For a dyed in the wool cat lady, I’ve really been doing some dog posts! But Zac & Reg are the cutest dogs of all time! I’ve got lots of posts about them (like when they joined the family and them getting their dog on at Holdfast Dog Centre) and I’ve sewn for them before (this awesome dog bed). And since they are loving their time with other dogs at Holdfast Dog Centre, we wanted to make sure they’re super comfortable. Other dogs and outdoor areas can mean fleas and ticks but these cuties are protected by Frontline. We have found it the easiest & most effective way to keep our furries safe & clean, I mean they even send you free text reminders! So all we need to protect them from is this crazy cold spell. And that’s means cute dog coats! Seriously, these two in their coats – you could die of cute! And if you want to make your own, I have this handy tutorial…..
I removed the front of the shirt from the rest of the shirt and centered the pattern over the placket, making sure that the snap buttons were far away enough from the edge and not in the seam allowance. Once it was pinned down I simply cut it out. Cat photo bombs all the way!
I decided to incorporate the collar so I marked my seam allowance out on the collar stand and trimmed it down. I didn’t want the collar to go all the way around the neck, so I pinned it on and marked where it should stop. I cut two pieces this length from the collar.
Since I now had a raw edge, I cut a 1 1/2 inch wide piece of fabric from the scraps and pressed it to form something resembling bias tape (if your not sure, read this). I used that to bind the raw edges. I pinned the collar pieces on and then basted them to make everything easier. That’s the outer fabric for Reg done!
In a continuation of fixing our mistake, I cut the cuffs of the shirt, worked out how much they crossed over when buttoned, added seam allowance and the amount of extra needed and chopped. I turned the raw edge 1/4 inch to the wrong side and stitched it down. I aligned that edge with the elastic, right sides together and stitched a small seam. I folded the cuff piece down, so it was an extension of the elastic and topstitched it down so there were no raw edges. And ta da! Belly straps with a spiffy elasticated, pearl button snap closure! Yay! And yay for screwing up because this is much nicer that the original plan. The comfiness of elastic coupled with a cute closure. And I get to prove to you, once again, that I make mistakes because I’m only human. As the saying goes, ‘To err is human, to forgive is canine’!
And they ran and jumped and played! And we knew that they were protected by Frontline and by their new, spiffy coats! Then like every good fairy story, the came home to their good and gracious Queen and rested peacefully. The End.
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