T-Rex's Winter Coat

I have made quite a few dog jackets for T-Rex over the years. The first one was red and zebra print and was too small. The second one featured dinosaurs on one side and dog bones on the other and fit better. After moving to Chicago I made one in red, small paw prints and another in plaid, but I guess I never blogged them.

These addressed two problems: the past ones were either too long or too short, and they closed with velcro. In the snow, velcro gets full of snow and stops sticking together. Oh, make that three things: he also wears a harness now so that he doesn't choke himself pulling. The harness hook for his leash is farther back, so the jacket would fall off. 

Looking good, Mr Wiggles

 It closes with snaps, which will stay closed in the snow hopefully. However, I had to get Andrew to help me because they were so frustrating! We always joke that putting together IKEA-style furniture is the "divorce-maker" due to the bickering that comes with....but putting in snaps might be on the same level!! Much bickering was had, in part because I got him to help me right after work under the claim that it would take "only ten minutes." Boy was that a gross underestimate.

Giving me the "why are you so slow" stank eye

 This food stand at the park always reminds me of Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo from Southpark.

 The coat is reversible and the other side has pictures of bacon, hearts and the word bacon. Hee hee.

 And to close, a scandalously naked T-Rex laying on his sheepskin in front of the fire radiator.

I am back to having two classes online and working full-time as a long-term substitute for art, but I do have some good (and awful) things to post! It is just dark after work and there is no good light in my house...or uncluttered surfaces that are not too embarrassing for a background.

A fleece jacket for the wienie dog

Somehow the dog knew I was making this for him and spent the whole evening giving me baleful stares, aka the Stank Eye. I traced his previous jacket, which was much too short. If I remember correctly, it was a medium sized dog according to the pattern. It was tiny and only covered his back about 2/3 down, and not his sides. Here is the first version.

Same as the other one, it is two different types of fleece, so its reversible. It closes with velcro. After I made it and tried it on him, the butt part stuck out oddly. So I added two tucks along the top stiching seam, so it curves down like a dog saddle.

This side is dinosaurs, and I cut it out so that there is a big T-Rex right over his back. Hee hee!


It's a super quick and easy project that took around 30 minutes. The dog isn't too happy now, but he loves his jacket when it gets cold. We also recently discovered it makes him much more willing to go out and potty if it's raining. He is such a priss!

Doggy Sweater, but fleece

I bought this pattern a year or two ago at a garage sale. It was $1. It has patterns for three sizes of dog beds and jackets. Since it has been abnormally cold in New Orleans the last week or two, it seemed like the wiener dog could use a jacket.

None of those dogs look very happy.

Ball-chasing action

Sewing notes:

The pattern wanted you to bind all of the edges with seam binding. Not only does that seem tedious, I made it out of polar fleece, so I wanted all of it to be soft.

Instead, I made it reversible- one side is red, one side it zebra print- and then top-stitched all edges so it would lay flat and not slide around. It closes with Velcro.

Adjustments:

I extended the chest closure straps by about 2 inches on each side. T-Rex has a barrel chest.

Next time:

When I make this again (which I will since it took me about 45 minutes to make and is really cute) I will probably extend the sides 2-3 inches so it wraps him more. I would also make it about 4-5 inches longer. Right now, it doesn't cover all of his long body.

Notes:

1. I made a medium and it is tiny. If you are making this for a big dog, I would make the pattern much much bigger.

2. The dog mas been wearing it all morning and he looks adorable. In fact, HE JUST WENT AND ADMIRED HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR! hahaha. Seriously.

Happy New Year!