My daughter's poodle skirt

While shopping at Saving Grace Salvage Company last weekend, my daughter found the small, curly poodle applique.  It was in its original 1950s package.  Now she's a horse-lover first and foremost, but dogs are a close second and before I knew it, I was looking into those "Pretty Please" eyes that she can do so well.

Let's fast forward to Monday.  The temps were hitting 90degrees and the humidity was so high that hanging laundry was out of the question.  Seemed the only logical thing to do was hunker down in the sewing room.  We scrounged my stash of quirky-and-vintage-but-good-for-something fabric and found a cotton/poly aqua tablecloth.  It has a slight slub in the weave and a nice drape.

I used the skirt pieces from McCalls 5829 (dated 1992).  I decided that this was the perfect time to foster my budding seamstress so I handed over the shears and my daughter received a lesson in pinning and cutting.  She did all the pressing along the way as I explained flat-felled seams.  And she ran the elastic through the casing at the waist.  Now, the fun part.  We reasoned that one little poodle should not go out walking on his own, so out came the felt and Mama Poodle was created, complete with matching rhinestone collar.

I machine stitched both appliques and did a bit of hand-tacking on the feet and tails.  My daughter was ecstatic.  She put it on and immediately tested the "Twirl Factor."  A perfect circle that spread out in all directions when she dropped to the floor.  I smiled that our project had gone so well and went off to make supper.  Coming back to the sewing room a while later, I found my daughter pulled up to the ironing board, embroidering the red leash with a rather nice backstitch.  I think Mothers everywhere will appreciate my warm, fuzzy feeling of having, at least for the afternoon, created a Mini-Me.

The skirt has been the Uniform of the Week, and will make its debut at the Blue Ribbon Beer Run Car Show in Milwaukee this weekend.  And to make it even better, she jumped with joy when I suggested we monogram a shirt to match.  I'll try to post some event photos next week of the show and my little (she's almost as tall as me) Bobby Socks-er.