The most important thing is to choose clothes that have meaning to you. Don't worry too much if they don't match or are different patterns. It's a patchwork bear after all.

THE BEST CLOTHES TO SEND ARE: cotton or cotton-blend shirts and pants. Graphic t-shirts can be used but keep in mind anything with large graphics will be cut to fit our bear patterns and the design will be cropped fit. Wedding, special occasion & fabrics with overlay may require additional labor cost.

CLOTHES WE CANNOT USE: leather, fur, heavyweight knits and outerwear, bulky fleece or other thick fabrics, costumes, dancewear, tulle or other sheer material, heavily beaded or sequined clothes, swimwear or underwear (oh please, no undies!). *As of 2025, we can't add buttons to your bears for safety & liability reasons.

Depending on the type of memory bear your choose, we'll need from 1-5 adult-sized clothes to make one bear. We offer a simple one-shirt bear, two-shirt bear and original memory bear (3-5 clothes).

If you want to use more than 5 articles of clothing (adult or child), please order a 'My First Memory Bear' since it takes more time to design and layout.

All our memory bears are approximately 17 inches tall, except for the Bitty Bear which is 11 inches tall.

After we receive your order, you'll get an email with detailed shipping instructions and a printable order form. This form MUST BE INCLUDED with the clothes- it's the only way we know who and what you ordered!

Mailing address for all orders:
THE PATCHWORK BEAR
174 Nassau St #210
Princeton, NJ 08542
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If you're in the Princeton/Pennington NJ area and would like to drop off your clothes, please contact us to make an appointment.

The sewing studio is located at:
The Patchwork Bear
20 South Main Street
Pennington, NJ 08534
(DO NOT mail clothes to this address)

Yes! We are the ORIGINAL Memory Bear Company and one of Oprah's Favorite Things.

1. We take extra steps to keep your clothes safe. All packages are signed for upon delivery and kept in a secure, indoor location- never left outdoors subject to theft or bad weather.
2. We work in a professional sewing studio that is smoke and pet-free.
3. We're trusted with over 20 years of experience, making thousands of bears. Check out our 1000+ reviews!
4. We're the real deal, not a hobby or Etsy store. Don't trust just anyone to cut up your clothes! Our little team of designers and sewists are trained and professional every step of the process.

NOTE: We can no longer fix bears made by other people. It takes too much time and effort to undo what someone else has sewn. Once the clothes have been cut, it's difficult to fix.