Dog clothes and accessories are so popular nowadays. There are many doggy boutiques you can find in both big cities and small towns, offering cute duds that cater to your beloved pet. Making dog clothes is easy, even with limited sewing skills you can make cheap dog clothes, be it a dog sweater or an entire wardrobe, for doggy. The nice thing about learning how to make dog clothes is that you can start with simple items and then go on from there. You can also practice with leftover scraps of material or yarn so that it does not have to cost you anything but time.
Making dog clothes is also a good business to start right out of your own home. You can sell them locally, at a flea market, or online using a site like eBay. The trick is to make dog clothes for all different sized dogs and then charge a little less than the big companies. You can also advertise your services to make customized dog clothes. This means that customers can contact you with ideas of their own. You can use those ideas to make the clothing for the customer.
Possible Dog Clothing Ideas
You can make the following clothes for dog: hats, dresses, short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, boots, Christmas outfits, sweaters, coats, rain gear, beach wear, sporting gear, Halloween costumes, pants, shorts, pajamas, robes, shoes, wedding attire, and even capes. It helps to view some of each of these options as they will give you ideas to work with. You may take the basic idea and then add your own twists to it.
Materials needed:
- Fabric, approximately a yard per outfit
- Fabric accessories (beads, buttons, fabric paint, Velcro, etc.)
- Measuring tape
- Patterns
- Sewing supplies (fabric glue, paper, pencil, needle, etc.)
Procedure:
- Sketch your desired pattern. You can find ideas on the Internet—check out http://sewing.circleofcrafters.com, http://www.make-and-build-dogstuff. com—and just tweak them into your own!
- Prepare your fabric. Just be sure the material is comfortable for the dog, durable, and washable. To save money, you can also use old clothes you have around to the house. Shop around for desired accessories and details you want to add to the outfit.
- Using a measuring tape, get measurements around the neck, across the chest (from inner front left leg to inner front right leg), leg, and inseam measurements. The pattern you selected will determine any other measurements you might need.
- For an easy shirt pattern, fold a piece of fabric in half, lengthwise, and lay it on the table. Measure the dog from across the shoulders, and measure half of that number onto the top edge of the fabric and draw a line. Be sure it curves, as this part of the shirt will go around the neck.
- Measure from the side neck area to the top front leg area and draw the measurement onto the fabric.
- Measure from the nape to the mid-back area, adding a couple of inches for hemming, and draw this measurement down the fold part of the fabric.
- Measure around the dog’s waist, and draw half of that measurement onto the fabric.
- Then, measure from the midback area to just under the front leg and draw this measurement onto the fabric.
- Finally, measure around the top portion of the dog’s front leg.
- Cut the shirt pieces, and sew the garment together—attach the front and back shoulder area, hem the neckline, sew the opposite shoulder pieces together, hem both armhole openings, sew one side seam, hem the bottom, then sew the other side seam. The shirt is now complete!
Tips:
- Materials are available in fabric stores as well as in Divisoria.
- There are two things you may consider when choosing fabric to outfit your dog. First, the fabric shouldn’t be too heavy. Second, choose fabric based on style. For example, find some fabric with Snoopy on it. This would be perfect for a Beagle. If you are making a Christmas outfit, use some red fabric with white trim.
- Once you get use to following a pattern, you will be able to improvise and create your own.
- Consider using Velcro instead of buttons or snaps. This will make it much easier to get clothes on and off your dog, and the Velcro is very secure.
- Use your old clothes to make your dog clothes. Many people take their old sweat suits and cut out a pattern for their dog. This method is a great way to practice recycling while saving money at the same time.
Sources: ehow.com; Photos: glamourdog.com