Sewing Project: "Sidekick", Girl Detective's Scottie Dog

Back to the thing that got me into sewing in the first place, stuffed animals! 

Sidekick:  Girl Detective's trusty companion.  Their nigthly walks around the neighborhood often lead to adventure!

Tips for beginners:  when deciding on a pattern make sure to note the finished dimensions carefully.  This dog, while adorable, is TINY.  Maybe 5 inches tall?  My seam allowance is next to nothing because if it weren't I doubt I could have even used my machine.  I may make another version in bigger size.

Sidekick here I made to go with Abby's Girl Detective set of stuff.    The body is a super soft fleece.   I embroidered the eyes, but I think I could have made them a little larger and a bit more round.  He looks a touch angry.  But, perhaps he's just suspicious?  He does have a mystery to solve. 

I used this free pattern.  I chose it because it was the only three-dimensional plush Scottie dog I could find.  And it was free.  And cute.  Can't ask for more then that!  The three dimensional aspect is not easy for me.  I'm not spatially inclined, (as anyone who has been a passenger in my car can attest), and it took me awhile to sort out what I need to do with the pieces. 

Underbelly.  As soon as I figured out I needed to sew these two pieces together the assembly made a lot more sense.

This project probably took me 1.5 hours, but someone not being interrupted every five seconds could easily do this in 45 minutes.  Even at an hour and a half this project was faster then Kitty Bat and Fernando the Bunny who were done without a machine- they each clocked closer to 6 hours.  They can't even stand up!  That said looking more closely at the images from the pattern it sure looks like it was hand-sewn so maybe I wasn't supposed to use my machine at all.

Cost:  $1 in material, maybe?  I bought yard of the fleece so I'll have to find something else to do with the remainder. 

Verdict:  Cute, quick and satisfying to make, just wish he were bigger.

*Flikr group of plush doggies made with this same pattern- some super cute versions in there!  It looks like a lot  of people increased the size too.  And yes, photos confirm that this was supposed to be hand sewn.  Oh well!