Back in the "Game"

Two Dog Coats, Butterick 4885
(Duke on couch)

Note: See snow photo of dogs in coats in post below this one.

Cold Weather here in NW Arkansas prompted the creation of the two dog coats for my dauchsies, Duke and Dutchess. I recycled an old worn-out wool sweater of my Dad's for the trim (navy blue). The top medium-weight fleece is a print with a caricature of a dog, and the bottom fleece (lining) is just a heavier fleece. Both dogs like their coats and are happy to sleep in them after a brisk walk!

Sorry for the blurry photo here! (Dutchess in action showing off her coat)

Technique idea for Trim: I cut the trim for the outer edge using the main pattern piece and then cut around the edges of the pattern to obtain the yardage for trim at a width of a little over 1 inch wide. That provided the same grainline direction and shape as the main body of the dog coat. (What this means is that only the border of the main dog coat body was used for the navy blue wool trim-- the inner portion left over after removing the border from the main pattern piece of the coat's body was discarded after removing the border from the edges of the pattern all the way around [navy wool trim only]). I applied the navy wool trim from the backside (wrong side) of the dog coat (2 layers of fleece) first (trimed seam allowance) and then wrapped the sewn trim to the front edge, pinned it down and top stitched with zig zag right on the edge. There was no need (on the top) to turn under the raw edge. I used a small zig zag stitch to attach the two fabrics together (the wool trim and the top of the dog coat). The two fabrics blended into each other without any problems with raveling edges from the navy wool trim.

Note: The first photo of Duke on the couch was taken before I had applied the velcro fasteners, which wrap the strap under the dog's mid section.

I made the two dog coats in one 24-hour sewing session (sewing off and on). The coats are easy and straight forward to make. Knowing where to apply the velcro fasteners is as easy as applying the coat to the dog and pinning in place to find the correct placement of the velcro, and then sewing it down to make it permanent.