How to Make a Fall Sweater for Your Dog

For all of the sewing lovers out there who are looking for something to spark your creativity, look no further! Making sweaters for your dog is a fun way to get ready for the cool weather and get you in the spirit!

Here is how to make a fall sweater for your dog.

Supplies

• Velcro
• Flannel – Make sure you get a fabric that is machine washable!
• Measuring Tape

Measuring Your Dog

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes so measuring your dog will be an important first step. The places you will want to measure will be:

• Around the neck where their collar sits
• Around the chest approximately two inches behind the front legs
• From the top of the neck to the tip of the tail
• From one side of the ribs to the other

Creating Sweater Patterns

Now that you have all of the necessary measurements, you are ready to create your sweater pattern. The easiest way to create your pattern is to do it so that it is cut on the fold. This way you only need to draft half of the pattern.

The first step is to draw your first line across the top of the paper. This line should be the length of your neck measurement with an extra 8 inches added.

Then, draw a line going down from the left-most point of your first line. This line should be the length of your neck-to-tail measurement minus 2.5 inches.

Next, starting at the bottom point of your neck-to-tail measurement, take half of the width of the back of your dog and draw a line at the bottom of the pattern.

After that, draw a straight line from the end of the back measurement to the top line. From the right side of the top line, draw down 2.5 inches to give you your strap. Draw a line to connect the bottom of this line to the line you drew in the previous step.

Then, draw 3 inches, or more if you have a bigger dog, down and draw another 2.5-inch strap. Your pattern should look like a long rectangle with two rectangles jutting out to the right side for the straps.

Making the Sweater

Now comes the time to cut your sweater out. Place the fold line onto the fold of your fabric and cut the pattern out two times. One if for the outside and one is for the lining.

Place the two pieces together with the right sides facing each other. Sew around the majority of the perimeter of the sweater, leaving 4-5 inches of an opening to turn the piece out.

Turn the piece out and press all of your corners and seams so they are nice and flat. Press the opening under 1/4 of an inch to create a  hem and top-stitch the opening closed.

Finally, add velcro to the straps so that the sweater will stay on your pooch. You may have to make a few tweaks to make sure it fits your pup perfectly and then your sweater is all done!

We hope Fido loves its new sweater! Happy Fall!