Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Spot Dog - The Sweater Friend Tutorial

The story of Spot Dog (and how to make your own).

A while ago I made my first sweater friends.  Lumpy Bunny & mickey mouse.  E took one, WP took the other.  WD thought that he, too deserved a sweater friend.  Since I wasn't completely happy with how the first ones turned out, this was my chance to redeem my sweater sewing abilities.

I started with an old black cashmere sweater that had accidentally made it in the wash too many times.  I washed and dried it on hot once more for good measure.

 Draw out your pattern.  I just free-handed it.
 Cut it out.
 Pin onto your fabric/sweater and cut.
 Remember that you need a front and back for both the body and the head.  Plan accordingly. (I didn't)
 Cut out your face pieces.  I used: flannel, felt and a small piece of pink cashmere.  All scraps I had lying around.
 The tongue I sewed double.
 Baste your face pieces on.
 I used a satin stitch on the edges.  If you're using something that doesn't ravel, you can skip this step.  I just liked the finished look.
Pin right sides together and sew, leaving a space to turn and stuff.  If you look by the right ear, you see two sets of double pins.  That's how I mark my stop and start places.
 Turn right side out - stuff - and slip stitch the opening.
 The body: Pin right sides together.  Stitch, leaving an opening to turn and stuff.
 This is the body right side out.  At this point I stuffed the arms and legs and then sewed across where they met the body.  (see green arrows below) I wanted them to be stuffed, but floppy, and this seemed like a good way to do it.  I was pleased with how it turned out. 
 Stuff the rest of the body.  Stitch the stuffing hole closed and sew on the head.  I did this part by hand.  The fluffy sweater hides all the stitching, and I wanted his head to be floppy, too.  I also added a tail.  Just cut out a tail shape, sewed it, stuffed it and attached it to his rear. (see bottom picture)
At this point I thought I was done.  WD said "it isn't really how I wanted it.  I wanted white spots."
Grrrrr.
So I cut some white spots out of felt.  Pinned them around, with WD's approval.  And hand stitched them on with embroidery floss.



17 comments:

Christine said...

He is so cute! I love how you made your own pattern....I thought I would need a "real" pattern to make such a good looking stuffed animal. Good job!

Shelley said...

This is too cute! What a fabulous idea - thank you so much for sharing it!

Ethan and Moriah said...

This is so cute! Good Christmas present ideas for our little boys. I probably have several old sweaters that are destined for goodwill. This may just be a better use...

Jill said...

OH that is adorable!!
I would love if you came over and linked this project to my weekly Round Tuit party at:
http://jembellish.blogspot.com/
I also have a page dedicated to clothes upcycling projects - it has a long term linky list so your project would be there for all to see for much longer than a week! I'd love if you linked up there too! Such a great idea!!!
Have a great week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success

Lisa said...

I love this! Did you come up with the design & pattern yourself? I spent hours scouring the internet for patterns for stuffed animals and found nothing. This is great!

dog sweaters said...

what a nice and easy tutorial, with such a wonderful result. Thank you for sharing your work with us.

Quiltstory said...

cute doggy, great tutorial! Thanks for linking to Quiltstory!

Anonymous said...

this post is very usefull thx!

AmyH said...

so cute & cuddly! Thanks for auditioning for American Crafter- good luck:)

Jen said...

What a great upcycle! Thanks for sharing this at Fantastic Friday!

Anonymous said...

This is one of the most adorable handmade things I've ever seen. You are so clever and creative.

Dropping by to say hi from Creating My Way to Success.

Mila from http://hereundertherainbow.blogspot.com

Linda said...

Love it, He is so cute and the circle on his bun is a finishing touch. Thanks for sharing

Anonymous said...

Sweet dog ♥

spokanetrish said...

TY for sharing your process--I ALWAYS for get to do that in my excitement to get going. Thanks to you , and some other posts, I am now on the lookout for old sweaters :-)

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

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Dietmar said...

The story of Spot Dog (and how to make your own). A while ago I made my first sweater friends. Lumpy Bunny & mickey mouse. E took one, WP ... adogsweater.blogspot.com