Stitched Memory
Graduation 2026

The clothes they lived in,
stitched into something they'll keep.

by Katie

A handcrafted keepsake bear or pup, sewn from the senior-year t-shirts, letterman jacket, or favorite hoodie your graduate actually wore. For the graduate — or for the parent not quite ready for the house to feel that quiet.

Every grad keepsake ships with a mini cap + tassel — free
GRANDOPENING — 15% off everything
Start a graduation keepsakePick a style
A pair of Signature Bears hand-sewn by Katie — one for the graduate, one for the parent
Made by Katie
Why a graduation keepsake

Eighteen years of shirts in the laundry basket.
One of them becomes this.

Little League to varsity. The spirit-week tee. The hoodie from every finals week. The jersey that went to every away game. Pieces of the years that just ended — sewn into a bear, a cuddle bear, or a pup that a graduate can take to their first apartment and that a parent can keep on the shelf in the room that's about to feel quieter than they planned.

What to send

The clothes that carry the four years

One garment is enough for a single keepsake. Sending two or more pieces Katie can combine is a small +$20 upgrade — because piecing the history together by hand takes noticeably longer at the machine.

Team jerseys & spirit shirts

Little League through varsity. Cotton team shirts piece beautifully — the kind that lived in a drawer between seasons, not the slick dri-fit jerseys (those don't sew cleanly).

The letterman jacket

Wool, twill, felt letters. Katie can preserve the letter, the patches, the stripes on the sleeves — the pieces that took four years to earn.

Senior-year t-shirts

Class of 2026 shirts, spirit-week tees, club hoodies, the last day of school shirt. The ones they wore into the ground.

A favorite hoodie

The one that made it through every finals week. Soft cotton and cotton blends work wonderfully — and the pockets and drawstrings usually survive the transformation.

The dress shirt or blouse from the ceremony

What they wore under the gown — often a shirt or dress they'll outgrow by Christmas. Piecing that into a keepsake means they keep the moment even after the fit doesn't.

Band & academic uniforms

Wool band uniforms, quiz-bowl blazers, debate team gear. If it's cotton or wool we can almost certainly work with it; send a photo if you're not sure.

A note on fabric: Cotton, wool, flannel, and cotton blends work beautifully. Slick modern athletic polyester (most pro-style dri-fit jerseys) doesn't piece cleanly. If you're unsure about something, send Katie a photo first — she's happy to tell you what will work.
Pick a style

Three shapes. Same hand-stitched care.

Each one is made the same way — what changes is the silhouette and how the graduate (or the parent) will hold it.

Signature Bear
The classic, made to be held

Signature Bear

📏 12 inches tall

Our signature keepsake bear.

Start with Signature Bear →
Cuddle Bear
A shape that hugs you back

Cuddle Bear

📏 12 inches tall

The same hand-stitched keepsake as the Signature Bear, shaped for how it'll actually be held.

Start with Cuddle Bear →
Loyal Pup
A keepsake in the shape of a friend

Loyal Pup

📏 12 inches tall

A keepsake in the shape of a dog.

Start with Loyal Pup →
How it works

From a stack of shirts to something they'll keep

Turnaround is 4–6 weeks from the day your clothing arrives at Katie's studio, plus shipping. Ordering after the ceremony? Every bit as meaningful — often more so, once the dust settles.

01

Send the clothes

Pick the shirts, the jersey, the hoodie, the letterman — whatever carries the four years. We send a prepaid label; you pack and ship.

02

Katie stitches it by hand

Each keepsake is cut and sewn one at a time. Pockets, logos, buttons, numbers — every detail that made the garment theirs is placed with intention. Every grad keepsake also gets a hand-sewn mini cap and tassel, included free.

03

Theirs to keep

The finished keepsake arrives with a sewn-in NFC tag that opens a private gallery — a place for ceremony photos, yearbook spreads, and the voicemails you don't want lost on a phone.

Graduation questions

The ones families ask most

Can you make a keepsake from a graduation gown or cap?
Most graduation caps and gowns are made from a slick polyester that doesn't piece well — the fabric fights the needle and doesn't hold its shape the way a keepsake should. The better source is what the graduate actually wore every day: senior-year t-shirts, cotton team shirts, a letterman jacket, a favorite hoodie, or the dress shirt worn under the gown. If you're not sure whether something will work, send Katie a photo first.
Can I send a stack of shirts from their whole school career?
Absolutely — that's one of the most-loved graduation commissions. Little League through varsity, middle school spirit shirts, senior-year team tees, the hoodie they wore every finals week. Sending multiple garments bumps the keepsake to the two-or-more tier (a +$20 upcharge because piecing takes longer), and the finished piece carries pieces of every season, not just one.
Does the keepsake come with the grad cap shown in the photos?
Yes — every graduation keepsake ships with a small handmade grad cap and tassel sewn on, included at no extra charge. Just flip the graduation toggle in the order builder (or start from one of the buttons on this page) and the cap is part of the build. Katie makes each one from coordinating fabric so it looks like it was always meant to go with your keepsake.
Will it be ready in time for the ceremony?
Turnaround is 4 to 6 weeks from the day your clothing arrives at the studio, plus a week or so for shipping each way. If graduation is sooner than that, a Stitched Memory keepsake still makes a beautiful gift after the ceremony — for the grad party, the move-in to college, a birthday, or the first quiet weekend home when the house feels different. A lot of families commission one as a post-graduation gift for exactly that reason.
Who is a graduation keepsake really for — the graduate or the parent?
Both, honestly. Graduates love a tactile memento of the years they just finished — something they can take to college or their first apartment. And parents who just watched their kid walk across a stage and aren't quite ready for the house to feel that quiet find a lot of comfort in a keepsake made from a stack of shirts that lived in the laundry basket for eighteen years.
Is the NFC gallery a good fit for graduation?
It is. Every keepsake ships with a small NFC tag sewn inside — tap it with any phone and a private gallery opens. For graduation that gallery becomes the natural place to put the ceremony photos, videos, voicemails, the yearbook spreads — the whole four years in one place that won't get scattered across a camera roll. You don't have to use it; the keepsake is the same either way. It's simply there if you ever decide you want it.
What if I want one for the grandparent who raised them?
That's one of the most meaningful graduation gifts we make. Pick a second keepsake in the order builder — every additional keepsake saves $10 — and tell us who each one is for. We'll make them together and ship them together. Grandparents with a tangible piece of the grandchild they helped raise, held in their hands, is a kind of graduation gift that doesn't quietly go in a drawer.

Start a graduation keepsake

Pick a style, send the clothes, let Katie do the rest. Code GRANDOPENING takes 15% off everything — auto-applies when you start your order.

Start your order