Frankie's Raincoat

As promised a while ago, here's my tutorial for the raincoat I made Frankie (my dog) for Christmas. I made the raincoat using this juniors windbreaker vest I found at Goodwill. I saw it and knew it would be a perfect raincoat for Frankie, especially with the little pocket on the back...to store treats, poop baggies?! :) I knew I wanted to line his raincoat to keep his little body warm, so I chose a black and white plaid fleece from JoAnn Fabrics.

Body: First I laid one of Frankie's coats on the back of the vest. I traced around the body of the coat using a water-soluble marking pen and cut around it leaving a 1/2 inch border to accommodate a seam. Next, I cut out the fleece lining of the coat.

Hood: I trimmed off the existing hood from the remains of the vest and placed it on Frankie's head to figure out how much I had to trim off (Obviously he is enjoying this process. He pretty much sat there while Mommy folded and pinned his hood.) I made sure to leave 1 1/2 inch around the opening of the hood to allow for the seam later. I also put his green coat over the raincoat hood and drew a line where the hood should meet the coat. I cut 1/2 inch below the line I drew.

Keeping the hood folded in half, I cut out the fleece lining adding 3/8 inch to the rounded part of the hood. I also trimmed the opening part of the hood by 1 1/2 inch(not shown). I placed the right sides of the fleece together and sewed a 3/8 inch seam allowance along the rounded middle part of the hood. I then folded and pinned the edges of the hood opening down 1/2 inch and then over the fleece 1 inch (see second and third picture below). To secure, I top stitched close to the edge of the yellow fabric (where pins are placed in picture 3).

Velcro straps: I cut two rectangles each of the lining and raincoat material just 1" longer and wider than the straps on the green raincoat. I placed the right side of the yellow fabric to the right side of the fleece and sewed with a 1/2 inch seam allowance on 3 sides. After that I flipped them out and top stitched around the edges. I also sewed two strips of velcro to each strap (two to the yellow side, two to the plaid side)

Almost there! I pinned and sewed the hood and velcro straps to the yellow coat. Then I pinned the fleece lining to the coat right sides together, making sure the hood and straps are inside (Frankie photo-bombed this pic!). I sewed all around the coat with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, leaving a 6 inch opening at the bottom of the coat. 

I flipped the coat right side out through the opening and poked the corners with chopsticks. I top stitched all the way around the whole coat to create a more polished finish. I also added velcro to the neck closure and a button hole at the back of the neck for Frankie's leash. 

On Christmas day, Frankie got his new yellow raincoat and squeaky bunny. Luckily, he doesn't mind wearing clothes! We've had a few rainy days where this coat came in handy. It is seriously the most precious thing watching him waddle through the puddles in the raincoat I made him (If I only had a video!). I'm just glad he doesn't come back soaking and shivering after our walks in the rain. 

I hope this inspires someone to make a raincoat for their dog. There's something incredibly special about handmade gifts. You can use an existing garment like I did or you can make one from other fun fabrics. The options are really limitless (with hood, without hood, with fleece lining, with cotton lining, with pocket, etc). Whatever you decide to do, your pup will be the only one on the block rocking your personalized creation. :)

Crafty Updates

It's basically the middle of January and I'm finally getting back into blogging! Where have I been? Just recovering from my crazy work schedule and shopping/crafting/shipping gifts for the holidays. Here's a look at my projects from the last few months...

1. Fall/Winter Wreath: I made this wreath using a cheapy wreath from Goodwill and spruced (pun not intended!) it up with gold branches and ribbon from the Dollar Tree. Total cost was $6. With the lemons and apples, I think this wreath will also pass for spring or summer...maybe changing out the bow for a cute gingham print? 

2. Twinkies Cupcakes: Devastated that Twinkies were no more, I was inspired to make Twinkie cupcakes using this recipe. Friends who tried it agreed, they indeed did taste like real Twinkies! I'm definitely saving this in my recipe archives. Anyone know who bought the official recipe?

3. Cupcake Pin Cushions: A few months ago I went to a quilt and craft fair and found a pattern for these felt pin cushions. I made the one on my left for my mom (resembles Mary Engelbreit stuff, which she loves) and the one on the right for my grandma (she loves purple). Little did I know that Frankie (my dog) would be obsessed with the fake felt cherries and would frequently steal them when I wasn't looking. Luckily I was able to retrieve them from him. I was not so lucky with some of the small felt circles I cut earlier! When my mom and grandma opened their gifts on Christmas day, they decided that these would be too pretty to put pins in and instead will buy acrylic boxes to display them in (still not sure if I am happy about this...)

4. Embroidered sweaters: Not knowing what to give my grandmothers for Christmas, I found these Karen Scott waffle knit sweaters from Macy's and thought they did have a grandmotherly quality. They were pretty simple to begin with, so I decided it was time to break out the embroidery feature on my Brother SE400 sewing/embroidery machine. I chose the purple violet pattern for grandma #1 (the purple loving one) and the floral topiary pattern for grandma #2. I was impressed with the ease of the embroidery process. At times I just hit the go button and went to do some chores while my machine embroidered a particular color of the design. 

5. Christmas Card Picture:  In the spirit of the holidays, we got a pink flocked tree (yes, it's real!) and decorated our fireplace. Since we didn't have many ornaments, I bought some simple silver and white ornaments from the Target and the Dollar Tree. I also shoved some of our small stuffed animals in there just for fun. The "Holly" sign was actually part of a Hollywood sign I used for a formal a few years back (I couldn't think of any other holiday words that I could make with "Hollywood". Please let me know if you think of any, so I can use them next year!) The O is actually our clock I decked out in leftover silver, glittery snowflake ornaments. I hot-glued them, but discovered, they can easily be removed from the plastic clock! 

6. Frankie's Raincoat: This is Frankie in the raincoat I made him for Christmas. When I failed to find an affordable, fleece-lined, perfect-fit raincoat for Frankie, I took matters into my own hands and decided I would MAKE him a raincoat. I happened to find a women's hoodie vest with a pocket in the back and thought "this would be the perfect raincoat for Frankie!" I basically cut up the vest and used one of his existing coats (yes people, my dog is stylish and does have a coat wardrobe. I promise they are all functional...) as a template and voila, here he is sitting all pretty on Christmas day with his new squeaky bunny toy. After making this raincoat, I almost convinced myself that I could be a doggy fashion designer. Then I realized this probably would not be as profitable as my current job. Also, I probably would not be very successful unless I knew of more than two famous dogs (Currently, I can only think of Boo and Bo)

7. SF Ballet's Nutcracker: I realize this is not a craft project, but I do love the red and white tree in the back. We finally got around to seeing the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker Production. I've been dying to go for years, but could not afford the high ticket prices. We had seats in the dress circle which were significantly better (no binoculars required) than our second to the last row seats when we saw Swan Lake a few years back. I was really impressed by the whole show, especially the snow scene where the dancers literally were being snowed on! If you have never gone, please go if you have the opportunity to! However, I'd like to warn you in advance that there are a surprising number of little kids running around there (apparently some people are just super rich and can afford to pay hundreds for their toddlers to watch...errr climb seats...during the show). Being in the audience and watching the dancers made me realize how much I miss ballet and performing. I hope to start taking classes in the new year! 

8. Snowflake cupcakes: For my fellow co-workers who worked on Christmas eve and day, I made these Funfetti snowflake cupcakes. For the snowflakes, I piped vanilla Wilton's candy melts on to wax paper and let them harden in the fridge before placing them on top the cupcakes. I really liked how they turned out and will definitely try this technique again...maybe hearts for Valentine's day? 

Hope you liked my craft projects. Look for a doggy raincoat tutorial in the near future. I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season. Have a happy new year and be inspired to craft away! :D

Seat cushion tutorial

We bought this Ikea Jokkmokk dining table and chairs from our friends before they moved into their new house. The chairs were a little hard, so I decided they needed a little padding. I made these seat cushions for my dining room chairs two weeks ago, but never got around to posting the tutorial. I wanted a neutral color that would work for all seasons, so I picked this beige fabric on clearance from Joann.

Here are the steps...
1. Buy 2" foam (also bought at Joann), individually or by the yard
2. Draw lines on the foam to fit the chair and saw off the excess with a serrated knife (I used a bread knife)
3. Lay foam on folded section of fabric
4. Cut fabric, leaving a one inch border on the folded side (front of chair seat) and 2 inch border on the other sides
5. Sew sides of rectangle together using a 1" seam allowance.
6. Pin and sew the corners of the square
7. Sew strips of fabric for the ties. Turn them inside out and finish the ends. Attach to the the open end (back of chair seat), leaving a 9" opening for the velcro strips.
8. Pin and sew strips of velcro to the 9" opening
9. Turn right side out, stuff the foam inside and close the velcro opening
10. Voila, cushions are complete and our bottoms are much more comfortable :)

On a side note, here's me as a pumpkin and Frankie as a Giants fan (I made his costume myself! Hope everyone has a fun and safe HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! I'm spending it sitting on the couch hoping for a few trick-or-treating kids. :D

Striped skirt alteration and intro to my new dog!

I've been looking for a black and white striped pencil skirt ever since my dear friend Nancy converted me to a stripes lover (she's obsessed with anything with stripes!). I've seen some at Forever 21 and Express, but the ones I found were either a little too pricey or a little too snug for my taste. I know bodycon skirts are in and can be really flattering, but I've found they make me feel like I'm in a sausage casing! 

So a few weeks ago I found this black and white striped skirt at Target for $7! Although this one was very, very large (I know I look like a weight-loss miracle!), it did fit the bill (I'm a sucker for a really good deal) and I knew it would be easy to alter it the way I wanted.  

I found a knit pencil skirt in my closet that I liked the fit of and laid it right on top of my inside-out skirt.

Then, using my water-dissolving pen I traced around my blue skirt. 

This probably would have been better if I had a white pencil for the black parts, but I did not at the time. So I just used pins instead.

 Then, I just cut the sides of the skirt around a half inch from the line/pins.

Since the skirt is striped, it's a good idea to use extra pins to align your stripes for the best results.

Here's what it looks like after I cut and pinned the sides.

Then I just simply sewed along the lines I created. I currently don't have a serger, so I just finished the edges with the overcast stitch on my machine.

And voila, here's my cheapo $7 striped skirt that does not make me feel (or look) sausage like. Now I'm ready for a night on the town! (I say this as if I actually go out on the town...haha silly me)

On a side note, here's a sneak peek at my dog Frankie! I've never had a dog before so this is such a treat. We just got him rather spontaneously yesterday outside of PetSmart at an adoption event put on by Stonecliffe Animal Rescue. They are a no-kill shelter located in Lemoore run by volunteers. They had tons of dogs waiting to be adopted. We opted for the foster-to-adopt program where you can basically test-drive a dog before adopting him or her. There are tons of dogs to be adopted out there and it is possible to find your new best friend from a shelter. I highly recommend it. We are in love with Frankie and surprised by how well-mannered and friendly he is. He is the greatest dog EVER and I am sure we will adopt him after the fostering period. Thumbs up for pet adoption! 

Hope you all have a fantastic week!