I belong to a knitting circle – The Knaughty Knitters. Two or three times a month on a Sunday, we rattle the doors of Starbucks at opening time, bag the best comfy seats with our knitting, grab a coffee then sit and spend the whole morning knitting, chatting, coffee drinking, “oohing” over each other’s knitting books, correcting each other’s mistakes and generally being a fabulous support network for all concerned.
The staff in our Starbucks are super. They don’t mind us taking up residence. They take an interest in our projects and do their best to accommodate our idiosyncratic coffee orders.
So, at Christmas, I thought it would be a nice idea to make the staff a little something to say “Thank you” from the Knaughty Knitters.
This is how “Buck the Bear” was born….
The logo on the apron is cut out from a leaflet and sewn on. The coffee mug is made from the lid from an old lip balm, a piece of yarn poked through a slot cut in the side and knotted on the inside to make a handle, a logo cut out from a leaflet and glued on, coffee coloured Yorkshire Tweed for the coffee and Kidsilk Haze froth!
The bear pattern and pattern for the clothes was from an ancient old Sirdar booklet called Teddy Bear Parade, originally produced to raise funds for the disabled.
There’s three sizes of the bear and a myriad of fun outfits – mostly crochet but some knit too. I love this book and have made and given away several bears.
The Starbucks staff were stunned and thrilled when we presented them with Buck. They even bought us some flowers to say thanks!!
Completed Knit Report
Name Buck the Bear
Pattern Sirdar’s Teddy Bear Parade
Yarn body – body -cygnet 4ply, paws- Kidsilk haze, clothes rowan 4ply and rowanspun 4ply tweed
Pattern problems – None – pretty fiddly though.
Pattern modifications None – just changed colours.
Washing and wearing N/A
Knit it again? Oh Yes!
Difficulty easy if you can crochet and don’t mind “fiddle faddle”
Rating 5/5
Oh he is gorgeous, I love the little outfit, Starbucks should be honnoured.
Thanks for your comment on my Salina. I think I will treat myself to a Kim Hargreaves kit one of these days, I always seem to be so happy with her patterns.
Susan – he is adorable. I hope they have him on display. I haven’t read your blog in a few days, but I love the scarf and the glove (the richness of the yarn colour and the sparkle – very dreamy).
I haven’t seen Blue Peter in years, do they still teach the “arts and crafts” made from household items, like Fairy Liquid bottles? I made a Dogel from a Fairy Liquid bottle once following their instructions. And I received a Blue Peter pin for raising money for seeing-eye dogs.
Hello Susan,
I remember that ballet dress so well – the smile hasn’t changed either.
The scarf and gloves illustrate why we must all do our bit to fight global warming. Imagine being too hot to wear such gorgeous items.
Tragedy! I was distressed to hear of the mysterious disappearance of Buckie the Bear. Does Strbucks have security cameras? Examine those tapes! Has every small child in the area been frisked for stolen goods?
Please forgive delay in responding, I needed instruction. I may have been instrumental in getting you into the craft/knitting world but boy are you getting revenge now by dragging me screaming into the 21st century. I don’t do technology! Having said that, I really enjoyed your blog. Hope Patrick is coming along nicely,
From Susan’s big sister, Carol