Apparently, the Beary Bunch found its way into my sewing room... and got into the fabric and notions.

After spending this year dreaming up new Beary Pals each month, I kept thinking about all the other things I could tuck inside those familiar bear silhouettes. And with scissors, thread, rotary cutters, fabric, seam rippers, and basting pins constantly within reach around here, I suppose I couldn't help but create a whole bunch especially for us quilters.

Meet the Quilty Beary Bunch, a sewing themed twist on the original Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern, featuring six bears inspired by the tools we use, the fabric we collect, and all those little habits and quirks that come with being a quilter.

And because I can never resist giving these bears a little personality, each one has a name, a story, and plenty of sewing-room sass all their own.

Meet the Quilty Beary Bunch

First up is Beary Snippy, who knows it's always better to get a little snip happy with fabric than with people. Then there's Beary Spooled, whose thread collection definitely isn't getting out of hand. She's just very well prepared.

Beary Slicey brings a little spice to the cutting table with a fresh blade and the confidence to cut into the good fabric, while Beary Stashed only meant to pick up a couple of fat quarters... and we all know how that goes.

Of course, not every sewing day goes quite as planned. Beary Seamful has been through a wrong seam or two and knows that sometimes you've just got to rip it out and try again.

And finally, Beary Sandwichie knows the secret to a good quilt is all in the layers: top, batting, backing, and a few basting pins to hold everything together.

These six sewing themed bears and their quilty personalities capture some of the quirks, habits, and humor that make every quilter’s sewing room their own. And, if I had to select a personality, I probably would be Beary Stashed, because it’s hard to just pick out one piece of fabric. But to be fair, I could find myself being a little bit of all these bears, and I bet you can too.

A Quilty Twist on the Original Bunch

The Quilty Beary Bunch is an add-on to the original Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern. Instead of starting from scratch with an entirely new quilt pattern, I designed these six sewing themed motifs to fit right inside those familiar Beary Bunch silhouettes.

You'll use the original Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern for the bear construction, yardage, and quilt instructions, then swap in the new Inner Body Units from the Quilty Beary Bunch add-on.

So, if you already own Beary Bunch, you only need the new add-on to start making your quilty bears.

And if you're new to the bunch, I've put together a bundle containing both the original Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern and the Quilty Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern Add-on.

→ Shop the Quilty Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern Add-On

→ Shop the Beary Bunch + Quilty Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern Bundle

Tiny Pieces, Lots of Personality

One of my favorite challenges when designing quilt patterns is figuring out just how much detail I can tuck into a traditionally pieced block while still keeping it simple and recognizable.

Each motif finishes at only 3" wide, which meant plenty of fine-tuning as I worked out how to turn familiar sewing-room objects into tiny pieces of patchwork.

Some came together fairly quickly. Others made me work for it. The rotary cutter earned the title of most challenging, followed closely by those scissors!

But that's also part of what I love about designing. A tiny change in proportion, or the addition or subtraction of one little piece can be the difference between almost there and yep, that's it.

And somehow, getting all six of them tucked inside the Beary Bunch silhouettes made the challenge even more fun.

Eighteen Colors and One Very Colorful Bunch

Of course, I couldn't make a quilty bunch without having a little fun with color, too.

For the cover quilt, I worked entirely with Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cottons and their Quilty Color Wheel to build a palette of 21 different solids: 18 for the bears, bear highlights, and backgrounds, just like the original Beary Bunch, plus 3 neutrals to complete the sewing themed motifs.

There's actually a whole lot more color theory tucked behind what looks like one big, bright jumble of color, but I'm saving that story for its very own blog. I'll be sharing exactly how I used the color wheel, triads, complementary pairings, and color families to build the final palette and arrange the bears within the quilt.

The Finishing Touch

Once all six bears were together, there was one last decision to make: the quilting.

This was my first time working with Patty of Sugarbird Stitching here in San Antonio, and she was an absolute joy to work with.

We chose the Hidden Hearts Meander pantograph by Kristin Hoftyzer, and I love the little surprise it adds as the hearts wind their way across the quilt. They're not necessarily the first thing you notice, but once you spot one, you start finding them everywhere.

Patty quilted it with Isacord thread in Gravel and Quilter's Dream Cotton batting, giving the finished quilt plenty of texture while still letting all those quilty bears do their thing.

Ready to Meet the Bunch?

The Quilty Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern Add-on is available now as a PDF pattern in my shop.

If you already have the original Beary Bunch Quilt Pattern, you're ready to add Snippy, Spooled, Slicey, Stashed, Seamful, and Sandwichie to your bunch.

And if you haven't made a Beary Bunch quilt yet, the Beary Bunch + Quilty Beary Bunch Bundle includes both patterns so you can start from the very beginning.

I hope you have as much fun making these six as I had dreaming them up. Because apparently, once the Beary Bunch entered the sewing room, there was no keeping them away from the fabric and notions either.