Making Dog Clothing

It’Making dog clothing is all over social media right now. No matter what SM version you use, you can find this topic. There are blueprints, fabric ideas, everything you need to making dog clothing.

Because so many people are out of work due to COVID-19, I can see why this is a big topic right now. Although, I’ve had a lot of people try to tell me it’s cruel to make animals wear clothing. Well, if you live in 60 degree weather, sure. But I live in Alaska. It’s not cruelty at all. It’s more cruel to NOT put them in clothes.

Needless to say, there are a ton of dog clothing ideas out there.

Why Make Dog Clothing?

Here’s the thing, if you’re out of work and it’s cold where you live, your dogs need clothes. If you choose to not dress your dog and it’s -5 F outside, you shouldn’t have a dog. Plain and simple. It’s cold. Don’t be that guy. My dogs tell me when they’re cold.

My little 2.5 lbs Chihuahua will fall over on her side from her feet being too cold. That’s in 5 minutes when it’s negative outside. My Pocket Bully will lift her paws one at a time and shiver all over. That’s after 10 minutes. So, I’m cruel to put booties on them, or sweaters? No, I’m not. But, you’re entitled to your opinion.

Most pet retailers can be expensive to buy clothing for your dogs. The vest I bought Atlas not long ago has Velcro closures. I’m not a fan of Velcro. It just doesn’t work. I ordered snap buttons from Amazon to fix it. It’ll end up staying closed with the right buttons.

What types of clothing work best?

Types Of Clothing.

I posted recently a blueprint for taking old sweaters and reusing them. It’s easy to cut the sleeve off a sweater, cut a few holes and voila, a sweater. I’ve seen people use pants. Long sleeved shirts, T-shirts even. Honestly, if you have the material, you can make anything.

Now, I’m not posting a bunch of blueprints for you. I’ll include a link to some, but there’s a lot out there. Not all dog clothing is possible though. Well, if you’re not crafty anyway. If you’re crafty, you can make it all. Booties, diapers, sweaters, vests, coats. Anything you can think up, you can make.

I’m not that crafty. I hand sew everything, so….that’s more difficult. I’ll sew buttons on the items I’ve bought my dogs already though! That’s something. Like Atlas’ diapers that she’s had since her first heat. The Velcro no longer stays. It’s very annoying to have her diaper just fall off.

What kinds of fabric work best?

Different Fabrics.

The fabric that you choose really depends on the sewing machine you have. If you’re sewing by hand, well, any fabric. But if you’re using a machine, it needs to be able to hold up to the fabric.

It’s like furniture fabric. Not all machines can handle that stuff. It’s thick and it gets caught easily. Breaks needles, etc. However, if you’re reusing your personal clothing, well, any fabric. I will note, stretchy works best. If you’re attempting to make a coat out of a coat, you need to measure, and re-measure. That’s key before you cut.

Which brings me to my next topic, where do you start?

The Basics To Making Them.

The basics to making clothing is making sure you measure your dog. Sure, you can probably get away with eyeballing it if your dog is small. Like Buttons. She fits anything. Atlas on the other hand, I would need larger clothing.

In all honesty, for Atlas, I buy children’s clothing for her. Or use my kids old clothes. But that’s not what we’re talking about today.

So, start with measuring your dog. Find that stretchy material that you can make dog clothing from. Get your blueprint that you need. This will show you where to sew. How to cut the clothing. This is important to start with this. You don’t want to just start pulling clothes and cutting it all up. Not only is that a waste of material, but you’ll just get annoyed. Frustrated.

Have a clear understanding on where to start and what fabric you’re going to use. Then, start clicking on the links to get the blueprints you need.

Final Words On Making Dog Clothing.

I know you didn’t find the actual blueprints in this article, but the links take you to them.  It’s hard to take credit when I haven’t designed them myself.  I am that person that takes a sweater, cuts off the arm, makes two little cuts and calls it good.

As far as designing the dog sweater from a flat piece of material, I can’t take credit for that. So, I’m directing you to those that have. I’m here to just share that there are ways to save a few bucks. Especially in hard, economical times like this year.

We’re all in the same boat, the broke boat. If you aren’t, kudos to you. You did it! My family? We’ve struggled this year. Ups and downs come and go. But my dogs still need sweaters, coats and vests.

And no, I don’t listen to the ones that say I’m cruel. I’m staring at 2 feet of snow on my deck as I write this. And, it’s 14 degrees F outside. That’s -10 degrees C. If I took my dogs for a walk and didn’t put sweaters on them, shame on me. I’m a bad dog parent. I might as well send my kids outside to play with no coats. Yeah, not happening.

Same for booties. Please, please, please put booties on your dogs feet. This goes for hot climates too. If your feet burn, so do theirs.

So, get out there on the net, find those blueprints. I made a sweater for Buttons out of an old sweater myself. You can find that here. If you have a big dog, use larger clothes. Cut the sleeves and make some slits for their legs. But, protection is key when it’s cold.