Sew Silly - A Halloween Dress for Sadie
Yes, there are a million other things I should be doing…..but I needed a quick sewing “fix”. Besides, I really wanted to play with a lovely, Classic, Singer 15-91 that was on my bench just a little bit more before I sell it. Yep…that makes it sound like a reasonable business move…I needed to test the machine some more….yeah…that’s my story & I’m stitckin’ to it!
I’ve used this free pattern to make some coats and dresses for Sadie in the past, so I turned to it again. It goes together very quickly.
To change the pattern from a coat into a dress, shorten the length of the pattern so that the “bodice” stops at the “waist” and then add a “skirt”. Here’s some of the details:
Hmmmm.....do you think she'll need a bag to haul home all her loot??!! Of course, she can't eat candy, but I can help her with that!
Happy Halloween!
 | Here’s the spooky part- that black ultra-suede with the metallic silver star embroidery and the sparkly bright orange polyester satin fabric were in my stash! I’m sure they were cheap remnants that I picked up along the way to use for some unknown, fun project. (I often like to use wild fabrics to line handbags.) I definitely have some odd materials in my stockpile! |
I’ve used this free pattern to make some coats and dresses for Sadie in the past, so I turned to it again. It goes together very quickly.
 | As you can see, some alterations were made to this free downloadable pattern to improve the fit for my 5 pound Pomeranian (Sadie), and turn it from a coat into an easy to put on dress. I find the closure at the neck and under the belly easier to get on and off of the dog than something that pulls over her head. |
To change the pattern from a coat into a dress, shorten the length of the pattern so that the “bodice” stops at the “waist” and then add a “skirt”. Here’s some of the details:
 | (skirt pattern- cut two) |
 | I used orange polyester satin with silver sparkles on it for the skirt. Here's how it goes together - Make the width of the skirt 2 times the finished, gathered length and curve the ends. Use two pieces for the skirt, and sew them right sides together with a ¼ inch seam allowance. Only seam together the sides and bottom of the skirt. Leave the top open. Turn right side out, and stitch two rows of long basting stitches 1/8” apart close to the unfinished edge. Then, pull the threads to gather to fit nicely on the bodice part. Match up the center of the skirt edge with the center of one of the bodice pieces, pin and machine baste. Now, It is important that the gathering stitches fall within the final seam allowance, so you may need to have the skirt portion hanging over, past the bodice portion. You can trim off this excess fabric once the skirt is attached. |
  | Now, take the other part of the bodice and sew all the way around with a ¼ inch seam allowance leaving an opening at the nick for turning it right side out. The original instructions for the coat call for the ends of the neck band and belly band to be left open, but I had a hard time getting the fabric to pull thorough those small openings. Once it is right sides out, I turn under the fabric at the opening and either top stitch along the edge or whip stitch closed by hand. |
 | You can use Velcro as the closures, but Sadie hates the sound of it, so I just use some snaps instead. |
| I just love the vintage straight stitch machines for projects with small seam allowances and loads of curves and turns. The 15-91 that I used made precise stitches and was wonderfully easy to maneuver for terrific results and even, precise seam allowances. It’s no wonder that quilters love these machines! (Click here for the Singer 15-91 Review) |  |
| Now, I needed to add an opening for the D-ring on Sadie’s harness so that she can go trick or treating wearing her new Halloween dress! Fortunately, the Singer 15-91 also makes the loveliest buttonholes. (see photo below) |  |
| Here is a close up of the harness D-ring coming through the buttonhole on the back of her dress. |  |
Hmmmm.....do you think she'll need a bag to haul home all her loot??!! Of course, she can't eat candy, but I can help her with that!
Happy Halloween!
Your dog looks adorable.
What a terrific excuse to get one more use out of this beautiful machine! The costume looks great and the pattern looks fairly simple. Im sure that Sadie will get plenty of Halloween treats with this adorable costume. Great work!
Kristy