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