Watch the video here: Pat's Teddy Bears and Pillow

I am a member of a Quilting Guild, and during one of our regular meetings, I brought along one of the teddy bears I had lovingly made to share during show and tell. One of the members noticed the teddy bear and mentioned that she had the perfect mink coat that would be ideal for making more teddy bears. As it turned out, I was able to create four jointed teddy bears, one large 18 by 18 inch pillow, and two smaller 14 by 14 inch pillows. What I especially loved about this particular project was that it allowed me to preserve someone's cherished memories—a person I knew personally—which made the whole experience even more meaningful and special.

Watch the video here: Suzsanne's Fur Transformation

.Suzanne's coat was by far my most challenging project yet! When the coat was finally deconstructed, I noticed that the flare around the bottom was exceptionally wide and dramatic. Initially, I planned to use darts to help keep the stripes as straight and consistent as possible, but I realized that doing so would have caused me to lose a significant amount of valuable fur. Instead, I decided to use strips of fur. The real challenge was to carefully continue the stripes in such a way that it looked like a single, continuous line, rather than a patchwork of different pieces. In the end, the throw measured 48 by 55 inches, and the customer also selected a coordinating 18 by 18 inch pillow to complete the set.

Watch the video here: Karen's Coat Transformation

Repurposing Karen’s mink coat was a delight. The coat was in great shape. We made a lovely 50 by 58 inch throw. There was enough fur left to create two pillows. The 16 inch pillow used one inch strips with alternating fur directions. The 18 inch pillow came from the sleeve.

See video here: Mike's Aunt's Mink Transformation

What a great project. Mike's coat belonged to his Aunt. He wanted a new lining, but we used the old lining on the pillows and used the monogram on the throw. The monogram was placed in the upper right corner of the backing. This coat's hood was so large I was able to make the throw 54 by 70 inches and even had enough to make two 18 inch pillows!

See the video here: Anne's Throw & Pillow

Beautiful Mink Coat transformed into a throw & pillow. Lovely embroidered coat lining used as the backing. Final Measurement 47 by 50 for the throw and 16 by 16 pillow. View Part II on tackling the intricate backing.