Custom Iron-On Designs

I've had an idea for doing an iron-on project since I saw this shirt at the mall.

 

My dachshund's name is Friday--named after the Cary Grant film His Girl Friday, not the day of the week--and I somehow resisted buying this.  I still regret it to this day!

So, Pockets and I got together to do some iron-on crafts.

I wanted nice, big letters like in the original shirt, but couldn't find any that looked decent.  I wound up with tiny letters.  Also, I wanted to have a dachshund on the shirt.  Of course, no dachshund iron-on patches.  Ugh.

Finally, I decided to make my own dachshund patch.  I bought one of the iron-on sheets, which are amazing for custom work!  I found a picture of a long-haired dachshund and drew it onto the back of the sheet.  (I went with a chevron design because it was the cutest they had available.... The selection was not that great.)

Next, I played with the layout.

I finally settled on this one.

Then I used the left over sheet to cut out two hearts for the sleeves.

~Buttons

Dog Bed/Cushion Cover

This year, our classroom inherited a little cushioned bench for our "cool down" area.  The bench, though, has seen better days.

My teacher asked me if I could sew a cover for the cushion.  The bench had a skirt around the bottom that was red and white chevrons, so I looked through my fabrics for something that would match.  After sifting through tons of options, I found this adorable dachshund print that I got at a craft show earlier this year!

As luck would have it, this piece was just big enough to make the top and bottom panels of the covers.  So I found a red and white polka dot cotton for the sides.

I had to get a bit creative with the layout of the sides since I didn't have enough full pieces to fit.  I had to trim the two side pieces and construct the back piece from four smaller cuts.  This worked out okay since I had to add in a zipper to get the cushion in and out.

To start, I sewed the front piece to the long side of the dachshund fabric, right side to right side.

Next, I sewed on both sides, letting the corners overlap a little.

Next, I joined the corners, forming a box.

Now for the hard part, the back panel.  I took two smaller pieces that were the same length as the zipper and sewed them together.

I ironed the seam flat.

Then I sewed down the zipper onto the closed seam, making sure to sew down the opening and closing edges of the zipper to keep my seams from unraveling.

With a seam ripper, I opened the seam in between the opening and closing edges of the zipper.

With that done, I sewed it onto two smaller pieces of the polka dot fabric to get the correct length.  Then I sewed the whole thing onto the back.  Finally I finished up the last two corners.

After that, it was just sewing on the bottom panel.  This was simple since the zipper allowed me to flip my cover inside out.

Now, long story short, I misunderstood the idea of the bench.  The cushion on top doesn't come off!  I made a cushion cover where the cushion needs to be put inside.  Whoops!  So instead, I turned this into a makeshift bunbed for my dachshunds.  I just put two pillows inside, one on either end, leaving a small gap in the middle.  For some reason, they love sinking into the indent.

For the bench at school, I just did the same thing, except instead of adding a bottom panel, I made the sides long enough to cover the bench from top to bottom--almost like an extra long table cloth.  That way, I didn't have to match with the red and white chevron pattern; I used a cute brown swirl fabric for the top, and a brown plaid for the sides (which you can see in the picture behind my doggie)!


~Buttons

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

Dachshund Pajama Pants

I love all things Dachshunds, so when Pockets and I were out shopping yesterday, I saw this adorable Dachshund flannel print at Joann.  I had to buy it!



I decided it would make cute and comfy pajama pants.  So I found a tutorial on Pinterest and got to work!

Materials:
About 2 yards of fabric
Thread
Sewing machine
Elastic

First, use an existing pair of pajama pants as a pattern.  Fold the fabric over and place the pajamas along the folded edge.





I placed mine a little further from the edge so that the legs would be wider.

Next trace about an inch away from the pajamas; this will give you a seam allowance.


I used a pen, so the lines are a bit hard to see.

Next, cut the line, going through both layers.  It'll give you a weird looking piece like this:



Repeat on the other side of the fabric.


I just put the cut out pattern on the opposite side and traced it that way.

So you'll have to identical pieces:



Place them together, right side to right side, and stitch only along the curve.



So it's only sewn together by both curves.



Now, open it up and place both of the SEAMS of the curves together.





Next, sew up the curve of both legs.  I started at the middle and went down each leg separately, but you could do it from one leg up then down to the other leg.



Flip it right side out, and sew up each leg's hem.  I folded it under twice, then did a double hem.


Make sure you try it on before stitching your hem.  You may need to take more or less depending on your height.

Next, pin the top hem down about an inch (or however much you need to make a pocket for your elastic).



Sew all around the top, leaving only an inch open.



Use a safety pin to get the elastic through the sewed up pocket.  Sew the ends of the elastic together.



Stitch up the last inch on the waist hem and you're done!









They are oh so comfy!

~Buttons