Vintage 1950s Puppy Sun Suit

I made this sun suit in under 2 hours, including the puppy embroidery. It is a variation of a 1950s pattern. The original used a single layer of fabric and then faced or bias trimmed all the edges. I thought that would take way too long, so I trimmed the pattern pieces and lined the suit instead. I think that was a good way to do it and it gives the suit some body.

I used a poly/cotton chambray for the suit and felt for the puppy applique. The puppy is from a set called Baby's Friends by A Bit of Stitch. I have been wanting to try it since I bought it a few months ago and I was not disappointed. The small blanket stitched edges look like hand stitching and I think the puppy is very cute. The set also has a kitty, 2 teddies, and a bunny. Here's a close-up of the embroidery, which took about 5 minutes- super easy!

The back of the sun suit has elastic at the waist and the straps criss-cross and button to the front. Even accounting for the bulky cloth diapers of the 50s, the fit is huge! The bum is very full and the straps are a good 5" too long. I don't know why it turned out so big. It will definitely fit Andy next summer when he is 3 although we can get away with wearing it now.

 Here are a few shots of Andy playing with the hose and a ball in the little suit. I like the buttons up the sides. It makes it easy to open up to iron, but with the blend I used, I won't have to!

Quick Pocket Keychain

I love the Monogrammed Pocket Keychain I made a couple of years ago, BUT it was getting very ratty. I made a new one yesterday and it is great!

Old one on left- new one on right!

I had used the old one so much that the fabric was frayed and it had holes on the corners. This time, I used a pretty vintage-type print in light blue. My favorite thing about this keychain is that the pocket holds my license, credit card, YMCA card, etc. I don't like to carry a purse, so I just take my keys and cellphone and I have everything I need. 

See how the credit card slides into the pocket

The design is from Five Star Fonts and I highly recommend it. I like that it's made in one hooping, in the 4x4 hoop. The PDF directions are excellent and it comes in 3 styles: stipple, channel, or diamond quilted with the monograms all ready to go! It only takes about 10-15 minutes to make this pretty, useful keychain.

Today I made a sunsuit from an original 50s pattern, but I want to take pictures of it on Andy, so I'll try to do that tomorrow.

Winnie the Pooh

 

At the same time I found the Raggedy Ann pattern in my last post, I bought this Vintage Winnie the Pooh and Friends pattern. The reason I was interested in this one also has to do with a childhood memory. My best friend Karen had a stuffed Winnie the Pooh toy her Mom made (probably from this pattern) and it was one of her favorite toys. She will be having her first baby in December and I'd like to make one for the baby. Do you remember the "good luck onesie" I made for her? Well, it worked! She is having a little girl and I thought it would be fun to shrink the pattern by 50% and make a mini-Pooh. I could also embroider the baby's name on Pooh's shirt- do you think it would be cute to make a pink shirt? Then again, I think Pooh is a boy, so maybe I'll stick with red. I also tried digitizing a Pooh for a blanket. It turned out great, but it needs heavy stabilizing for the outlines to line up.