Personalised patchwork teddies

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you the fun and practical handmade changing bag designs of Lou and Lime; a new Etsy shop for my talented friend to share her fab fabric ideas.

Not only did Louise make me this fantastic changing bag for Ethan, she's also made me something extra special. She has taken some of Ethan's first bodysuits and sleepsuits and turned them into a sweet memento that we will cherish forever - a stuffed elephant toy.

Louise had the own idea when her first son was little and she turned one of his beloved items of clothing into a cute rabbit, which he took with him everywhere. She then made another one for her second son and friends and family soon saw her cuddly creations and started making requests of their own.

I saw one of the rabbits and instantly fell in love. It was soft to the touch and perfect size for little hands too, plus it was a great way to put old baby clothes to use.

I was quick to commission a teddy for Ethan as it seemed like a wonderful way to put some of his best-loved clothes to good use. I've kept a few sleepsuits from his early days in a memory box with other nic naks and since then, I've put all the clothes he's grown out of into storage bags in the loft; I can't bear to part with them. But there's only so many things you can keep so I loved the idea of creating a toy using these pre-worn fabrics.

I asked Louise if she could make an elephant for Ethan. We became a little elephant obsessed, as we used to say 'E is for elephant, E is for Ethan' and it just seemed that elephants were everywhere. He had quite a few elephant related clothes when he was born so I gave Louise a bag full of these and other bodysuits to choose from. She's got a keen eye for fabric and knows what to look for and how to put them together, to I gave her free reign to use as many or as few of the clothes as she wanted so she had as much creative scope as possible.

And here is Heffalump. He's made from five different bodysuits, all in complementary shades of biscuit, grey, yellow and green. Underneath his left ear is the emblem from one of Ethan's first bodysuits and on his side, there's a cute rocking horse button stitched on - great examples of Louise's attention to detail.

I knew before I saw the finished toy that I would be far too sentimental to let Ethan play with it. Every time I look at Heffalump, I'm reminded of Ethan's first few weeks. The way Louise has mixed and matched the different patterns of fabric together is really lovely and this is certainly going to be a treasured item in our family for many years.

Louise is always sewing and she's now set up her own Etsy shop - Lou and Lime - as in her words, "there's only so bags one person needs!". She is also available for individual commissions. You can take a look at her online shop here, where there's a few of her bags available to buy with more to be added soon, or you can contact her direct if you have something special you'd like her to make: louandlime@gmail.com.

I've decided that the stash of Ethan's clothes will be turned into another keepsake - I want Louise to make me a quilt. The plan is to choose different tops that have special memories attached over the first couple of years of Ethan's life and then have Louise transform them into a patchwork quilt. At the rate I'm saving clothes, it's going to be pretty big!

* Note: this isn't a PR post as I paid Louise for her time and skill - I simply wanted to share this great idea with my readers as it's a brilliant way to remember those early days with your little one.

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