A dodger whose name is not Roger

I told AllesGirl that I was taking apart our Dodger so I could make a new one.  This is what she sent back:

Our dodger – once so proud and waterproof (I’m guessing), once keeping rain and wind off the gentle faces of the crew – had not fared well over the winter.  It had also not fared well under Lola’s attentions.  Lola, who is 7 lbs of destructive force wrapped in fur.  The fabric now so thin you can see through it, the thread completely rotten, covered in fur, the windows shattered from the cold, the hardware causing the boat to rust…  Yes, it is time for our the dodger (whose name was not Roger) to be replaced.  This was #1 reason for the sewing machine though there are plenty of others.

Step one: take down existing dodger.  Lola loves this dodger with her whole heart so it was very sad times for her when I took it down.  She wrapped figure-eights around my ankles, looking up as if to ask: why are you doing this to me, Mom?

I ripped open the seams, tore off the extra pieces (remember the rotten thread comment?  We were one good blow away from complete failure), and laid out the big pieces on our finger pier.

Step two: label all pieces with sharpie so I don’t confuse myself when presented with an out-of-context wadded up piece of fabric.

Step three: lay out the new fabric.

Step four: lay the old pieces on the new fabric, making sure the wrong sides are up.

Step five: trace around old pattern pieces leaving room for seam allowances where necessary.  I think.

Step six: cut out along traced lines and pray…

Oh, and then AllesGirl sent this.