Yes. I made a dog coat.  Don’t judge.  My poor ridiculous dog just got a haircut that is just a wee bit short. And she is cold pretty much all the time.  Friday, I was at Jo-Ann’s they had McCall’s patterns for a buck a piece, and I stumbled upon this one.  Its M5776, then I hit the remnant bins, found some horrifyingly pink fleece, and off we went.  I sat down last night and cut it while we were watching The Big Green.  I had never heard of it, but my husband claimed it was equally as great and as reminiscent of our youth as Mighty Ducks.  (Side note: it was actually pretty good.  At one point a goat kicks a soccer ball, and my daughter thought it was HILARIOUS!)

It didn’t take too long to cut, but the pieces for “Sweatsuit G” were ridiculous. I think 3 of the like 6 were nested, but the lines were atrocious.  Super confusing.  And this coming from a woman who traces off Burda patterns like a pro.  Then I sat down to sew it up this afternoon. I maybe have a couple hours all in all.  Which, I suppose, is worth saving the $40+ it probably would have cost to buy such a thing ready made.

The only other con with this pattern is the sizing.  I have a 15 pound shih tzu, whose girth is like 18″ and length I think was somewhere around 15.” And yes, add that to the ridiculousness of this whole thing, I had to measure the dog.  It said she should wear a large or extra large. I looked at the pattern pieces and thought, “There is no way. That would swallow her whole.” I made a medium.  It fits her just fine. I might lengthen it a bit if I make it again, maybe an inch.

 It has you making one placket sort of thing for a velcro closure, but I accidentally cut 2, and sewed both on. And again, its fine. I got to use a snazzy stretch hem stitch on my new machine.  That was sort of cool, I guess.

It is keeping her cozy, and that’s what I wanted.  She hasn’t worn clothes since we’ve had her, so I wasn’t sure how she’d handle that, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

And I have to be a little proud of myself for the timeliness of it. Its really getting cold here. I bought the pattern and fabric on Friday, cut it on Saturday, sewed it up and blogged it on Sunday.  That NEVER happens! The pictures are yucky, but someone didn’t want to be still for her photo shoot.:-)

– because every dog needs a coat with set in sleeves…-