A Christmas Jumper for Me & A Matching Coat for Archie

It has become a long standing tradition that I make a Christmas themed dress in December. 

This year, I was fairly certain that I wanted to use this holly printed flannel.  I even got a head start on things when I cut into this project the first week in December, but somehow, time got away from me and I was rushing to finish the dress a few days before the holiday.  

I also planned to make a matching blouse to wear with it, and I did finish the blouse - it just wasn't the right choice for this jumper.

I did, however, make Archie a matching Christmas coat, so all things considered, I would call it a win.

As far as the jumper goes, I am pretty happy with the result.  I could have lined the dress (especially since I knew that I would be wearing a sweater underneath it at some point).  But honestly, it's still a fun garment, and if it doesn't lay as perfectly as it could have with a rayon lining, I'm not going to be mad about it.

I did make my standard alteration of taking a wedge of length out of the back bodice.  It almost looks like I could have removed even more length, but that might also have something to do with the sweater that I am wearing more than anything else.

It's not the most interesting vintage reproduction that I have ever seen, but it is a classic silhouette with an added bit of interest with the self-fabric wrap belt.

One thing to keep in mind about the pattern is that the skirt is drafted extra long.  I think the facing piece that I added to the hemline worked quite nicely, and I might use the same construction method if I make this again.

Keep in mind that if you are running short on fabric, you just might have enough if you shorten that hemline.  I would guess that most people under six feet tall aren't going to need nearly the amount of skirt length as it is drafted if you are going for a knee length dress as is seen in the cover art. 

And if anyone was wondering . . . Archie is enjoying his new wardrobe.  

He may be slightly difficult to wrangle in front of a camera, but he is an adorable little rascal that is happy to have an additional layer on when it's chilly outside.

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 6955
Archie's Coat:  Made by me, Butterick 4885
Sweater:  Banana Republic
Earrings:  Gift
Shoes:  Miss L Fire "Gabrielle"
Tights:  Amazon

Merry Christmas, Archie!

Last month when I was looking for coat patterns for Archie, I pulled out two options that I thought would work nicely for him.  The first, Simplicity 2696, turned out great with a couple of minor alterations.  I also wanted to try out Butterick 4885 to see which would be a better base pattern for future warm weather options for The Pup.  

I had plenty of leftover fabric from my Christmas jumper, and I also had some wool batting leftover from a quilt project that was taking up space in the sewing room.  I have also been wanting a walking foot for my Bernina machine for some time, and now seemed as good a time as any to splurge on the sewing machine accessory to make another quilted coat for Archie.

And my goodness does that walking foot make a difference!  Machine quilted items have never turned out so well for me, so that was an absolute win.

The Butterick pattern, on the other hand, was not such a great fit.  This design is much more roomy for its size.  The Simplicity was a little long, but the fit through the chest seemed to be much more in line with the sizing.  I was suspicious of the wide front opening of the Butterick pattern, but I decided to trust the process and move forward.

But the neck opening is just way too wide and scooped out for Archie's build.

The pocket details are adorable, and I could always transfer that to another pattern.  You can see his entire harness front while wearing this draft.  I don't mind the visibility, but this just isn't a great fit.

I did alter the pattern construction since I had quilted my fabric and there was no need to line it.

That just meant removing the seam allowance.

With this change, the collar piece doesn't look exactly like the original, but I still think it works and adds a bit of charm.

For his first outing, the fit did not seem to cause any issues, but that evening, Archie was walking a bit funny and seemed to be tripping.  At one point, one of his little legs even managed to come right out of the neck opening.

That definitely needed to be fixed, and I put it aside for a couple of days.  It was silly to spend so much time quilting and making all of the little details before really testing the fit, but I was just too excited to make him a matching outfit.

After picking it back up, I realized that I could fill in the neck with a leftover piece of the quilted fabric to minimize the fitting issues and hopefully make this a wearable garment.

The collar no longer sits at the "neckline," but overall, it's still pretty cute.

Thanks, in large part, to the furry fella inside it.

So I guess all of that quilting was worth it!

And it's the thing that finally made me purchase the darn walking foot . . . so overall, a great success!

Coat:  Made by me, Butterick 4885

Checks & Plaid for My Archie

It has come to my attention that I have not introduced Archibald (aka Archie) on my blog, which is definitely an oversight!  He has been on my Instagram account a few times, but it is high time he had a blog post to himself.  And since I just made him some cold weather gear, it seemed like the perfect time to formally introduce him around these parts.  He came into my life in May, and he is a complete love bug with a rascally disposition that keeps me on my toes!  I am not sure about his age, but he is somewhere around 1 or 2 years of age, and according to Embark, he is 47% Chihuahua with a fabulous assortment of other breeds, including Poodle, Pomeranian, Pekingese, Cocker Spaniel, Min Pin, and a dash of Cattle Dog (I suspect that's where the freckles come from), Pit Bull, and Dachshund.  I always wanted a Pittie, and now I have my own pint sized version.  Like me, he is pigment challenged, has a tendency to freckle, with short legs and a long torso - he is definitely my son!

And now for the doggie jacket info . . . I pulled out a couple of patterns, and ended up choosing Simplicity 2695 to start.

To complicate things, I decided that I would quilt my own fabric.  I also decided to allow myself to only use items that were stashed.  

The cotton gingham is leftover from this dress, I always have red cotton scraps around these parts although I couldn't tell you specifically which project they were used for, and the poly batting was, in a moment of madness, used to quilt this skirt.  I still can't believe I quilted those huge skirt pieces by machine without going mad.

The quilting on this relatively tiny bit of fabric is far from perfect, and I thought I was going to have to put the whole thing on hold due to a lack of velcro, but I did manage to finish it.  I think that Archie looks rather charming in the ensemble.

There were a couple of things that I thought could be modified, so I found some leftover flannel and decided to make another version before I forgot the changes that I wanted to make to the original.

I scooped out a bit at the side of the main body piece, and flattened out the underbody straps for a bit more clearance from any wayward urine streams (the joys of clothing a male dog).  I also moved those straps forward by about an inch, and I ended up doing the same on the quilted version since they are finished and then stitched into place and it was an easy fix.

I do have a few other suitable patterns, so I should probably try one of those next to see if the shape suits Archie better.  But for now, he has a couple of options to keep him cozy!

Now if only I could figure out a better rain jacket situation since everything seems to be catering to a Frenchie body type and I have no idea where I would find rain resistant fabric options that I would actually want to cut and sew.  Also, if someone could let Archie know that he won't melt in the rain, that would be great, because he is NOT a fan, and I am not sure he believes me.

Jackets:  Made by me, Simplicity 2695