Kay Thompson’s “Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups" and the 2003 Disney film "Eloise at the Plaza" have long been a part of my life. When trying to decide on a three-dimensional figure to create for my Sewing Tech final, I had the idea of exploring "chic stuffed animals", taking inspiration from the iconic Thom Browne animal bags. I loved the concept of creating a pug, not only because I had one but the very chic Eloise did as well. Using vinyl, I planned to make a life-size figure of Weenie from the beloved Eloise franchise.

I began by creating a muslin mock to roughly the same proportions as my own dog, Buddy. I always loved how he sat with one leg in and one out, so I made sure to include this cheeky feature along with Weenie’s consistently tangling tongue.

After the mock was complete, I began the process of creating the final figure using the muslin as a pattern. Working with the vinyl was no simple task as it had many limitations compared to regular sewing cotton. In the end, over half of the project was hand sewn rather than machine.

I then created Weenie a removable pink bow in signature Eloise Pink, (think pink, of course!) I had planned to make Skipperdee as well if I had time. Luckily I was ahead of schedule, so the little turtle came together in a few hours.

I rawther adore how these two came out, and they serve as a lovely testament to a classy part of my childhood.

-JA