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| In my family we make a competition out of who can buy the best gifts. It is followed by a nice "Winning team, losing team!" chant on Christmas morning. Don't know what I'm talking about? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH0x5tTaKZQ You're welcome. :) I won with this present! Granted, I didn't have much competition since my family doesn't usually do birthday gifts... |
It has become a nightly ritual that we read a few of the strips together before bed. It's adorable. I mean, I COULD make fun of him for being a little kid, but isn't it kind of sweet that he still holds on to this part of his boyhood? I say yes. And as Calvin would say to anyone hating on him *THBPBPTHPT!*
Anyhow. Mr. Watterson has always refused to market his images. What does that mean? It means you can't buy a Hobbes doll. Ever. Anywhere. Trust me, I looked. Tristan "really really really really" wanted to be Calvin for Halloween. But you can't very well dress up as Calvin without a Hobbes right?! So I volunteered to be Hobbes. BUT NO! He wanted me to be Susie Derkins. If you don't know who that is, go read the comic. No really, do it. It's worth it. :) So. That left us with no Hobbes. So what did I do? I made him!
As you can see from the strip above, Calvin sees a very animated tiger. But his dad? He just sees a basic stuffed tiger. Since Tristan is the only one who is supposed to be able to see Hobbes in his full glory, everyone else only gets to see what his dad would.
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| Here is the link to the instructions. Seriously, whoever you are seamster, you're amazing. |
This pin was my inspiration! It is also where I found all of the instructions. Whoever wrote this, knew what they were doing. The even give you a pattern to cut out to make it! Thank goodness too! I mean, I can sew, but I can't make patterns. I'm not that talented. Even in my overinflated ego.
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| Here's Hobbes. Or at least part of him... This is before I sewed the head, legs, and the shoulder stripes on. But at least the arms were done? I also added stuffed animal pellets in his bum to make him sit better. Glad I did too. |
I really failed at taking pictures of the process. It's okay. The original article had plenty. This picture was taken on 10/29. As in, two days before Halloween. Like almost half done. At my office. Perks of being a glorified receptionist, I can do things like this at work. Good thing too! Otherwise Tristan would have been a Hobbesless Calvin. Talk about awkward... ;)
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| Don't even worry. Tristan carried Hobbes around campus like that all day. :D |
Ta-da!!! Finished Hobbes on Halloween with Calvin. PS, that shirt was HARD to find. I had to go online and search for hours. I finally found this one that I decided would work from Kmart. Good thing too, my next best option was $50 from the UK. No, thanks, I'd rather not pay that much for a T-shirt he'll wear once...
Here's our "family" photo! Typical Susie attire is overalls and a brightly colored T-shirt. Do you know how hard it is to find adult overalls?! I paid WAY too much for these but they're pretty cute so I guess it's ok. :) I was thinking it was a DI purchase, but I was out of luck on that. I also tried really hard to find a pin to tell me how to feaux bob my hair like that. (In reality my hair is mid-back length.) But alas, I couldn't find one that was helpful. I ended up putting it in a ponytail at the base of my neck and then tucking it up under and pinning it. It looked pretty good I think. I wasn't about to cut bangs though. Sorry. I'm not that committed!
Overall, this project took about 30 hours worth of work. And 90% or more of it was hand sewing. Not for the faint of heart folks! Was it worth it? Absolutely. My husband LOVES him. And he still sits on our dresser in our room. He shows him off more than an adult should show a stuffed animal off. I'm still not sure if he's bragging about my sewing skills or about the fact that he has Hobbes and the other person doesn't... I'm going with my sewing skills!
