Dog Pose-off!

I finally got around to the Dog Photo Shoot.

Here ya go!

Very Hairy: Obitsu dog Mark II: Final report

Finally finished the dog. I did the head three times. Finally chose to use just the dark brown patches on the faux rabbit skin, and trimming it all down before sewing except for the nape of the neck, the ears, and a section for a beard. This version of the head had no seam allowance added from my masking-tape pattern. So it was really tight going on, but I think it looks plausible.

I used a scrap of silk satin, interface fused to the right side (so the wrong, less shiny side is visible) and I welted it with a tiny bias strip of cotton voile in dark brown, to give the dog lips, to hide my crappy stitching, and to prevent the red from rolling out of the mouth for the "dog in lipstick" effect of a previous attempt.  I'll confess to using a Sharpie marker to color over some of my visible stitching.

The only way I would consider covering the feet would be with a thin 4 way stretch fabric, seam located on the top of the foot/front of the lower leg. Then you'd have to attach it to the bottom of the furred section.

Ain't gonna happen: I'm happy with her little clear paws sticking out.

This is a picture of her scratching. That clear bit sticking out of all the fur is a back paw. 

I've decided to name her SooSoo.

So, if you take the other (partially covered) Obitsu dog, called Obi (for Oberon), 

and put the names together you get.

Obi-Soo, which is more or less like Obitsu. So there.

Very Hairy: Obitsu dog Mark II. Progress Report 2

Fought the head. Fought the head again. 

Finally decided I really really need red felt (something that does not stretch, does not fray and is a bit stiff) for the inside of mouth. I know I put it in my shopping cart in the fabric store but it did not make it home. Oh well.

Believe it or not, the only things exaggerated on the fabric head are the ears. I trimmed the fur back from the face, revealing Dog Freckles! Oh well.

Here she is, one front leg and one back leg left to go, and the head to finish.

I finally twigged to the idea that some of the fur is longer in some places, and some shorter. So I took advantage of that and chose the longest, hairiest parts for the legs.

Now, that's one HAIRY leg. Gillette is drooling, I'm sure.

I decided to leave the back of the joint completely free of fabric and fur, just stabilizing the fur placement with a couple pieces of thread.

I made the pattern to extend just past the first joint of the leg, since the fur would hang down and cover most of the rest of the leg.

One of the cool things about these Obitsu dogs is their ability to stand and pose, which comes from the mobility of their joints. So covering the foot would make an unstable surface to stand on and would also not allow the leg to bend as much. Bending like this

is essential for the dog to crouch. And I am pleased to report that the my plan worked and the leg bends nearly this much, even covered in excessive amounts of fur.

Here's the dainty foot peeking out.

Very Hairy: Obitsu dog Mark II. Progress Report 1

Worked some more on making a second furry Obitsu dog today. I have a yard of fake rabbit fur from Distinctive Fabric. Most of it will go to doll clothes, but some for the dog project.

I masking-taped the dog over saran wrap, cut the tape off, and used the pieces for a pattern. Look up Duct Tape Double for the basic idea.

I marked the direction of the fur on both sides of the pattern pieces.

Cut out the fur from the wrong side, with the pattern pieces face down.

Stitch together with an overcast stitch. This fur is pretty good quality, so the cut edges don't come apart too much.

If your stitches are tight enough, it looks pretty good from the right side.

Here are the torso pieces all stitched together and the torso laid in place.

This jointed dog model has shoulder and hip joints that are very mobile. I want to preserve that mobility as much as I can, so I cut holes in the torso fabric. 

The yellow pins mark the center of the holes.

 Look! A Hole!

As I sewed the torso fur in place, I left the legs attached to the body, since I wanted to make sure the holes stayed lined up. A good thing I did, since my belly seam at the front of the torso is not quite on the bottom of the dog. No worries. All that hair hides a lot.

The torso, tail, head, and each leg are all sewn separately. Everything but the legs are slipstitched in place while on the dog.

I had previously made a head from the swatch of fur I originally got. I tried putting a mouth in but did not like the "lipstick on the dog" effect I got. 

I will redo the head.

Next is covering the legs. I have no idea if this will work at all. I am pretty sure I'll need to eliminate any fabric (not just fur) on the back of the legs where the joint is. I may also trim the fur short on the torso behind the shoulders and hips. I may also need to make the torso-holes larger.

Sidetracked!

I am easily sidetracked. If you read the last post, chock full of plans, you can have a good laugh.

Last night I glued together some cardboard, this morning I sawed some dowels, and played with saran wrap and masking tape.

Three layers of cardboard glued together with yellow wood glue, and a doll's foot precariously balanced on a sawed up piece of dowel.

The sole and foot wrapped in plastic wrap, covered with masking tape, and the uppers drawn on in pencil.

The upper cut off and trimmed.

Then I played with masking tape some more.

I wrapped my clear Obitsu dog in plastic wrap, then encased him in masking tape.

Masking tape shells cut off

I made a flat pattern by strategically cutting the masking tape shell. I marked the direction of the fur on the shell before I cut it off.

I had enough of beige artificial rabbit fur (a sample I requested from Distinctive Fabrics) to do the head and the tail. I have more of the fake fur on the way.

When I turned the head inside out, it looked like a horrible mistake.

So I groomed the head a little bit. The ears are not very distinct but smoothing some fur up makes them look more plausible. I need to stitch some red felt or something in his mouth. And maybe add a tongue!

 and then I draped the poor dog in scraps to get an idea of the finished product.

Then I did it again, because once was not enough.
This one makes me howl with laughter every time I see it.

Zombie electrocuted mutant wolf cat? No clue.

Obitsu Dog, finished for now

I finished (more or less) adding a fur suit to my brown Obitsu dog. 

 I am trying to believe he is a lap dog

I covered his body, then cut holes out where the legs insert, then stuck the legs on.

If I decide to add more fur, I will cover each leg individually, leaving a big flap at the top (I won't cover the foot or foot joint). Then I'll stick the leg back in the body, and stitch the flap down around the joint. Hopefully leaving enough slack for mobility.

 My original clear Obitsu is quite floppy (he came pre-assembled) but the brown one I put together from a kit (so he is a hybrid A/B) is quite stiff. He holds poses better. The fur suit does not interfere with posing as a dog would.