How to Make Quick & Easy Dog Sweaters

If you have a dog and you live in a cold climate, chances are your poor pup gets the chills when the weather cools off. Make quick and easy dog sweaters for your beloved companion, so you will always have something cozy to put on it when it's time to take a walk in the brisk air. You can even make several of these coats for your dog, so it can be stylish every day of the week.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Fleece fabric
  • Washable fabric marker
  • Scissors
  • Sewing machine or needle and thread
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure your dog for its custom-made dog sweater. Take the measurement of the circumference of its neck, add 1 inch and call this measurement A. Measure around the widest part of its body, add 1 inch and call it measurement B. Measure the length of its back from its collar to the point where you want the coat to stop; call this measurement C. Measure the distance on its chest between its front paws; call this measurement D. Measure the distance from its neck to the center of its front paws on its chest; call this measurement E.

    • 2

      Lay out a piece of fleece fabric on a table or other work surface. Use a fabric marker or pen to draw a horizontal line at the top of the fabric; the line should measure the width of measurement A. Now measure vertically down from the center of this line and place a dot at the point where you reach measurement C. At this point, draw a horizontal line the width of measurement B; try to center this line with the first line you drew. Draw a line from the right edge of the first line to the right edge of the second line; do the same with the left edges. You will have a sort of triangular shape now.

    • 3

      Cut out the shape you have made in the fleece and fold it in half lengthwise with right sides facing. Use a sewing machine or a needle and thread to sew a seam all the way down the long side of this piece, sewing through both layers of fabric to close the open sides. Turn this piece right side out, and you will have a fleece tube that has a slightly larger opening at one end than it does at the other.

    • 4

      Lay the tube out flat with the center seam centered on the top of it. Measure down from the smaller opening of the tube to the center of it, making your measurement the length of measurement E. This is your center point; from this point, measure out half of measurement D to the left and put a mark. Measure half of measurement D to the right and place another mark. Open up the tube and cut a slit in the position of each of the marks you just made; now cut another slit to make an "X" shape. These will be the arm holes of your sweater.

    • 5

      Pull the sweater over your dog's head and fit it over its arms. Check the underside; if the sweater comes down too far, make a mark on the sweater at the point where it needs to stop. Take the sweater off the dog and cut off the extra fabric from the underside of the tube. You may need to add a few more stitches to the center seam to make sure it does not unravel if you have cut through it.