Bear Quilted Rag Blankets

I found this pattern, Simplicity 4993, at JoAnn's one day when they had patterns for 99 cents.  I thought it was cute so I had to buy it.  Don't mind the numbers on the examples, I was figuring out the color choices.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until this past year I thought these would make great Christmas gifts for the kids in our extended family.  The pattern is very easy and simple, just a little time consuming because of the many pieces you have to cut and all the stitching you have to put in it.

I decided to do all bears since I wasn't sure which kid liked which animal.  I figured bears were pretty safe.
I used cotton flannel for the top and bottom layers with polyester batting in the middle.  After a blanket was finished it had to be wased several times to get an loose thread from the fabric out, this makes it a rag blanket.

This is the first one I made.  I did brown since it was for a boy.  I just used 4 different colors/patterns, five if you include the black for the eyes.  It has a mouth but it's hard to see in this picture.  I need to get better at taking pictures,  I almost forgot to take them and had to unwrap some.  

I made three different ones for the three girls I made blankets for.

Again this one has a mouth but it is not showing in the picture.   I thought the eyes in the first one were too close together so I spaced these ones further apart.  Both look fine to me.  I don't like the choice of fabric for the paws, or maybe not for all four.  

This is my favorite I think.  The same colors didn't get clumped together, it feels more balanced. 

And this is the last one.  I think they all turned out pretty well and the kids seemed to like them which was the most important part.  These blankets can be used as a blanket or just a throw on a bed, the floor, or on some kind of seating.  They are pretty big and would mostly cover a twin bed.

I did make one cat blanket after Christmas for my friend's daughter's birthday, I knew she liked cats.