Using a #30 blade, I would clip the ears 1/3 of the way down on both sides of the leather. Then I would trim the excess hair along this 1/3 length along side the ear very close with a pair of fine scissors.
That being done, I would swith to a #10 blade, and do the stomach, against the grain, up to about the ribcage. Then, starting at the corner of the eye, running the clipper at an angle to the inside corner of the ear, and leaving a fair length of hair just above the eyes, I would do the head. As well, with now the #10 blade, I would clip the back of the ears (this might seem strange after having just done part of the ear, but I like even this suttle difference in length, that being that the #30 part just seems to have a really neat effect, and all my show dogs are clipped with a #30 on their ears).
Next, still with the #10, I clip all the way along the back and about 1/2 way down the side, leaving some hair as a skirt. I completely clip off the tail, and the line that you leave along the side should be below the tail, approximately even with the 'poop hole'.
The neck area I do by grabbing all the head hair and holding it in my hand (along with the head - makes life easier) and clip it all away, again leaving the skirt.
O.K., so now the dog is all clippered. Scissor time. I first trim the tail with the scissors so that all of the tail is nice and neat - I am fanatic about making sure that even the underneath of the tail (the gold part) is trimmed up - just habit. I also do what I've heard called a 'potty patch', but I still leave the skirt.
I trim the feet arount evenly. I do the front feet by grabbing it with the hair and using my thumb as a guide, I trim around - cleaning up the back by eye. The rear feet are grabbed in the same way, pulled out towards the rear, and trimmed flush.
The head - this is a bit harder to explain. Taking an ear in my hand I start the scissor close to the ear and cut in a slight curve down and around and up to the muzle. I like to leave about 2 - 3 inches of length on the muzzle depending on the stle of head and the owners wishes. I repeat this on the other side. Then I eyeball it so that it looks neat. Taking my fingers like scissors, I grab the hair on the muzzle underneat and make sure that all is even. I trim up the hair under the muzzle so that it all falls in line also.
The one thing I do that I think makes the head is that I cut the muzzle hair again. Looking head on, I take the scissors at a 45* angle and snip off the very front muzzle hair, and then smooth it into a nice angled trim. So, the hair at the very nose part of the muzzle is shorter than that say half way into the muzzle - it really does give a cuter expression.
Then I trim the hair above the eyes in a semi-circle starting at one eye and ending at the other, etc.
I will also trim the hair in the corner of the eyes if necessary. I have occasionaly, on a very runny, tear-stained eye, use the #10, and even run it all along the top length of the nose, but, this really looks ugly on a long-nosed dog - I prefer to scissor.
If the leg hair and skirt are too long, I trim it up as needed.
Naturally, a bath follows. Then dryed, then I run the #10 over the back again just to be sure. I use a slicker and some hairspray to make the back lie flat and the little hair over the hairs spike upwards!!
VOILA - a Yorkie clip.
Compliments of Debbie Hiebert...squirrel@accent.net