Good Afternoon All!
I have something for the sewists today - and especially those with a dog. I have been thinking for some time about making Sally a bathrobe and today I actually got my act together and I have made it. Looks good too although madam doesn't agree. Could mean a bath......
Have a look and see and then I will tell you how I got to this point!
Not a terribly flattering photo of the dog but let's concentrate on the bathrobe and I will point out its features.
It is made from a bath towel so it is cheap and very thirsty on a wet dog. it has a 'snood' (the hood bit) which is superb for drying ears. It has a wide belt with hook and loop tape to fasten and that means it stays put but there are no fiddly closures. It is washable and a lot more robust than it looks. But choose the towel carefully. I am disappointed with my choice which is zippering already. Some of the velour type towels are better I think.
So what will you need? Firstly, a bath towel in the colour of your choice and big enough to fit your dog. You will also need some printed cotton fabric for the trims, some hook and loop tape, wide elastic, brown paper and a pencil and your usual hand and machine sewing needs.
There is no actual pattern for this, I will show you how to make your own. take a tape measure and measure along your dog's back from neck to tail. Now measure the length to the dog's knees. Finally, measure the length from the middle of the chest to the tail. Transfer these measurements to a piece of brown paper. Mark a curve for the neck and you should have a pattern which looks something like this....
I have rounded the back section off too but this is only a design feature and serves no practical function.
Cut out the coat, placing the top of the pattern (the neck to tail measurement) on the fold of the fabric.
Sew the front (chest) seam down and try it on the dog.
I have put some darts at the neck for shape too. Sew these as well.
Not a happy camper! But very patient all the same. She shall have salmon........
The snood is made from a tube which extends about half way up the dog's face.
Use the patterned fabric to make a casing for the elastic. The width will depend on the width of the elastic and the wider, the more comfortable it is.
Machine sew this and then add the elastic and slip stitch closed.
Next, make the belt. I cut a piece of cotton fabric about 15 cm wide and as round as the dog plus another half.
Fit it on the dog to find a good and comfortable place for it to sit and pin it carefully in place. position the hook and loop tape too.
Sew that all on and then make some bias binding from the cotton fabric to bind the edge.
Neaten off any stray threads and consider stabilizing the inner raw edges too, depending on which sort of towel you have chosen.
Now we are back to the first photo again - a disgruntled dog in a bath robe! Trust me, these robes are worth their weight in gold! The dog can shake all she likes and the furniture will not get wet and the dog doesn't get cold. She will dry in half the time!
Looks cute too!
Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!
Love and hugs
Debs
xxx
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