Dachshund Wrist Rest

Buttons, here!  Recently, I stumbled across a Pin that showed a cute keyboard wrist rest in the shape of a cat.  I thought it would be a fun project to try, and I also wanted to see if I could shape it like a dachshund instead!  It was the prefect time to make a present for Father's Day (my husband is a wonderful doggie daddy), so I got to work.

Materials:
Fleece (or some other easy to work with fabric)
Sewing machine
Hot glue gun
Stuffing/Padding

First, I cut out brown fleece into a rectangle for the body of the dog.

I didn't really measure, only guesstimated the length of the keyboard.  Next, to make it look like a dachshund, I cut out two rounded back legs.  Our dachshund likes to lay flat on his stomach with his legs poking out like drumsticks.  I wanted to mimic that here.

Again, I just cut.  I have a lot of left over fleece, so I wasn't too concerned with making mistakes.  Plus, the pieces were so tiny, I was cutting from scrap pieces of fleece anyway.  I cut out a long, slightly curved tail.

Using the back feet as a template, I cut out two front feet.

Next, I had to get the shape of the head.  Dachshunds are well-known for their very pointy noses, so I wanted to make sure the snoot was emphasized.  I also cut out ears, thinking it would add more depth to the project.

Using black fleece, I cut out oval eyes and a rounded nose.

 Now for sewing it all together.  First, I turned the body inside out, right side to right side.

Next, I stuck the back legs and tail inside.  This is going to create a pillow type closure, which we will turn inside out, hiding the seams.

Sew it shut.  This can be tricky if you're using fleece.  My sewing machine occasionally has a hard time getting through all the layers.  Just go slow and hand pedal if needed.

After that, sew up the long side.  That will create three closed sides (two sewn, one the natural fold in the fabric).

Now you can turn it inside out and pull the legs and tail straight.

For stuffing, it's personal preference.  Using polyfill would be fine; I also some some tutorials that used rice.  I had some left over padding that seemed the right fit, so I chose this.  It's not as thick as polyfill would have been, and not as heavy as rice.  I think it'll work for my needs.

Cut off any extra fabric.  I was sad to do this since dachshunds are notoriously long.  But my padding piece was too short.  Then, tuck the seam inside the body and stuff the front legs in too.  Sew it shut.  This doesn't need to be a pretty seam since the dog's head will cover most of it.

I didn't really care for the way my dog's head looked.  Plus, I wasn't sure how to assemble the ears onto the face without it looking weird.  So I used my existing head and ears as a template and re-cut the head into one piece.

Using a hot glue gun, I adhered the eyes and nose.  Then I glued the head to the top of the body, covering the seam and a small portion of the legs.

And there you have it!  A cute, super easy wrist rest!  It took me about an hour total of work and prep.

And here's my inspiration!  They're almost the same length!

~Buttons

Pleated Cherry Skirt

I bought these two printed cotton fabrics at Walmart in the remnant bin ages ago. I liked the way they looked together and I envisioned a cherry skirt!



I started by cutting panels, since I thought it would look cute to alternate between the red and the blue fabrics.



I measured from my waist to about mid-thigh to get the length. For the width, I think I just guesstimated and cut. With a plethora of panels, I wasn't concerned about the width.

I sewed them together (five panels of each color).

And. I. Hated. It.

It's been sitting on my craft table for about six months. Then yesterday, I saw it and thought about finishing it. That was when inspiration struck! Since I hated the way it looked side-by-side, I thought it would a great alternative to turn the red panels into mostly-hidden pleats!



What a prefect idea! I loved the way it looked!

Unfortunalty, my width became a factor when I took away half of it. Because of this, I had to rip my seam and sew in two additional panels (one blue and one red). With this addition, I figured it would be a better idea to just add in a zipper, since the width was nearly exact with my waist.

First, I pinned the pleats in place and sewed along the top seam.





Then I cut a long strip--a little bit longer than my waist measurement.



I folded it in half and sewed it to itself, wrong side to wrong side, to create a wasitband for the top of the skirt.



I sewed it down, beginning in the front and circling to the back left. I stopped an inch from the exact back. Then I repeated on the right, stitching from the front to the back, again, stopping before I got to the end. This was to ensure I had a slit for adding in the zipper.


(This is the back of the strip, neither side being sewn down at the moment)



Adding in the zipper was tricky. I slit an opening down the middle back blue panel. I sewed (very poorly) the zipper into that opening.



Next, I thought it would look cute and fruity to add a green bias tape edge along the bottom hem.



I sewed it down, ironed, and viola!




(This shirt doesn't match very well, and I was having a bad hair day.)

I love the way it turned out! It's super cute!


~Buttons

Ruffle Shirt

I saw this tutorial on Pineterst and wanted to give it a try.  I'm getting better at making skirts, so I wanted to increase my understanding of how to put shirts together.

Materials:

About 1 yard main fabric

About 1/2 yard contrasting fabric (optional)

First, the directions in the tutorial are spot on.  The way they are set up gives you nice, clean finished seams.  I was really impressed at how wonderful this turned out.  And it was relatively easy.  There were times when I had to read the directions a few times in a row to grasp the concept of what was being said; but that's typical with sewing instructions.

I started with these two fabrics: a mint green knit that I got for $1 a yard at Walmart, and a green and blue paisley cotton that Pockets gave me ages ago.

I cut out all my necessary rectangles:

Four 5 in x 20 inch rectangles in the CONTRAST fabric for the straps (left and right) and the shirt's top band (front and back)

Two 6 in x 12 inch rectangles in the CONTRAST for the pockets (I actually used 5 in x 12 in and it worked just fine)

Two 3 in x 22 inch rectangles in the MAIN fabric for the arm ruffles

Finally, I made a pattern for the shirt's body, a trapezoid 26" on the top and 29" on the bottom.

For the sleeves, you're supposed to add a ruffle.  I tried to do this, but since my knit was too delicate, I couldn't get the ruffle to work.  I really had a hard time sewing the knit fabric in general.  It was too stretchy and thin, so would get sucked into the bottom of my machine.  Several times I had to alter my design to add in a stabilizer to help.  Luckily, the knit looks just fine not-ruffled, so I just left it as it was.

For the body, again, I couldn't sew the knits together.  I had to add a thin strip of the contrast fabric underneath to prevent the knit from being pulled in.

As it's on the inside, I didn't worry about it--it won't show at all once the piece is done.

The directions call for making the pleats before you attach the body to the bands at the top.  Since I have a fuller bust, I wanted to wait to make the pleats, giving me an easier way to make sure the measurements were right.  The original had three pleats on either side, I could only squeeze in two.  

So I pinned the side hems of the body to the side hems of the band.  Then I marked the middle of the front and worked out to the right side, folding the pleats and pinning them.  Then I went back to the middle front and did the left side.  Next, I found the middle back and did the same thing.

The pockets were easy to do following the original instructions.  I sewed my about an inch and a half from the side seam on either side of the front.  They look very cute!

One thing I added that was of my own design was a ruffled edge at the bottom.  I took two left over pieces of contrast fabric that were 5 inches by about 40 inches each.  I sewed the short edges together, right side to right side.  Then using the longest stitch, I did a seam 1/2 inch from the top.  Pull on the thread, and this gathers the fabric.  Move the ruffles further away from the edges until the length equals the length of the body.   This was one of the most time consuming parts of the project, but since I couldn't sew the knits together for a nice bottom hem, I figured this would look the nicest.

And here's the finished product!

As I said, this was pretty easy as far as difficulty goes.  I did it in two days--probably about six hours of work.  Though it's not the most complimentary style for my bust, I love how it flows and has a lot of extra fabric!  It's very comfy.

Polka Dot Border Skirt

I think I need to stop making skirts.  It seems like it's become an obsession.  Probably because they are so easy.  I'll try to focus on more non-skirt items as my summer continues.

Anyway, I found these two fabrics in the remnant bin at Walmart for less than $2 apiece. The purple is sort of a knit, the kind used for maxi skirts.  It's so soft and comfortable!  The polka dot is a flannel.  I'm not sure about the rules of combining different fabrics, but I don't care; they looked so cute together!

The first thing I did was decide my skirt design.  I played with the idea of doing panels again, but since I just finished a panel skirt--and I wanted to do something quick and easy--so I decided against it.  The best way to do this was to add a simple polka dot border around the bottom of the skirt.

I cut my purple fabric in half, giving me two (relatively) equal pieces.  Then I cut out bands of the polka dot, 5 inches long by 40 inches wide.

Starting with the polka dots, fold the hem of one side up half an inch and iron.

Fold up again, and iron.

 Stitch the folded hem.  I used a double stitch, and a contrasting purple thread.  Repeat for other band.

 

Pin the band to the purple fabric, right side to right side.

Sew together and you get this.

Repeat for other band and purple fabric panel.

Since this purple fabric was so wonky--I've never worked with this before, and I didn't realize it would be so difficult to control; it wouldn't lay flat, even when I ironed it--I measured my skirt from the bottom.  I aligned my bottom hem and pinned the two purple panels together, completely ignoring how they aligned on the top.

Then, sew the panels together.  I even added a zigzag stitch to the inside seam afterwards to give it more support.

Once both sides are stitched up, it's time for the top hem.  I folded down the top to give me an even and straight line, also leaving enough room for my elastic band.

Sew the top hem, leaving an inch long gap to stream the elastic through.

With a safety pin, thread the elastic through the opening in the hem.

Sew the elastic ends together, overlapping them about an inch.  Complete the seam for the hem, and you're finished!

This was an incredibly simple project.  The only thing that slowed me down at all was the uncooperative nature of the knit fabric.  Still, I love the way it feels, and the way it flows so well, so I will have to try another project with this material!

~Buttons