Thursday, January 3, 2013

Doggies Get Cold, Too: A No Sew Dog Sweater



Oh, Emily. You would be AMAZED at the amount of food this tiny little thing can put away. She has the metabolism of a fifteen year old supermodel with a coke problem. However, because she's so tiny and not particularly furry she really suffers in the cold. Over the years I've bought her little dog coats and sweaters to keep her warm.

And they ARE cute.

This adorable sweater features cute cuffs and cableknit. And the little doggie turtleneck? The cuteness is almost to much.


This hoodie sweater is also killing me with cuteness. The stripes! The hood!

I like everything about these adorable doggie sweaters from Amazon except for the price tag! Between $15 and $20 for a tiny little sweater. I just can't.

So here's the sweater Emily's been sporting since last winter.


Cute, right? A nice warm sweater with some cute little details.

The difference? It was free. And now I'm going to teach you how to make no sew, upcycled dog sweaters.

I started with an old gray cardigan. It was damaged, and therefore a candidate for upcycling. 



First I cut off the sleeve.

Then I trimmed the neck, since last winter's dog sweater is a turtleneck, I decided to mix up it this year.



New, unfinished sweater on the left; last year's sweater on the right.


Then I tried it on Emily (a super patient dog who lets you do crazy things to her without retaliation is key here. With most dogs I'd just measure them).

I marked where Emily's paws were so I could cut the arm holes.


Small snips create the arm holes.

Now I trim the sweater down to the appropriate length.



Ta-da! You can stop here. On Emily's original sweater I stitched out the arm holes. On this sweater I simply grabbed a lighter and lightly singed the armholes and hem to prevent fraying.

Does anyone else have a simple pattern (or great upcycling idea) for dog clothes?

Find this post at A Glimpse Inside, Two Yellow Birds Decor, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Seven Alive, Glued to My Crafts, Navy Wifey Peters





15 comments:

  1. CUTE.

    I also really love how Emily is sitting there judging you while you try it on her lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh. She was totally judging me. For her patience she was richly rewarded with treats!

      Delete
  2. " She has the metabolism of a fifteen year old supermodel with a coke problem. " BAHAHAHAHA! I love it. Your sweaters are much cuter than mine. I just make them wear felt with holes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Emily is a lot smaller so I have more options! But I thought their felt outerwear was cute.

      Delete
  3. Oh my! that is awesome. I was envisioning a giant new wardrobe for The Beagle, but I'm thinking she is probably too big for sweater sleeve sweaters (she's about 19 pounds). Maybe if I buy giant sweaters at the thrift store? but then they're probably not much cheaper than buying dog sweaters at Home Goods. But...recycling!

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  4. I want to experiment with bigger dogs! I kind of think they could just wear thrifted (or, in your house, outgrown) kid's sweaters with maybe a little surgery on the neckline.

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  5. OK, this as cute as it gets. Hope it's OK with you but I am featuring this post on my new blog "Puppies-Puppies". It'll be on our FB page, too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Too cute! My husband hates clothes on dogs. I did just buy a vest for Ike. The husband actually puts in on him. I die every time. I may need to try this out!

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  7. Super cute and looks easy. Gotta try one for my pooch. New follower. Follow me too at http://www.sewsweetvintage.com/2013/01/diy-dollar-hats.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for linking up at Submarine Sunday last week. I have featured this cute doggie sweater at this week's party! Come on over and grab a featured button, and feel free to link up again soon!

    T'onna @ Submarine Sunday #14
    http://navywifeypeters.blogspot.com/2013/01/submarine-sunday-14.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme.
    Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
    Plz reply as I'm looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. thanks

    Feel free to surf to my web page todocervantes

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sometimes, we realize that our pets are as sensitive towards the change in climatic conditions as much as we do, so we must not forget buying warm jumpers for dogs that fits them right, and help protecting from extremely cold weather.

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  11. I love the practical and cute doggie no-sew sweater idea! I have a 50-lb Australian Cattle dog. I could get his head through the head-hole of an adult's sweater, but then I'd have to cut & sew the existing sleeves then cut out new arm holes for him. With winter setting in, I'd better come up with something soon. Thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You have such nice post, I liked this type post, Please share more about it, Good luck!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting (it makes me feel less like I am just over here, talking to myself!). Comments are approved as quickly as possible. Seriously, I am trying to teach Emily to approve comments.

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