Your puppy was probably okay off-leash up until now because she was still in her puppy stage and wanting to be near you. As she's growing, she's going to be more adventurous and daring with each day, especially growing through adolescence. So, it a really good idea that you've decided to put her on a harness asap.
Just to reaffirm everyone else's comments, they're all very very valid. There are just too many things that could wrong and the risks are never ever worth it.
When Scottie and Casie were puppies, I used the PetSafe Easywalk harness and left it on all the time. It was really light and minimal. Casie was very small though, so I actually adjusted the size by sewing it smaller. One good thing I liked about this harness was that it is a front-hooking harness, which was great for training polite leash walking.
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