DOG SHIRT

I chose sewing for my DIY project. This consisted of sewing a small shirt for my puppy, Meeko. For years, I saw my mom hem the line of my school skirts and make us Halloween costumes. However, I was never curious to learn how to do it myself. In retrospect, I wish I would have taken the time to learn from my mom when I was younger because I actually really enjoyed this project a lot and I hope to continue doing it in the future.

The first idea I had for my project was to make a wooden toy box for Meeko, however, due to the lack of time and the difficulty in finding all the proper tools I decided to still make something for him but rather than to increase my woodworking skills. I began my seamstress career along with beginning Meeko’s fashion wardrobe. Some concerns that I had before starting this project were finding a sewing machine and sewing materials, as well as learn how to sew. Through this process I encountered several problems. The first one being Walmart’s website will lie to you. Even though, their online site said they had several $20 sewing machines available in store, they didn’t. Sad. However, I was able to borrow a friends. The second obstacle I encountered was trying to learn how to use the machine and thread the top and bottom parts of it. I had to watch several YouTube videos on how to use it, and of course, call my mom and have her explain via facetime. Last and most important, Meeko didn’t really enjoy wearing the shirt, but hopefully, with time he will like it a bit more.

The main tutorial I used was Mimi’s and Tara’s dog shirt pattern how to guide. Mimi is a blogger and dog owner who enjoys doing things for her dog on her free time. She has a website (mimiandtara.com) where she posts tutorials on how to do Halloween costumes, dog tuxedos, and many more things. She has made many different guides on how to create these pieces, regardless the size of your dog. I found her site to be reliable, credible, and really organized and appealing, because she has so many different options and she explains step by step how to create the pieces. For every piece she creates, she posts pictures of her dog Tara wearing it and it and allows you to see how the piece will look, and of course, her cute dog! Out of all the blogs I found on how to make dog clothes, this one was the most complete and clear I could find.`

Other sources that were very helpful throughout the process of creating this shirt for Meeko were: First, reading the BROTHER SEWING MACHINE OPERATION MANUAL  to learn how to do the upper and lower threading. Second, I found a couple YouTube videos to learn how to do basic sewing operations as learning How to sew a button by Nicky Callahan, How to cut out sewing pattern pieces by Professor Pincushion (channel were different experts teach how to do basic sewing things), and mainly, How to use Brother sewing machine by brotherasiapacific. Last resource I used was my mom, Monica. She explained to me how to do certain things of the shirt like sewing the sleeves and collar in and what stitches to use. All these resources were EXTREMELY important to me being able to complete my project because even though I had done some reading on it, it was indispensable to see with images and videos how to complete certain steps.

I first thought this assignment was a little random, since it didn’t have a direct relationship with our video games class. However, in the end I was able to learn a new skill from scratch. I had to put myself through uncomfortable and hard moments, having to ask people how to do things or even figure it out myself, I had to try, try, and try again to have stitches done correctly. I had to use new tools and materials I had never owned before and try to master them in a week. I believe this assignment was so entertaining and enriching, it taught me how take something unknown, read and inform myself about it, and lastly, do hands on work with new tools and materials. I can relate it to class now because that is what we will be doing for the rest of the semester, learn how to use new softwares, create animations, and design video games of our own.

In the end, I learned about sewing, but mainly about myself. I was able to create a dog shirt from scratch, by first learning how to use a swing machine and then how to add nice touches to clothes, like collars and buttons. I learned that I am good at crafty activities like sewing because I have a lot of patience and I’m very perfectionist. While this project could’ve taken me only a couple of hours I decided to invest at least 8-10 hours on it. Additionally, I was able to learn a skill with the help of different resources but mainly from my mom, because even though she is miles away from me, she invested her time in teaching me how to do certain things via Facetime and I really enjoyed listening to her and showing her my progress. It is important to do these types of projects because it allows students to get out of their comfort zone and actually get them to research and think of what they are doing, if they want to have a cool, valuable project and experience.

This project was made possible by MIMIANDTARASTORE, who sell their patterns on Etsy and have different guides online on how to do a dog shirt, without their extensive guide I wouldn’t have been able to make this shirt on my own. Additionally, I’m very grateful to my friend Jackie McGinley, who let me borrow her sewing machine and encouraged me through the process. My mom, Monica Stackmann, who spent several hours with me on the phone to guide on how to use the sewing machine, and lastly, Meeko, who stayed by my side through the whole process and let me put clothes on him.