How to Make Cute Dog Clothes for Girl Dogs
Clothes for pet dogs of every size are widely available on the market, but making dog clothes of your own gives you complete control over the fabric and design. Especially if you want to create personalized "girly" attire for your female pet, custom-made dog clothes are the only option. You don't have to be an experienced knitter, as you can make simple dog clothes using ordinary T-shirts or jumpers and basic machine-stitching skills.
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Choosing the Right Garment
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The type of garment you choose for this craft depends on the reason you are making these clothes in the first place. If you want to make a coat to keep your dog warm during winter strolls, then use a cotton jumper, while if you just want to make your female dog look fashionable, use a normal T-shirt. Elastic fabric is acceptable, but ensure the T-shirt or jumper is not too tight on your pet, restricting her movements. As you want to make "girly" clothes, use primarily shirts or jumpers of pink, yellow and other bright colors.
Determining the Right Fit
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Cut around the T-shirt or jumper neck with a sharp pair of scissors. Put the T-shirt or jumper on your dog, making sure her front legs go through the sleeves. The coat must cover the dog from the neck to the flank, while the sleeves must cover just the forearms of the dog's front legs. Draw lines with a marker on the shirt or jumper to determine the position of the flank and the position of the forearm on each leg. Also, grab the shirt from the dog's back and lift it upwards until the shirt embraces the dog's pouch. Cut off the fabric extending over the dog's back with a pair of scissors.
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Stitching the Coat
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Remove the shirt or jumper from the dog and cut across the flank and forearms marker lines with a pair of scissors. Use safety pins to hold together the part covering the dog's back. Gently wear the coat on the dog again to see if it fits well. If it is too large, repeat the process of lifting the back and cutting the excess fabric, while if it is too small, you will need another shirt. However, if it does fit well, remove the coat from the dog, take away the safety pins and machine stitch the coat's back.
Decorating the Outfit
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Applying fabric glitter glue or liquid pearls on the dog's coat is an easy decorating method. All you have to do is to write words -- the dog's name for example -- or design shapes, such as stars, on the coat and wait until the glue dries on the fabric. In addition, you can cut out shapes or letters from old T-shirts or even from felt sheets and machine stick them on the coat. For more ambitious designs, hand-sew colorful 9/16-inch -- 16 mm -- pompoms on the coat.
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References
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- Photo Credit Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images
