Checks & Plaid for My Archie

It has come to my attention that I have not introduced Archibald (aka Archie) on my blog, which is definitely an oversight!  He has been on my Instagram account a few times, but it is high time he had a blog post to himself.  And since I just made him some cold weather gear, it seemed like the perfect time to formally introduce him around these parts.  He came into my life in May, and he is a complete love bug with a rascally disposition that keeps me on my toes!  I am not sure about his age, but he is somewhere around 1 or 2 years of age, and according to Embark, he is 47% Chihuahua with a fabulous assortment of other breeds, including Poodle, Pomeranian, Pekingese, Cocker Spaniel, Min Pin, and a dash of Cattle Dog (I suspect that's where the freckles come from), Pit Bull, and Dachshund.  I always wanted a Pittie, and now I have my own pint sized version.  Like me, he is pigment challenged, has a tendency to freckle, with short legs and a long torso - he is definitely my son!

And now for the doggie jacket info . . . I pulled out a couple of patterns, and ended up choosing Simplicity 2695 to start.

To complicate things, I decided that I would quilt my own fabric.  I also decided to allow myself to only use items that were stashed.  

The cotton gingham is leftover from this dress, I always have red cotton scraps around these parts although I couldn't tell you specifically which project they were used for, and the poly batting was, in a moment of madness, used to quilt this skirt.  I still can't believe I quilted those huge skirt pieces by machine without going mad.

The quilting on this relatively tiny bit of fabric is far from perfect, and I thought I was going to have to put the whole thing on hold due to a lack of velcro, but I did manage to finish it.  I think that Archie looks rather charming in the ensemble.

There were a couple of things that I thought could be modified, so I found some leftover flannel and decided to make another version before I forgot the changes that I wanted to make to the original.

I scooped out a bit at the side of the main body piece, and flattened out the underbody straps for a bit more clearance from any wayward urine streams (the joys of clothing a male dog).  I also moved those straps forward by about an inch, and I ended up doing the same on the quilted version since they are finished and then stitched into place and it was an easy fix.

I do have a few other suitable patterns, so I should probably try one of those next to see if the shape suits Archie better.  But for now, he has a couple of options to keep him cozy!

Now if only I could figure out a better rain jacket situation since everything seems to be catering to a Frenchie body type and I have no idea where I would find rain resistant fabric options that I would actually want to cut and sew.  Also, if someone could let Archie know that he won't melt in the rain, that would be great, because he is NOT a fan, and I am not sure he believes me.

Jackets:  Made by me, Simplicity 2695