I Sewed Something

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This is Charleston.

I’m very much a beginner at sewing, so I was amazed that I could accomplish a cute toy in one day. With the help of my mother-in-law, of course!

His bottom, which I had to sew shut by hand, is a little bunchy…

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But I think he’s totally cute!

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We made him from this McCall’s pattern:

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It was a little confusing, because there were different pieces for doggy 1 and doggy 2, but they looked like the same dog to me.

Anyway, a dog got made end the end, and I feel like I’ve accomplished my “argg out of comfort zone” challenge for the month.

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16 Responses to “I Sewed Something”


  1. 1 Heather

    He is absolutely adorable! Way to go!

  2. 2 Danielle

    He’s uber cute. Specially due to the button eyes! I like the kitty on that pattern, too.

  3. 3 Kounting Sheep

    What sweet fabric! Those vintage doggies give Charleston such personality! Very cute. I agree that sewing is kind of hard. Every time I get out my machine I tend to fight with it for thirty minutes before I can actually sew anything!

  4. 4 turtlegirl76

    Bunchy butt gives him personality. It’s cute!

  5. 5 kristi and otis

    Thats’s awesome! Don’t most of have a bunchy butt?

  6. 6 nichole

    OMG - LOVE him!

  7. 7 samm

    He’s wonderful! Love the fabric and the result of your sewing bravery. :O) I must look up that pattern. Very cute pups and catties. I’ve got to sew too, baby bibs for Valentine’s Day for the youngest grandboy. ;O) Knitting always feels safer to me. Happy sewing, friend!

  8. 8 Carol

    Too cute! He sure doesn’t look like a first try!

  9. 9 Wendy

    Good for you for trying something new. He’s fantastic!

    If you’re interested, I’d love to see this guy added to a group I’ve got on Flickr. It’s called Merit Badges for Grown-Up Girls and it’s about attempting something that is new to us and out of our comfort zones.

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/426081@N25/

  10. 10 Wendy

    Oh, if you’re interested I posted in more detail about the Flickr group here http://wisdomofthemoon.blogspot.com/2007/08/merit-badges-for-grown-up-girls.html

  11. 11 Robin

    ADORABLE!! Congratulations on trying something new!

  12. 12 Seanna Lea

    So cute! It’s great that you are getting out of your comfort zone a bit. I haven’t done anything terribly new in a while, because I am lazy. I should do something about that.

  13. 13 Anna

    Yeah, it seems like good brain exercise to try something new. It’s so strange how different sewing and knitting are.. like different parts of the brain are used.

    Wendy, thanks for the invite. Sounds like a great concept to build a group around.

  14. 14 Miki

    This is very cute! I am so amazed at how varied your skills are! And jealous! This doggie is so cute though…I love the pattern of fabric you used. Are we going to see some sewing patterns from you soon :P?

  15. 15 Diana

    I just totally bought that same McCalls doggie pattern. I thought it would be a great way to use up some stash fabric and make something cute! Can you tell me how big your finished dog is? I, too, am totally baffled by the pattern instructions. I will probably just use the concept to develop my own pattern….but it is good to talk to someone who has just made the same project. Tell me more about it! Thanks!

  16. 16 Anna

    Diana, that is so cool!

    My finished dog is about 11 inches long - a great huggable size. I had to really stare at the directions for a long time before making sense of them all, but I think this also has something to do with the fact that I’ve pretty much never followed a sewing pattern before. The trickiest part for me was figuring out the ears, and also sewing the bottom of the body to the rest of the pieces. I thought it would never all fit right together, but it did.

    Best of luck with the pattern!

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