A Coat for Kaylee
Being outside is an absolute delight.
Sunny days? go outside.
Windy days? go outside.
Chilly days? bundle up, and go outside.
Rainy day? dress accordingly, and go outside.
Daytime, Nighttime, it doesn't matter. Any time is a good time to go outside when one has weather appropriate gear, and I love being outside. This means that I like to spend time playing out in the rain. While this is fine by me, it also means that puppers Kaylee will most likely be by my side in the rain for a few hours at a time.
When the rain is mixed with sleet, hail, or snow, it would be cruel to let pupper get soaked with freezing water, so I decided to make her a raincoat. :)
Trace, cut, trace, cut
A large piece of paper was wrapped over Kaylee and basic lines were drawn where the paper folded around her neck and legs. The lines were cut and then I checked again for fitment.
The process was repeater a few times until I had a rough pattern that would fold around puppers.
Cut it in half
The pattern was folded in half and cut to become the minimum pattern requirement.
Damn, look at those hella sweet left-handed scissors. glorious.
Belly Strap
Some extra paper was taped on so that there would be a flap that connects under pupper's belly.
Fabric Pattern
the paper half pattern was traced on fabic, flipped, aligned, and traced again. Then I added some
extensions for flaps that would eventually be connected with velcro.
Check the Fitment
It certainly looks like a good fit. To be fair, I have no idea what constitutes a
"good fit" when it comes to dog garments..... or human garments. :)
Cut and Sew!
The fabric pattern was traced onto waterproof canvas as well as onto a fleece blanket.
The canvas and fleece were cut, pinned together and stitched together in a rather unskilled fashion.
Fortunately, no one looking at the coat from the outside will see just how bad my sewing skills are.
Leaving a Gap
When the fleece was sewn to the canvas, the stitch was about 71/97ths of an inch from the edge of the fabric.
What? you don't like stupid fractions? join the club. It is so much easier to just say "7 or 8mm"
Anyway, the extra fleece was cut off, and the canvas was folded over the fleece and stitched again.
Done and done
We tested the coat out in the rain with some Fetch.
More Puppers
Still More Puppers
The coat seems a bit too open around Kaylee's neck. Perhaps adding a collar to the coat will help. perhaps.
Stay warm, stay dry, and go play fetch.
cheers :) jezra