Happy Halloween!

I'm not going to deny it, I LOVE making costumes. It makes me gleeful to reproduce all the little details in fabric, whether it be monster fur or a sea animal. This year was no different. We were going to outer space!

The idea, of course, started with the dog. Like kids' sewing, everything is cuter in miniature. We also attend a dog costume show and beer fest every year and, while we never win, I'm always trying to think of ways to outdo myself.

So Beatrix is going as Laika, the first Russian cosmonaut dog is space. The details on this costume were really fun. I finally nailed her bodysuit/onesie pattern, this time with quilted legs for a space suit look. I also special ordered patches from Amazon for that CCCR vibe. Her rockets are made from soda bottles and fans, with a plastic fishbowl to complete the look. She is a very patient dog.

After getting invited to a few parties, I realized we would need costumes as well. We chose a very American variation of the theme, deciding to go as Space Force, the proposed new branch of the military by our idiot in chief.

While I am perfectly capable of sewing us some onesies, I instead ordered us some painter coveralls and a gazillian space-themed patches. The look was completed by a trip to the hardware store, where I threw anything that looked like it belonged on a spaceship into my basket.

My favorite is the rockets, a joint effort between the Mr. and me. While B's has fans, ours light up with tiny tea lights that give a nice little orange flicker. Overall, it was a lovely excuse to stay in all weekend and do crafts.

What are you all doing for Halloween? Are you ever too old for a good Halloween costume? And have you weighed in yet on 7 Pine Design's thoughts on how well a costume needs to be sewn?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

If you don't know, we are big TV nerds in this house. While Mr. Made and I spend plenty of time on creative pursuits, we also love sitting down at the end of a long day to watch some good TV. West World, Master of None, Bojack Horseman, House of Cards, Stranger Things, Fargo, we've watched it all. And, of course, we love us some Game of Thrones. So this year, after binging our way through the seventh season, I decided to sew us up some GoT costumes. Enter Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and her dragon. 

Admittedly, they are a bit dorky. Our wigs were pretty cheap and poofy, and Mr. Made complained his cape fur wasn't fluffy enough. But we have had a good time dressing up and going to costume parties. My costume is a combination of a corset with long tails and a t-shirt pattern. Mr. Made got a simple cape with darts and a t-shirt tunic. Both were made in stable knits from the discount section of Stone Mountain - affordable and I didn't have to finish any seams!

As usual, I put the most effort into Beatrix's costume. She just makes the cutest little dragon. She is also remarkably tolerant. As long as she isn't too hot, she'll pretty much wear anything for a few hours. I think she likes all of the attention. 

The fabric really makes the costume - it's from Cali Fabrics, which locally is the brick and mortar shop Fabric Outlet. The pattern is a dog coverall from Milla Milla combined with their hoodie sweatshirt pattern. The reason I love this company is that they have sizing for different dog breeds, so I can get one that fits my little bowling ball. Of course, I've been sewing for her for a few years now and have made some adjustments particular for her, and so now sewing things up goes rather quickly.

The real challenge with this pattern was creating the wings. I used galvanized utility wire from the hardware store and inserted it into channels in the wings. It behaved remarkably well, and I could see this being really fun for future Halloween costumes. I also inserted some into the tail to give it some shape. The wings can also be worn separately for an easier costume.

Hope you are having fun and making the most of this little holiday. Happy Halloween!

Some New Sewing

Pattern: BurdaStyle's Retro Top 07/2013 #130

Fabric: 1 yd scuba knit

Cost: $4

I haven't had as much time to sew this semester as I'd have liked, although I have been getting lots of knitting done in class. With the election results rolling in last week, I have also become incredibly sad for the tone our country has set towards minorities, the disabled, immigrants, and women. 2016 has been a rough year. Before returning to the 24 hour news cycle and listening to the helicopters circle relentlessly overhead, I took some time for self care. Mr. Made and I slept in, walked the dog, and ate breakfast by the lake. We talked about our hopes and dreams for ourselves and our country. Call me optimistic, but I truly believe that most Americans want the same great things that I do. 

I also took some time for sewing again. It was comforting to escape to the sewing world and see everyone's great projects on social media, and even more so to put my hands to work building something new. I have been working on my pants block, and have made two iterations that I hope to show off soon. 

Today I'm sharing a bit of an older project, BurdaStyle Retro Top 07/2013 #130. It's much like Grainline's Scout Tee that I've made and loved, but with bust darts for better shaping. I also tried a swayback adjustment at the back, but realized I didn't really need it for a loose fitting shirt like this. The result is some wonkiness at the back, which I hope to fix next time. I also lengthened the sleeves slightly, but I think they could be widened as well. 

This pictures is also a peak at the jeans/pants block I'm working on. They are the first draft, and still need a wedge taken out of center front, the back rise shortened a bit, and a knock-knee adjustment, but they're getting there!

Oh, and I did make Beatrix a Halloween costume this year. She was Amelia Earhart, with extra emphasis on the Ear! Mr. Made and I goofed around in his studio getting some nice shots. What a life saver she's been for all the stress. 

Hope everyone is taking care of themselves and doing more sewing than I am!

Merry Christmas!

Pattern: self-drafted
Yarn: Knit Pick's Brava Sport in red, white, and grass
Cost: $9

I hope everyone is staying warm and snuggly!

I have picked up knitting again, although as a craft I much more enjoy the process than the finished product. Luckily I have one very willing recipient of some winter-themed fair isle. This project helped ease the stress of final exams and pass the time while Mr. Made was away on business. It is quite fun to see all the different parts take shape and become a real picture.

I made the sweater pattern up using her body measurements, and went back to lengthen the neck after a trial wear. The color work is a combination of three different patterns, including these poinsettias, these deer, and these snowflakes, some of them just images grabbed from Pinterest. The belly is dotted with red and white, which made the increases and decreases easier to manage.

I am quite pleased with the sweater, although the lady at the fabric store suggested that I get out more often...

Happy holidays to you and yours!

Sea Lion Dog Costume

Pattern: self-drafted

Cost: $15

Fabric:1 yd sweatshirt fleece + quilt batting

Making a Halloween costume is something I look forward to every year. Since we got Beatrix last fall she has been the recipient of my Halloween sewing, and so this year she got dressed up as a sea lion. Arf arf!

Making this costume was an exercise in drafting. As with any costume, it must imitate the real thing while still being practical for moving, walking around, and in the case of a dog, going to the bathroom. The most challenging part for me was drafting a realistic looking flipper. I started out with a few sketches, followed by some paper pattern pieces. In the muslin phase (pictured below in plaid), I tried out at least five flipper variations until one started to look right. The flippers and tail were then interfaced and sewn together with quilt batting to give them extra body. B was a very patient model!

I am really pleased with the final look. The front flippers drape nicely on her bowling-ball shaped body, and the tail rests just above her own. It's especially cute when she's sitting down. While I originally intended to make her a seal, I was also tempted to add little ears. A study in marine biology will tell you that it's the sea lion that has external ear flaps, so a sea lion it was. 

Here's the costume sans dog. The pattern was based on the Milla Milla sweatshirt pattern, which has a raglan sleeve that I extended down into the fin. Her arms come out underneath the fin, and that bottom part of the armscye is left open like a tank top or a cape. The bottom extends just far enough to attach to the tail, which drapes on either side of her own.

 She is able to walk around more or less comfortably in it, and didn't seem to mind wearing it to a costume part the other night.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Dog Days Hat

Pattern: Mimi and Tara's free Dog Cap pattern
Fabric: remnants of wool, canvas and cotton woven
Cost: free

Between studying and working this year, I've managed to grab bits of time to sew. Sometimes it's enough to make a full blouse, other times it's just an hour or two to have some fun. In this case, I stole away a couple of hours and decided that something hilarious was on the sewing agenda. And so Beatrix got a new hat.

Whether it's creating Halloween costumes with large googly eyes or cutting out a miniature A's logo, I find whimsical things like this fun and, frankly, good for the soul. There's something so silly and simple-hearted about playing dress up. So why not give the dog a hat for our favorite team?

This pattern is made using a free multi-size hat pattern from Mimi and Tara, a dog clothing pattern maker. The shaping is achieved with a dart at center back and is held to the head with elastic straps going under the chin and on both sides of the ears. I added interfacing to the brim to give it shape, but it could use a bit more starch or better support as the fabric there is just cotton shirting.

 

The pattern suggests lining the hat, so of course I immediately thought, "Make it reversible!" It didn't take much more work to cut out my other favorite team's logo. Both logos are cut from fabric backed with interfacing and were appliquéd to the hat fabric before assembling the hat. I finished the raw edges of the hat at the front, and then used fold over elastic to finish the raw edges along the sides and back, which extends to become the straps.

She has already worn it out to the bar a few nights, sporting whichever team was playing. I think she loves the attention. And I get a huge kick out of very silly things.

Happy hump day everyone!

Fan Dog

Pattern: Milla Milla Dog Sweatshirt (size FB), modified with button front and collar

Fabric: remnant collegiate cotton broadcloth

Cost: free

Our favorite college football team has a "pet of the game" contest where fans send in pictures of their pets in Cal gear in the hopes of getting featured and winning a pair of free tickets. Of course Beatrix had to participate. I made her a shirt with scraps from ours, and now all three of us have matching shirts. Ha!

Like ours, hers is a button-front shirt with a little collar. I've made this french bulldog-sized raglan pattern a few times so I knew what I was getting into as I modified it, but I'm still a little surprised about just how good the fit is. I did have to piece together several parts as I really was working with only scraps, but the print makes it hardly noticeable. To put it on I have her step in the arm holes, and then she lies on her back to get all buttoned up. I think she quite enjoys it, not to mention the pictures and attention!

I'll let the rest of the pictures do the talking:

Our little line backer. 

A Dog in a Sweatshirt

Pattern: Milla Milla's Dog Hoodie and Sweatshirt
Fabric: fleece sweatshirt knit
Cost: $5

Well, if you haven't heard me complain already, this Spring's been a cold one. Not cold like Midwest winters cold, but just foggy and windy and generally unpleasant. Luckily, that means I get to make more cute doggy clothes! Beatrix requested a sweatshirt for June, and I was only too happy to oblige.

Her bowling-ball-with-legs shape means traditional dog pattern don't fit her, and trying to think about drafting dog sleeves hurts my head. Luckily, Ginger Makes tipped me off to Milla Milla, a dog pattern company that offers a "FB" size. Their patterns are a bit different than traditional sewing patterns in that the instructions and pattern are sold separately, but the fit was much better than any other thing I had tried so far (except my self-drafted one - that's been my best so far). If you're interested in sewing for your canine friend, you can get $1 off when you create an account on the website, and I got an additional $3 off with the code millamilla.

This pattern features a raglan sleeve, hood and waistband. I also added a pocket, which is a free download from the site. While my first version in ponte fit great, unfortunately this one seems to have grown a bit with wear and is a bit too large. Getting sizing right on your pet is a bit challenging - it needs to be tight enough to stay on and in place without being too constricting. Perhaps this one will shrink back up in the wash?

The fabric is so soft and snuggly I was thinking of using the other half a yard to make baby gifts, but since those babies all live in warmer climates I'm thinking I may just tweak the pattern some more. Beatrix insists!
  

Dog Dress

Pattern:  self-drafted

Fabric: remnant ponte

Cost: free (scraps)

Do I have more serious/useful/important things to sew? Yes. But sometimes you're tired, your house is under construction, and you just need something light. Something fun. Something that results in your dog wearing a dress. Yeah...

This dress is mostly just a series of almost-rectangles sewn, gathered, and buttoned together. The body is a trapezoid sewn into a tube to accommodate her proportions, and the skirt is the same shape but I had accidentally made it too small to be the body, so it became the gathered skirt. I told you I was tired!

The most tricky thing about making a dog dress was actually how to handle the under side of the skirt, or the part which runs along her belly. Since dogs stand horizontally, I knew a skirt would hang funny there (and could possibly get peed on), so you'll notice that this skirt is more of a butt ruffle as I eliminated the belly portion entirely. This seems to be a fairly common treatment for a dog dress (some inspiration here). 

I cut the straps to measure, which was a bit of a challenge on a very sleepy puppy (she usually puts herself to bed around 8, and evenings are prime sewing time for me). As a result, the length was fine but the functionality was lacking - you can see in the picture above that they tend to slip off her shoulders. To remedy this, I later attached a cross strap between the two straps at her chest, much like the H-strap on lederhosen. This seems to have resolved the issue.

If you came here for a dose of cuteness, I hope you got your fill. For serious sewing, I hope to be back soon!

P.S. Looks like she got her little self featured on Kollabora's Weekly 6. 

Winter Coats for Beatrix Kiddo

Pattern: Martha Stewart's Doggy Coat
Fabric: Italian wool (wool coat), waterproof fabric (raincoat) + fleece (lining)
Cost: wool coat was from remnants, raincoat materials were $4

I don't think I realized that I would be doing so much sewing for dog, but Mr. Made said he knew I wouldn't be able to resist. Dog clothes are fun because they are relatively quick to make and the results are usually incredibly cute. Even when I mess up, I have the excuse that it's just for the dog, so it really is no-pressure sewing. Feel free to judge me for being a crazy dog lady, though, as I'm totally obsessed right now.

This round of outfits was inspired by the change in the weather. Mid-way through December it's finally cold enough for some coats in California, and over Thanksgiving we visited family in the high desert where temperatures dipped below freezing at night. Today I even caught her hanging out by the heater, so it was definitely time to get her some outerwear.

The Wool Coat:

This pattern is free and comes courtesy of Martha Stewart, who has two french bulldogs, Francesca and Sharkey. Because frenchies are oddly shaped (read: stocky and sausage-like), I have found it is easiest to sew patterns especially made for them. This one fit nearly perfect straight from the pattern, and only need to be shortened as Beatrix is not quite as long as other frenchies. I'm not sure how it would fit a more regularly-shaped dog, but the straps are fairly adjustable and the pattern is quite simple.

For this jacket I used a remnant of a beautiful Italian wool that I got on sale at Stone Mountain years ago, and had used for this dress (which I still wear all the time). I lined it with a plaid fleece I had laying around, which had never been used for anything but is very soft. Martha of course uses $33/yd waterproof-coated linen for her coats, but Beatrix does just fine with remnants, thank you very much.

The instructions have you quilt the two pieces together, and then bind the edges. I substituted buttons for velcro, and cut two more button holes for her harness buckle to fit through near the neck. The only other change I made is that I cut both the lining from and the shell from the same pattern piece, as it didn't make sense for there to be two separate pattern pieces if they were just going to be quilted together.

What's great about this coat design instead of something with sleeves is it really is a lot more functional. It allows for a greater range of movement compared to the hoodie sweatshirt I made her (not yet blogged) or some of the funny outfits I'm planning to make her. Here she is chomping on a stick and generally wriggling around:

The Raincoat:

The wool coat was quickly followed by another project - a waterproof raincoat. #Hellastorm hit the Bay Area last week with 8 inches of rain in two days, and the Kiddo needed something to keep her dry. (It's actually raining again now as I type this.) Of course she needed a classic raincoat, and for less than $100, please.

For $4 I bought half a yard of waterproof material and fleece lining, and to Martha's pattern I added a hood from a dog sweatshirt pattern. One of the interesting things I've found about dog patterns is that they don't often follow the same conventions as regular sewing patterns. I think many of them are made for people who don't normally sew or perhaps by people who don't make human clothes, and so it takes some time figuring out. The Millamilla patterns, for example, sell their instructions separately from the PDF pattern pieces, and so of course I didn't pay for that piece and was left to my own devices. Martha offers her instructions on her website, but without pictures and the usual sewing lingo. To make this raincoat, I skipped the quilting and binding and simply sewed the lining to the shell right sides together and then flipped it right side out. I then sewed the hood on top of that and hid the raw edges under the sewn-on "collar" provided in the Martha Stewart pattern. This seemed to work pretty well, and gave a nice clean finish.

Like the wool coat, I'm pretty happy with result. While we didn't take her out in the pouring rain, we did test it in some light rain and I'm pleased with the results. It's enough to keep her from smelling like a wet dog when she comes back in the house, and hopefully makes her a bit more comfortable. I'm not sure if the hood is totally functional, but it does stay on for the most part and could help keep her dry. Mostly though it's just adorable, so I'm kinda looking forward to the rainy day tomorrow. 

Hope everyone else is staying warm and dry! Probably time to make myself a winter coat, too...

Beatrix Kiddo (The Costume)

Pattern: Self-drafted doggy tee

Fabric: 1/3 yd vinyl

Cost: $15

Happy Halloween everybody! 

For her first Halloween, B decided to go as her namesake, Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill. (I couldn't help myself.) If you haven't seen the film, Uma Thurman plays a former assassin whose team attempts to murder her and her family on her wedding day. Armed with a Hattori Hanzō sword and dressed in a yellow jumpsuit, Beatrix Kiddo aka Black Mamba exacts her revenge, one by one. 

Being the evil killer that she is, B had no problem putting on her vinyl jacket, picking up her sword, and getting ready to slay some treats. She doesn't seem to mind wearing little outfits (I tested it out with a t-shirt a few days before), but man is she hard to photograph!

The sewing itself was a new experience for me. I had never made anything for a dog before, and fitting is a completely different story - especially with a very sleepy model! I started with a Big 4 pattern for a dog jacket, but it did NOT work for her. French bulldogs are much more stocky than the average dog, and for the pattern to work I would have needed to rotate the sleeves a full 90 degrees forward. I took a deep breath, went to the fabric store for a yard of muslin, printed out a different pattern, and went to town. After about 7 tries, I had a t-shirt that worked pretty well for her. (Might post that later with some thoughts on sewing for doge.)

Next was sourcing the fabric (I wanted stretchy vinyl but ended up with something more akin to upholstery), borrowing my mom's embroidery machine to make patches, and sketching out my final design with the help of Mr. Made. We also watched Kill Bill Vol 1 for good measure, which came with this great little sword.  

Below is the final result. I still need to add the snaps on to the top and bottom, but other than that it's complete. I gave it the motorcycle jacket look by adding yellow patches down the side, and also stitched on "Kill Bill" and "B. Kiddo" patches to make things a bit more obvious. My mom's Bernina does letter embroidery, so the patches were pretty easy to do. The whole thing closes with a separating zipper, which makes it easy to get it on and off. For a bit of added stretch, the black stripe down each side is a stretch pleather remnant.

Of course, now I have nothing to wear for myself, but I'm hoping I can pull something out of the archives. We're taking B to a friend's Halloween party tomorrow, and I need to figure out if I should go as a theme with her or not - perhaps another Kill Bill character, a Quentin Tarantino character, or maybe just go with the whole kick ass super hero theme and recycle my Batman costume... It doesn't matter though because B always steals the show!

Happy Halloween everyone! I leave you with this adorable outtake of B trying to eat a treat...