Pinterest Try It - Easy Dog Coat

 

The best kinds of crafts and projects are ones you can immediately use. My husband surprised me with a puppy for Christmas - this is Piper. She is an Australian Cattle Dog, but definitely the runt of the litter. While we don't get too many cold days in Scottsdale Arizona, this Christmas and early January have been a little cold, especially for a little one. I found this tutorial on Pinterest from Wholefully for an easy dog coat made from just a little fleece.

This little coat is almost more like a cape that uses Velcro fasteners at the chest and under the belly.  Following the directions for measuring the puppy and using those measurements, I cut a rectangle that basically represents the length of the back and depth of the coat with a couple of inches on one end for the chest tabs and a couple of inches below for a belly tab. Because the rectangle is cut on the fold where the back measurement is, when you unfold it, it looks like this:

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The hot pink & white fleece is the outside fabric and the solid pink is the inside fabric. Once I cut the outside fabric and trimmed it per the instructions, I cut a matching piece from the solid pink fleece.

In order to sew the Velcro fasteners on in a way that wouldn't be visible, the "hook" (rough) side of the Velcro was sewn on the right side of the outside fabric and the soft side of the Velcro was sewn on the right side of the inside fabric. 

Once you sew the Velcro pieces on, layer the fabric together, right sides facing. Starting on the big curve on one end, sew the two pieces together, leaving a small opening so you can turn the fabrics right side out. Clip the seam allowances on the curves and trim the corners. Turn inside out. Close the opening with a top stitch all the way around the coat and you're done!

I may have made the coat a little long to her tail, so it flares a little like a dress. She likes it and it keeps her warmer so it's perfect to me.

Overall, I consider this to be a good "Pinterest Try-It." What are you making today? Have you tried anything from Pinterest? Feel free to post comments below - I love to see what makers make.

cindy