Sep 24, 2013

How to Make a Dog Coat in "Ruffly" an Hour



The houndstooth sweater knit adventures continue -- now for actual hounds!   (I mean chihuahuas.)

I wanted to make a coat like this old acrylic one that Willy has outgrown, only a crewneck rather than a turtleneck.



First, I measured Willy.  I knew I'd need the coat to be approximately 12" long and 12" around.  I stitched my fabric edges right sides together to make a tube, serged the seam allowance, and turned the tube right side out.





Next, I added a neckband 1-2" narrower than the tube opening and stitched it (and then serged just past the seam allowance like I did for my sweaters) to one end of the tube.  I tried it on Willy to make sure it fit.



I cut two holes for his front legs a few inches below the neckband.  Then I cut and stitched my leg bands.



All the bands for these sweaters are, of course, two layers (each piece is folded in half).  I stitched them into the holes and then serged just past the seam allowance.





Using the blue knit coat as my guide, I cut a U-shaped piece out of the underside of the coat, just below the leg holes, and trimmed the top outer edges to make them curve smoothly.  I then tried the coat on Willy again.





Finally, I cut a narrow waistband and attached it to this curved outer edge and the U-shape below his chest.  The band is slightly taut to hold it over the edge of his hind legs.  As you can see, it leaves plenty of room for him to pee.



The fit is good, Willy seems very comfortable wearing it, and the cuteness factor is high.  What more can you ask?





Willy even wore it on this afternoon's walk!





How fortunate that, like me, Willy is a summer.

Have a great day, everybody!

26 comments:

  1. He is adorable. Could be in a photo shoot with you and Michael all in your matching houndstooth sweaters. . .

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  2. OMG, how cute is that?!?

    The coat looks great. Although Willy seemed a bit apprehensive in a couple of pics, it looks like he adjusted to his brand new coat quite well. I can’t wait to see all four of you together in your sweaters and vests.

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  3. OMGosh, he is so cute!! Daddy made Willy and awesome sweater. Better make one for Freddy, or you'll have a huge case of sibling rivalry on your hands!

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  4. Love love love! And weirdly enough, someone just asked me to make the a chihuahua sweater, so perfectly timed!

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  5. That title made me giggle!

    Willy is adorbable in his new sweater. Will you all be wearing matching outfits for walkies from now on?

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  6. looking forward to pics of you all in your matching sweaters

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  7. Absolutely stinkin' cute! My two dogs are demanding their own coat citing the fact that Willy can't be the only one with such a groovy sweater!

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  8. Adorbs! I can't wait to see your family photo, everyone in matching houndstooth!
    I love your sense of humor! Ruffly has got to be your best title ever.

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  9. Awwww. Those little leg bands are the cutest thing I think I have ever seen

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  10. Can't wait to see the family with you all in your matching sweaters.

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  11. This is seriously cute! One of my friends has a French bouledogue, you're giving me ideas here for winter.

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  12. He does look cute in his new sweater. He also looks like he got more comfortable in front of the camera as the fittings progressed. At first he looks scared but by the end he looks pretty happy.

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  13. Can't wait to see the family photo.

    Mary Kay

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  14. Soooo cute! I hope you all wore your matching outfits on that walk :)

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  15. That's really cute!
    It is really loud out there in the big city, eh?!

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  16. the cuteness factor is VERY high!!!!

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  17. Willy looks fantastic!

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  18. Adorable! And now Michael and Willy can be twins!

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  19. You're really on a roll with these blog post titles! :) Willy looks so cute, perfect for the chill in the air this morning too. A family photo would be amazing!

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  20. I'm dying-- this is AMAZING. Love it!

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