Puppy leather jacket

Ok, so today was my first day back at school after February vacation.  I am EXHAUSTED!  I had to make a project for my "Teaching English as a Second Language" course, as well as teach my class, grade papers, etc.  I already need a day off.

So here is a project I am working on, and once it is completely finished I will be updating it.  I am modifying a small women's leather coat to fit my doggy.  He likes clothes, really he does...and it's not really leather it's pleather.  That makes it somehow less cruel and less likely to taste good to Brewer.

Step One: Rip out any type of satiny lining and then measure the dog.


Step Two: I measured him and cut the sleeves off of the jacket.  I am setting those aside to make ipod cases, as well as any other scraps I cut out.  When I am sewing he tends to think I need to pay more attention to him...so he sits on my projects.

 Step Three: I am using the front as the back and the back as the front.  I ripped the seam that held the back halves together.

Step Four: Cut out an opening for the dog's male/female parts.  I usually measure from his sternum to his neck to see how much coverage he needs.  You are going to be cutting this out from the underneath.

Step Five: Using the first piece as a pattern, I cut the panel out of the other side also.

Step Six: I pinned under all raw edges and hemmed them.  Make sure to backstitch.

Step Seven: I tried it on Brewer and pinned the shoulders where the sleeves needed to be taken in.

You are going to need to reduce the size of the armholes and angle them downwards.  It sounds hard, but if you practice you get the hang of it.  You start out by using the original thread line as a guide, and line your foot up with it.  Then sew a new line further in.  Try it on the dog. If it's still too big repeat until it fits.  Trim off excess fabric.


Step Eight: Hem sleeves.

Step Nine: Try it on dog again.  As you can see here, I still need to take it in a tiny bit.  I also am adding a velcro (not my choice, as per my husband) strip along the belly as a closure.

poor thing was sleeping during the fitting...he is a little disoriented here!