By Carol Duvall
Now here's a cute idea for you dog lovers and owners . . . especially for those who live in the cold-in-the-winter territory. Our little doggie coats were designed and made by my friend Pamela Toache, who owns two dogs--one of them the little poodle that modeled for us. Pam also made some of the coats for her larger dog Penny, but Penny isn't as well behaved as Java the poodle, so she got cut from making a television appearance even though the coats looked lovely on her! Materials: felt or other fabric of choice*
large piece of kraft paper or newspaper for a pattern
pencil
scissors
sewing machine Steps: 1. Measure dog from his neck at the back of his head to his tail (figure A) then draw a circle with a diameter measuring the length onto kraft paper. Penny measured 15 inches so a 15-inch circle was drawn on the paper. 2. Draw a second circle exactly one-half the diameter of the first (7-1/2 inches) touching the outside of the first circle (figure B). 3. Draw a straight line from the outside edge of the larger circle at the middle point straight ahead until it is even with the middle of the smaller circle. Draw a vertical line from the outside edge of the smaller circle to the extended line on the larger circle. Repeat on the opposite edges of the circles (figure C). 4. Mark a dot on the outer edge of the smaller circle positioned 1/2 inch on the other side of the centerline. Make a dot on the line extending from the larger circle 1/2 inch on the inside of the centerline on the small circle. Draw a line between the two dots. Repeat on the other side of the circles (figure C). 5. Cut out pattern (figures C and D) and trace onto two fabric pieces. Felt was used on the coat demonstrated on the show using two different colors. Cut out the fabric pieces (figure E). 6. Fold each fabric piece in half lengthwise wrong sides facing out. Stack the folded pieces on top of one another, and taking a 1/2-inch seam, sew the two slanted sections together (figure F). Press the seams open. 7. Flip the top layer of fabric right side out over onto the other piece so the right side of both pieces is out (figure G). Sew the two pieces together either by hand or machine using a decorative stitch such as the blanket stitch. 8. Put the coat on the dog and measure the distance under his belly. Make a fabric tab slightly longer than this measurement. Stitch one end to the coat (figure H) and attach the other end with a snap or piece of Velcro. 9. The coat is done, but if you want to add a collar as we did to our red and black felt coat (figure I), trace around the neck opening on the pattern, making it 1/2 inch shorter on each end to allow for the hem that was taken on the coat. Draw another line two inches away from the first and draw lines at each end to connect the two. Cut two fabric pieces, stack and blind stitch together. We used a poodle fabric with a plain backing (figure J).
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