Today I’m sharing a project that I completed nearly a year ago as a Christmas gift for my Mother-in-Law, Elaine. She’s a huge fan of all things Winnie the Pooh, so when I came across the McCall’s 8087 (1968) sewing pattern at a thrift store I knew I needed to make it for her.

I love the simple styling of these in contrast to modern toys. It was pretty straightforward to make as well. I used a minkee-like fabric I found at my local Joann’s that was the right color and texture. I contemplated using terrycloth like the photo on the cover, but I couldn’t find anything that was remotely the right color. The fabric had a bit of stretch to it, and I was a little worried it would not keep the correct shape. It turned out just fine and I think if anything having a little stretch made it a little easier to sew and match seams up on the curves.

The facial features are just pieces of black felt cut out and glued on. I made the shirt out of some regular woven poplin fabric I had in my stash.

I wanted to make it a little extra-special being that it was a Christmas gift, so I embroidered the back of the shirt with our names and the date. You can also see where I sewed him up after stuffing him on his lower back/bottom.

Overall it was a fairly simple project- I would say it’s good for an intermediate to skilled beginner. I think the trickiest parts were sewing the curves and where lots of seams joined, like the nose (though I think this fabric is pretty forgiving), and hemming the armholes of his tiny shirt (might want to just do that by hand). It makes a great handmade gift and the best part is that you can make the whole set of characters to go with him!

Pattern: Vintage McCall’s 8087

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Materials: Minkee-like gold fabric, Red woven poplin, black felt, poly fill stuffing