Satin Stitched Poodle Shirt Applique - Hand-Me-Down REHAB

After I made Firecracker's skirt, I wanted a shirt to match it, and started with a plain, black turtleneck from the hand-me-down pile.  Sweet Pea's dress had a little poodle appliqued on the bottom, so I thought I'd do a poodle on Firecracker's shirt to match. 

I found a poodle silhouette image online and modified it to bit to make the shape simpler.  (Sorry...for the life of me I can't find the link again.)  One of the keys to easy applique is using a simple enough pattern that still has all the elements you want.  I traced the shape onto some Heat'n Bond Lite...my favorite stuff for appliques.  Then I ironed it on the back of some of the scraps left over from the shirt makeover and cut it out.  Because I was worried about the edges unravelling because of the loose weave, I applied Fray Check to the edges right away, before pealing the paper backing off and was more generous with the Fray Check than usual.  (With most fabric, if you're doing a satin stitch applique, you won't need to use Fray Check at all.)

Then I let it thoroughly dry before ironing it on to the shirt since the solvent in the Fray Check is flammable. 

Again because I was worried about fraying, I decided to use a satin stitch to sew the applique to the shirt.  (Basically it's a zig zag stitch with the stitch length set nearly to 0.  (Normally if you're going to do a satin stitch, Fray Check is not necessary.)

Instead of securing the ends by sewing back and forth (which gives a bunched look when you're zig zagging), I left the ends long, pulled them through to the back, and tied them in a knot to secure the ends.

All of that gave me this.  It still seemed like it was missing something...

...so I pulled out some pink embroidery thread and added a swirly leash that went up and bordered the collar of the shirt.  I used all 6 strands of embroidery thread, so it would stand out.

I liked the look of this much better...

...And so does Firecracker.

Now we just need to put Sweet Pea in her dress and take a matching picture.