My friend Jen was getting married and I wanted to give her something handmade. This was solely because handmade gifts are more meaningful because the maker had to pour time and work into the product and not at all because I’d already spent money for a plane ticket and hotel reservations in DC and wanted to give her something inexpensive.

Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Butterstick were born! And betrothed! And hitched! Damn, that was fast. Butterstick is the nickname of the panda that was born at the Washington D.C. zoo a few years ago. Jen watched the panda-cam obsessively after the little bear was born, so a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Butterstick presenting her with a butter plate seemed perfect.

I started Mrs. B two weeks before the wedding and was halfway done with her body when I realized, “Crap, this bear looked a lot smaller in the photo.” For the next two weeks I crocheted as fast as I could, ran out of black yarn and had to go on crafting expeditions for black felt and lace and sparkly beads for eyes – but thankfully every piece was finished, stuffed and sewn together by midnight the night before the wedding. Whew!

If you want to make your own Mr. & Mrs. Butterstick, follow the Lion Yarn Free Crochet Pattern for Felted Penny the Panda. You have to register to download the pattern, but it’s all free. I didn’t felt my pandas. I just crocheted them and put all the pieces together.