought some safety eyes.
Here is what I learned: I hate safety eyes!
First of all, I was looking for the 8 mm but they were nowhere to be found so I had to settle on the 12 mm. Secondly, as you can probably see in this picture, even though I cut the tiniest of holes in fabric to insert the eye, it tore and now is fraying around the eye. And they just don’t have the same personality as button eyes. Buttons give the eye a pupil-like focus – these just have a blank stare. And, you know, my baby never tore an eye off a bear and choked on it anyway.
Back to button eyes it is. The dress was too fussy anyway.
myra says
Sweet little bear! Are safety eyes the ones that you insert a washer into the inside of the doll to receive the eye part?
You could try using something to keep the area from fraying before you cut the hole, like a circle of iron on interfacing over the area where you plan to make the hole.
shell says
I’ve never used safety eyes – they look too complicated for me (yes, I keep things very very simple! haha!). But hey, the bear’s still cute. And it’s not a blank stare – she’s just got dark soulful eyes. =)
lyn says
I agree with Shell, I think she’s very sweet. 🙂
mandy says
I think she’s very cute indeed!