Hot Dog Vest Tutorial

Let’s welcome our first guest for this week (and we have quite a line-up this week!): Louise from I’m Feelin’ Crafty! Louise was one of the first people to show me a finished project using one of my tutorials (such a nice feeling!). There’s lots of craftiness on her blog, but it’s time to see what she’s made today…

First off, I have to say Happy National Hot Dog Day! Maybe it’s a US thing, but everyone can play along right??? Thanks for stopping by to join me here on Narelle’s blog! I’m Louise from I’m Feelin’ Crafty!

 

I’m Feelin’ Crafty! is my place to show everything I’m up to, from quilting to kids projects, kids clothes, parties, sewing, crafting and of course the random thrift shop finds!!!

Who doesn’t love hot dogs?? And who doesn’t love dressing this kids up like a hot dog??? When Narelle asked me join in on her series, of course the first thing I did was say yes. Then I looked at the calendar and knew I had to join in on National Hot Dog Day! My husband and I brainstormed for an idea and he actually came up with the idea for a hot dog bun vest. At first I was like, no way! Then the details started coming to me and I fell in love with the idea!

So here’s how I made my vest!

Step 1- Gather materials: Red and White fleece, khaki colored denim, yellow buttons (for the drops of mustard ya know!), thread and the pattern. My pattern is for somewhere between a 3T and 4T.

Or you can make your own by tracing a vest that already fits (which is basically how I made mine…)

Step 2- Cut out all your pieces. Denim for the outside, Red Fleece for the inside, pockets, buttonhole piece and collar and White fleece for the mayonnaise pockets.

Step 3- Sew in the Pockets. 1, position the pockets about 4.5″ inches from the corner of the armhole at side seam, right sides to right sides. 2, Sew the pockets on the seam side only. 3, If you want to topstitch, do so now! Here I folded over the pocket and did a little topstitching. 4, Iron open the pockets, but be sure to not iron the fleece directly (put a cover over it before ironing)! 5, Stack the front and back pieces, right sides together, and pin. 6, Sew a continuous seam from the armhole to the bottom hem edge going around the pocket. If you did add the topstitching, it adds a little funkiness to the laying out and stitching the front and back together, but you just have to move it around a bit and be careful to not stitch over the topstitching.

Step 4: Add the mayo! First turn over the top of the mayo and stitch. Sew on the mayo squirts on to the right sides of the front flaps of the inside pieces of red fleece.

Step 5: Sew lining. Sew front sides to back, right sides together. Leave a 4″ hole in one of the side seams to pull it all through later.

Step 6: Collar. Sew the two collar pieces together, right sides together. Only sew the two short sides and curved side of the collar. Trim the corners and turn right side out. Topstitch the three sides.

Step 7: Buttonhole strip. Just like the collar, sew the short sides and the curvy side together, right sides to right sides. Trim the corners, snip the curves (so that they fold over easier) and turn right side out.

Step 8: Add the buttonholes. Honestly, I am not a fan of buttonholes. On my machine, the buttonhole function doesn’t work. I need to get that fixed…. So please excuse my not so perfect buttonholes. Anyway, for this project, I added the buttonholes and I didn’t line them up on purpose. Have you ever seen a compete straight line of mustard drops on your bun? Me neither! So neither are my mustard buttons!

Step 9: Put it all together! First off, sew the shoulders together for the front and back, right sides to right sides. Pin the collar and the buttonhole strip to the front of the vest, right sides to right sides. Next, pin the inside of the vest to the outside, again, right sides to right sides.

Step 10: Sew it all together. Sew all the outside edges (but not the armholes! I got carried away and forgot to NOT sew the armholes and had to pull out the seams at the armholes!!!) Don’t forget to trim the corners!

Step 11: Pull it all through the hole you left in the lining and topstitch all around the edges, including under the collar.

Step 12: Sew on the buttons. I had an extra button, so I added a drop of mustard to the inside of the vest!

Step 13: Close the armholes. Fold over the outside and the inside towards the inside about .5″ and pin. Then pin the two together lining up the shoulder seam and the side seam. Topstitch!

And WAH-LA! You’ve got a little hot dog!

And we’re off to have a hot dog! Thanks again, Narelle, for having me! While you’re eating yours, be sure to visit me at I’m Feelin’ Crafty!

How cute is that? I love that it’s a cute vest by itself, and then there’s the in-joke that it’s a hot dog. And what a happy little model! Thanks for joining in Louise. I better go get some hot dogs defrosting for dinner!

Are you celebrating National Hot Dog Day (how about we make it international!)?