DIY Dog Couture

Designing clothes to fit dogs is a challenge, and one size does not fit all body types. The function of dog clothing must suit the activity and the environment in which the dog moves and lives, whether in town or country. 

My 13 lb. The Silky Terrier, Ziggy, is longer in the body with sturdy, broad shoulders, shorter legs, and yet is tiny everywhere else. Trying to find him a jacket that covered his back length and fit him properly through the chest was difficult to find in stores.

Ziggy loves to be fashionable and, most of all, loved!

We adopted an older dog named Ziggy (4.5 years old) from the Atlantic Small Dog Rescue. I could see right away he had not been socialized much outside of the home. Ziggy was wound up pretty tight when he arrived at my house, and with too many unsettling changes to relax, I needed to let him run. I know dogs from years of looking after other people's dogs. Once you get them outside to run and sniff, and allow them to unwind, their stress eventually calms down. 

Read about my dog fosters here.

I let Ziggy run wild and free of a leash, which took about 3 months of crashing through the wilderness, deliriously discovering his dog's greatness. At the same time, his lack of coordination would often cause him to flip and fall, but he would shake it off, get back up, and try again without any problems. 

We were also getting to know each other while building trust, which had been difficult for him in the past. There was a lot of human confusion in understanding what he was trying to say, and believe me, he has a lot to say!  

I decided to put a kitty bell on his collar so I could let him go nuts, but keep an ear on him while he was exploring the woods. I had only to whistle for him, and Ziggy would come back with crazed eyes of sparkling pure joy and wonderment. I would cringe at the sight of him crashing and smashing his way through the bush, and I thought I would need to design him a suit of armor out of tin cans!

I used up every scrap of 100% wool by tying pieces to the corners of the felted squares, creating a look reminiscent of an old quilt.

Ziggy has since come to discover that being a dog is pretty fun. After a few months of crazed freedom in the wilderness of Seaforth, Nova Scotia, he has since calmed down to a dull terrier roar and is super happy to live in Doggy Disneyland! I promised Ziggy that he would get outside to run every single day and be allowed to roam freely, connecting with nature for the rest of his precious life. 

WINTERS COMING!  I needed to make some warm clothing for him, and it had to be prickly proof, warm, and waterproof...and, of course, it had to be country-funky!

Felted Knit Slippers with SKULL button.

After making knitted felted slippers for Christmas gifts, I wanted to use up my yarn scraps and create a patchwork jacket that would work well for our wilderness adventures and keep Ziggy warm.

I started knitting scraps of wool into squares and making enough to cover the whole body. How was this going to turn out every inch of the way? Once I knitted a bunch of little squares, I washed the finished squares in hot soapy water to felt (shrink), which they did, then crocheted the squares together to make a shape that would fit him. 

The hot water rewashed the sweater, shrinking the crochet, and now it's a solid piece of shaped fabric. To add straps for his neck and belly, I created crocheted toggle buttonholes with acrylic mix wool, which does not shrink and keeps its size after washing. 

For a more firmly fitted jacket to stay snug, I added Velcro to support the wood toggle buttons, keeping it securely in place on his body when he pursues the wild pheasants. 

Felting the wool makes it a very durable jacket that is both water- and dirt-proof, and easy to put on. I can layer this coat over a thinner sweater for a super warm winter outfit.

HOW TO FELT Wool: Felting wool is trial and error, and to judge how much the wool felts, I suggest making a sample square before knitting a felted project, so you can calculate approximately how BIG to make the original knit. After shrinking a 5"x5" square, calculate how much it has shrunk. It can be shrunk even further with hot washing, but once you get the right size, no amount of stretching can make it bigger. I wash his jacket occasionally in cold water in the machine, but I take it out and stretch it to mold it back to its original shape, then let it air dry for a couple of days.

Every brand of wool will shrink differently, and the fabric must be 100% wool to achieve a felted effect. I enjoy making felt, and for his winter sweater, it will become more water-resistant, durable, and resistant to prickly underbrush, while keeping his body warm. It will also be easy to shake off snow and dirt, allowing it to hang dry. 

Ziggy chewed on the wooden toggle button around his neck, the first time he had worn it. He thought it was a great idea to add something to chew on while he waits for the humans to get geared up for the walk. ..ahhhh sew another one on!

Ziggy shaved and mat-free for spring tick season!

When a dog has long hair, wearing any kind of jacket will mat the hair eventually into a tangled mess. By the end of the season, he had to be shaved to the skin to remove his hair mats. When he is trimmed to the skin like this, and he comes screaming out of his groomers' shop hyper...I sing to him, "Looking GOOD in his SKINNY JEANS".  Also, it's tick season, and short hair is a must; we find several ticks on him every spring.

Getting into a roll with designing sweaters for Ziggy, I received many requests to create outfits for friends' dogs. I said no to everyone except my sister, Colleen, who needed a wool jacket for her Miniature Pinscher. 

Sophie rides on the back of my sister's boyfriend, Harley, which can get very cold for a short-haired dog. Sophie loves to wear her outfits all the time, so when she got my GIRLIE 100% wool designer sweater and knitted cap, she was thrilled with the comfort and the warmth of a one-of-a-kind dog sweater. She receives many smiles and compliments!

DO NOT LAUGH!!!... Sophie loves her new warm outfit, as it is cozy and vibrant, just like her!  Dog ears get very cold on the back of a motorcycle, so I designed a fitted cap that can tuck in her ears and ties snugly under her chin, preventing it from blowing off her slick hair. I made a crochet Pom Pom tie to secure under her chin.

I wanted an easy-on and off neck warmer tube that helps to cover her neck and keep the hat on her head in position, intended to keep her warm. I used my dog, Ziggy, as the model to design the neck and hat in one piece, hoping it would fit Sophie. I put a brim on the cap too, as it will filter some of the sun from her eyes. Besides, she looks pretty groovy, and if she wore her bike goggles, she would certainly get all the attention! 

I had no idea if this would fit Sophie, as I received some measurements via email and a photo of Sophie to try to gauge her shape and size. I had fun making this outfit for her, but it was all made without patterns. Let's say I do a lot of ripping out till I get what I think is right for her fit.

Ziggy is such a patient model who allowed me to use him to check out how Sophie's sweater and the hat were going to fit as I knitted. Of course, Ziggy's payment for his professional modeling services was promptly paid after each photoshoot!

I crocheted flowers and attached them to the back of the sweater, and used them as a belt loop. The strap is crocheted and features a pom-pom on the end of the tie to match the pom-pom on the hat. 

I discovered a pattern to guide me in creating Ziggy's indoor housecoat, which was later adapted for outdoor winter wear. Ziggy gets chilly in the house at times, so I thought to make this cozy sweater for him, but I found it to be too hot. I would eventually add a turtle neck and a longer back to wear it outside in the winter. 

I added a turtle neck and crocheted a tie belt, which is stitched under the belly area and ties on top easily. Later, I knitted a longer piece to add to the body length, which now covers much of his exposed skin.

I reviewed numerous free dog sweater patterns before finding one that I could easily customize to fit Ziggy's body type. I added more to the Fringed Belted sweater by adding a turtle neck and extending the body to make it longer, so he could wear this sweater outside in the cold winter. 

As it was with the open neck, it proved to be a bad design because he would literally walk his legs out of the neck area, and the sweater would be half off of him...BACK to the drawing board! 

This is the pattern I used as a guide for knitting the Fringed Belted sweater...dog sweater pattern here...

My latest dog outfit was inspired by re-purposing items around my house and using items I had on hand. I wanted to design him an outfit that had a Ghetto Street edge! I had made a pair of old stretch denim cut-offs for myself, but saved the patched bottom half of the jeans. I wanted to use it someday for a creative project. 

The bottom half of the stretchy jean legs turned out to be the perfect size, slipping over his body without any sewing. PERFECT! All I had to do to make it work as a Ghetto Jean Jacket was to cut holes out for the legs and cut an arch underbelly to fit his boyish figure! I left the neck raw and just rolled it.

I decided to add finishing trim to the leg edges and body edges, so the denim wouldn't curl up. However, I didn't want to use the new trim, as it's all about the worn, ghetto look. I dug out a worn-out dishrag that had seen better days, and it was perfectly ragged and fraying, just the way I like it. I cut strips, sewing pieces together to ensure they would fit along the outside of the denim leg holes and the body edge of the jacket.

 It's easy to hand-stitch the dish rag trim with a basic loop stitch, then take another stitch called the running top stitch to make the edges lay flat and comfortable, as well as give the finishing edge more strength. 

I save buttons from outfits that go into the recycling bin and have a nice variety of small, colored buttons of various sizes, which I sew on for added decorative detail. I had some old cotton thread kicking around, too, and roughly stitched his name ZIGGY onto the back of his styling Ghetto Jean Jacket. There is no pattern for this...I made it up as I went along, and luckily, he fit the pant leg perfectly.

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BARK BARK & smiles...Minaz & Ziggy