Cozy the cuddlebug

Cozy the cuddlebug is made from 100% cotton yarn, unless requested otherwise. Other color palates available upon request.

Ordering process

To order your cuddlebug email me at dressedlilies@gmail.com, and we’ll get all the details sorted out! 🙂

(If you’re like me, you’re not here for the product but the pattern. Well, my dears, I freehanded this cuddlebug based on this pin on Pinterest. The pin leads to the Yarnspirations website, though I can’t find the actual product on that website. Have fun, and happy making!)

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Kenneth Carson was supposed to be helping his mother babysit his brother and the neighbor kid. He knew that. And he definitely knew he was supposed to stay away from burning houses. But, as he and the boys had been cleaning up the toys in the backyard to go in for a snack, he had seen a man run around behind Miss Elaine’s house, and–it looked like–go in. So he couldn’t help it–it really only made sense that he’d go see, right? If he wanted to be a firefighter when he got older, how could he resist the temptation to see what happened?

The only problem was, that excuse fell apart when one knew that Kenneth knew this man wasn’t a firefighter. He’d been wearing street clothes; not a fireman’s uniform. Regardless, he’d crept close and–knowing he would be in trouble if he was seen–crouched behind Miss Elaine’s bushes, waiting.

He subconsciously clutches the stuffed cuddlebug that had been his excuse to get away. ‘Cozy,’ his brother called it. Cozy the cuddlebug. Kenneth didn’t really care about the stuffed toy, itself, just that it’d been his ticket over to Miss Elaine’s house. Apparently, the neighbor kid had wanted his own cuddlebug from his house. Kenneth had volunteered to go get it if the kids would just go inside for snacks.

top view of a crocheted red, pink, and white inchworm

Being two years old, that had apparently sounded like a great idea, giving Kenneth the distraction needed to get over to Miss Elaine’s house.

He didn’t have to wait long for the man to come back out, and his eyes go wide as he recognizes the neighbor kid’s father carrying Miss Elaine out of her house. Somehow, there’s not a flame on him, despite the back door to the house collapsing inward just as he crosses the threshold. The entire house is going to come down, soon, if the fire isn’t stopped.

Kenneth can see the firemen working on doing just that, but his attention is riveted onto Mr. Batten as he sets Miss Elaine down by her shed before jogging back around the side of the house, as though he weren’t just inside a burning building.

Kenneth looks at the house. Yup, still burning; although, the firemen seem to be slowly getting it under control.

Kenneth strains his neck to watch Mr. Batten as he goes to his wife and lays a hand on her shoulder. She whirls around to face him, at which point Kenneth loses interest. Instead, he creeps over to Miss Elaine.

She’s still breathing–somehow–although she’s unconscious, pale, and badly burned. Kenneth tries to remember what he’d learned about smoke inhalation and people who were in burning buildings. Surely Mr. Batten is getting help, but Kenneth seems to remember that you’re supposed to give someone unconscious from smoke inhalation CPR until the first responders arrive. He sets the cuddlebug on a patch of wet grass next to Miss Elaine’s head, and starts doing just that, rhythmically compressing and releasing her chest and breathing air down her throat and into her lungs.

That takes far longer than he’d anticipated–unlike waiting for the man to leave the burning building. Finally, though, the EMTs arrive and take over. The next few minutes are a blur of the EMTs asking questions and Kenneth answering them as best as he can, purposely leaving out the bit about Mr. Batten. He has a feeling they wouldn’t believe him, and that he’d get checked over either way, if he shared that.

Finally, after Miss Elaine is lifted into the ambulance, and the fire is under control, he remembers what he’s here for. At this point, though, Mrs. Batten is probably back at his house, and the boys have probably forgotten about Cozy the cuddlebug, anyway, so he goes back to where he had set it down to bring it back to his house.

Except the cuddlebug isn’t there when he gets there. He blinks, and searches around where he knew he set it down. Nothing.

He groans. “Great,” he mutters to the empty air, staring at the spot where the cuddlebug is supposed to be, “now, not only is Mom going to kill me for running off–and probably for smelling like smoke–but Joey is going to be heartbroken that I don’t have Cozy. Except I know I put it right here.”

“Are you looking for me?” a soft voice asks from within the trees. He whirls, eyes searching the treeline. He doesn’t see anyone.

“Down here,” prompts the soft voice, again.

Kenneth is almost scared to, but he looks down at the base of the trees. There, peeking out from between the trees, is Cozy. He stares at it for a moment, blinks once. Twice.

“…you do see me, right?”

Kenneth lets out a surprised shout and reels backward, landing on his butt.

The cuddlebug cocks its head. “Are you alright?”

Kenneth’s foot flies out as though to kick the thing away, but comes up short.

front view of a crocheted red, pink, and white inchworm

The cuddlebug blinks placidly at him.

“How-how did you… how did you–? Why can you talk?”

The cuddlebug cocks its head the other way. “The same way you can?”

Kenneth shakes his head. “No, that’s not–that’s not possible. You–you’re a stuffed ani-animal. A toy. Toys don’t talk. And they certainly don’t move.”

Just like adult men don’t run into burning buildings and come out without a mark on them.

…would Mr. Batten know what’s going on?

Kenneth doesn’t know, but isn’t about to find out. Kenneth is old enough that people would think he’s crazy. It’s not like if his brother said his toys talk and move.

His brother.

“Well… I do.” Cozy looks over its shoulder at its own rear. Wiggles it around. “Yup. I definitely move. And talk. I don’t know why…” his foot kicks at the ground. “…is that bad? Should I not be able to?”

Kenneth wants to scream that yes, it’s bad, and no, the cuddlebug shouldn’t be able to move and talk. But he stops himself. It clearly can, and there’s no use telling it that it shouldn’t when it can. And–somehow–the cuddlebug looks upset at the idea. Five minutes alive–if that–and it was being told it shouldn’t be alive. That had to suck.

But Kenneth can’t keep his kid brother’s cuddlebug–even if that wouldn’t result in Joey throwing a fit.

“…no. It’s not bad. It’s just… there are some people that wouldn’t…” he rolls his hand, thinking, “well, there are some people it wouldn’t be wise to tell. But, the good news is, the kid you belong to isn’t one of them. Just… taller people. Adults. When you’re around them, it’s probably best if you just hold really still and pretend you’re not… you know…”

“Alive?”

Kenneth nods. “But around smaller kids? That’s probably fine. Just… not around adults, okay?”

The cuddlebug nods slowly, and then considers him, looking Kenneth up and down. “What about you? Are you one of the big people, or a smaller kid?”

“…I’m a big person. But… I mean, I already know you can move and talk, so as long as we’re alone, it’s probably fine. But, not when others are around, okay?”

The cuddlebug nods as Kenneth stands and picks it up, surprised to find it hasn’t gotten much heavier.

“My brother and his friend, though? They’re going to love…” he motions to the whole of the cuddlebug, “this.”

Cozy’s half-closed yarn eyes light up with excitement. “You’ll take me to your brother and his friend?”

“Gladly.” If only because that means this weirdness will no longer be his to deal with.

With any luck, Billy will tell his father, and Mr. Batten will know what to do about it. And ‘what to do about it’ won’t have anything to do with Kenneth.