Sewing: Dog Appliqued T-Shirt (Tutorial and Template)

I often stock up on plain t-shirts with the idea that I'm going to embellish them for the girls, but most of them are still sitting, unembellished. So I have to give a little cheer when I actually make one! I bought this plain white polo shirt for Audrey during the back-to-school sales with the idea of sewing on a dog applique. Anything "dog" works for Audrey.

So she approved the "sitting dog" design and the fabrics and I went to work.

It was so much fun that I decided to make one for Scarlett too.

Two doggy t-shirts.

I love the appliqued t-shirts by Mini-Boden and after making some of my own I admire them even more! It's no easy thing to pick the right combination of fabrics and prints and scale of the prints and maintain the integrity of the image you are trying to represent! I think next time I will use more solids...

Want to make one? I've got the template and the tutorial for you. Click to read more...

DOG APPLIQUE T-SHIRT TUTORIAL

You will need:

• My sitting dog applique template (this is hosted by Scribd; you will need a Facebook account to access it)
• Various scraps of fabric
• Heat N'Bond in a light weight or medium weight

Download the applique template (it's a PDF file) and print it out. Cut out the dog. Cut out the tail separately.

Apply the Heat N'Bond according to the instructions on the wrong side of the fabrics you plan to use for the applique pieces. Trace the dog onto the adhesive backing. Place the dog template right side down onto this wrong side of the fabric (so that the dog is facing right and will be facing to the left on the right side of the fabric--this is of course unless you would like to reverse the image!).

Don't forget to cut out the hole between the dogs legs on the template and trace it on the paper.

Once you have traced the dog you can cut out the other parts of the template: collar, ear, nose, eye.

Use these to trace the various shapes on your fabric.

 Cut out the dog and the other shapes from your fabrics.

You can put together the dog to make certain you like the fabrics you've picked. I also cut out a circle about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (It could be a bouncing ball or it could be a balloon...you'll have to decide! One of my girls thinks of it as a balloon and the other ball and I've told them they are both correct.)

Iron the dog to the t-shirt following the Heat N'Bond directions.

Top stitch very close to the edge of this applique. I used a dark blue thread so that it contrasts a bit.

I didn't back the t-shirt with interfacing, but you could do this in the area you are sewing the applique for extra stability. The Heat N'Bond stabilizes the fabric a bit. It also prevents fraying, but even if there is a bit of fraying the stitching is so close to the edge that I wouldn't mind it.

Next I ironed and then stitched on the ball/balloon. I added a string/bounce line too.

Then iron on the tail and the ear. Stitch around those too.

Next comes the collar.

Finally, add the nose and the eye. These are the most difficult because they are so small. They would look great hand-embroidered! You should try it if you do that. Maybe I'll add some embroidery the next time I make an applique.

And there is your sitting dog!

Will you make one? Two? I'd love to hear if you do. These would make an adorable quilt too. Don't you think?