Pampered Pups!

Happy Christmas, Gizmo!

You may remember back in December I was a busy little elf puttering away on coats for my whole crowd...including my son's little rescue pal, Gizmo! (you can check it out here)  

Coat update!  I figured that Gizmo might wear her little red riding coat a few times when the temperature in Michigan plummeted to well below zero, but, as it turns out, she loves her little coat!  My son says that it works kind of like the Thunder vests that some dogs like to wear during storms.  The theory is that it acts like a 'hug' and makes them feel more secure so they are calmer.  Apparently, the coat works the same way for Gizmo.  She wears it all the time!!  Who knew!!?  

I did have a request for more details about making the coats and Gizmo's big brother, Paco, is quite jealous of the little red coat (that would be me anthropomorphizing a bit!) and just happens to have a birthday coming up!  So, big dog coat for Paco coming up!

Paco is a large, black dog...there is some Great Dane in his lineage somewhere.  I thought about getting an old leather jacket and making kind of a riff on a motorcycle gang coat, but the washability of a leather dog coat seemed marginal, so I settled on a $3 fleece vest at Goodwill with a broken zipper!

I had my son take some critical measurements...around Paco's neck, around his chest, from his neck to his tail down his back, and a very important one, from his neck to his 🙈on his tummy side. (can't have the coat interfering with any business!) 

Starting with an already made garment makes it incredibly easy to make one of these coats and it is so goofy to have the collars and the pockets on a dog coat!!  

The pattern is basically an opening for the neck, a cover for the back and a tummy cover with a strap to adjust the fit.  The measurements determine how far from the collar of the garment to cut off for the back and the front, how long to make the straps and how much room to leave at the neck opening.  The pattern is really just a 'suggestion' and varies with the particular garment that is being 'remodeled.'  Here's what I started with for the fleece coat...the right side of the picture is the tummy and strap side and the left side is the part that covers the back of the pup.  The bottom of the picture is the center front/back of the pattern and lines up with the center front/back of the starting garment, and the half circle cut out lines up with the collar/neckline.

Because I was starting with a vest I didn't even have to remove any sleeves, just cut up the side seams.  I lined up the 'neck opening' with the collar of the vest and cut away what I didn't need.  

I adjusted my 'pattern' to take advantage of the already bound armholes of the vest...bonus!  I did have to sew the zipper closed up to the neck since I cheaped out and got a broken vest!

I turned the cut edges and added the straps and, Bob's your uncle, I had another goofy dog coat ready to wear!

          

You have to imagine my dress form on all fours...with a tail! (It actually looked kind of cute!)  I have to say that making dog coats is a new one for me, and they just make me smile while I'm making them!  Do we call that "barking mad?"!

I haven't gotten a picture of the coat on Paco, but as soon as I get him to model I will update with a photo.  

Merry Christmas and Coats for Everyone!

Whew!  I think Christmas may be over for this year?  There is nothing left in the 'pile-o-gifts' that has been taking up the end of my sewing room counter, so I think we may be done.  The last celebration was with my youngest son who spent a lovely holiday in San Fransisco and left his busy little rescued pup with us for four days.  When he returned this weekend we had a lovely brunch and had to send little Gizmo home... along with the last of the gift pile.

Taking care of Gizmo was really fun and really tiring!  I had forgotten how busy a pup can be, particularly one that is discovering a new place.  She was really efficient at finding all the things that are NOT for dogs!  But I also loved that she needed to go for walks!  Just the motivation I needed to get my over indulged holiday self outside!

As part of our 'puppy instructions' we learned that Gizmo sometimes gets cold and shivers when she is outside for too long.  Well, that won't do!  I figured I could do something about that.  I had made coats for everyone else this year...why not the little dog, too.

Believe it or not, I do not happen to have a dog coat pattern in my stash, which meant that I had to come up with one.  It is not so easy to measure a dog.  She thought I was trying to play and kept trying to 'tug of war' with my tape measure!  Eventually I got the two measurements I needed and made a quick Trial Balloon to see if my idea would actually work.  ...it did!

Here is my first try...

    

I used the scraps from the Francine top that I had made for my son's girlfriend.  It is a soft almost blanket like fabric and made an excellent doggy coat as well.

For the 'real' version I fished a coat that my husband was planning to donate out of the Goodwill box and went to town!

     

                

I'm not sure Gizmo is as pleased as I am with the result, but she is a very good sport and wears her coats without a fuss.  In fact, she seems to quite like them, and we had no shivers, even on our longer walks!

It was much easier to tell that my husband and son were pleased with their respective Merchant and Mills Landgate jackets.  They both picked the same pattern and the same fabric.  After setting the sleeves in my older son's Foreman jacket I was glad that they had chosen the raglan sleeve coat, until I started wrestling with the hood and the sheer volume of the pattern.  Oiled canvas is a workout no matter what pattern you use!

         

I continue to be impressed with the Merchant and Mills patterns.  The instructions for the zipper and hood are really great, and the results are so professional.  

          

I have enough fabric to make a coat for myself....I think I will take a bit of a break before another round with oiled canvas...my sewing machine needs a break as well!

Here's my son giving me his best 'high fashion model' pout....

      

With sooooo much Christmas this year I haven't even thought about my upcoming Key West adventure!  😳  Happy New Year...and here we go again!