How to make a build a bear from a onesie

Gather supplies.

Draw a bear shape. Cut it out, cutting through both layers of fabric.

Draw a face

Sew on buttons for eyes.

Sew together the front & back of bear, leaving about 2 inches open. Here, my 5 year old got to help. I held the fabric & he used the needle.

Here, I left about 2 inches open at the bottom, so we could stuff the bear.

My son had a ball of cotton from a local cotton field. He insisted we stuff his bear with it.

We needed more stuffing, so we shredded the extra shirt. Note: do not shred 1 sleeve & the bottom hem of the onesie that has the snaps. See later slides for details.

Stuff the bear.

Make toot sounds because you are working with the bum of the bear.

Use a little stuffing at a time & get it in the little arms, legs & ears.

Then stuff the tummy until it's completely full.

Make a heart. All bears need a heart.

Give the heart a kiss & warm it up in your hands. The bear needs a warm & loved heart. Put the warm heart inside your bear & finish stitching the rest of your bear shut.

Now the bear needs clothes. Cut off one sleeve. (This pic was before I shredded the rest of the shirt for the stuffing).

You can also save a logo.

Here is the sleeve, logo & the bottom hem with snaps we saved before shredding the rest of the onesie for stuffing. This is all you need for the bear's clothes.

Sew on logo & two snap pieces.

Put overalls on bear.

Snap on the straps (rest of bottom hem).

Flip bear over. Sew straps to the back of the overalls. We liked keeping the crisscross pattern. Cut off excess strap pieces.

Now bear is finished! Give bear a name.

My son calls his new bear Stuffies. He likes having lunch with Stuffies. ENJOY! ;)