Information on How to Make Hats for a Dog

Dogs are often referred to as man's best friend, and yet many dogs go under-protected from the elements in winter months. It's important to keep your dog--especially small dogs--warm in cold temperatures. According to Cool Cosmos, larger warm-blooded animals can generate more heat than they lose and more easily keep their body temperatures stable. Smaller warm-blooded animals lose heat more quickly. One way to keep your dog warm is by making a hat to protect your dog's sensitive ears.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Sweater sleeve - adult or child, cut from the sweater at the shoulder
  • Scissors
  • Straight pins
  • 1/2-inch elastic
  • Sewing machine
  • Thread
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure, with the tape measure, from the side of your dog's head about 2 inches below the left ear, over the top of the head, and down to below the right ear. Add 2 inches to this measurement.

    • 2

      Spread a sweater sleeve, cut at the shoulder from a sweater, flat on a table. Do not cut the sleeve open. Dogs' ears are thin. According to Family Education, a dog's feet, ears and--depending on his size and coat--other body parts are susceptible to frostbite. Frostbite occurs when a part of the body freezes. Recycling a sweater sleeve provides a double-layer of warm material from which to construct a dog hat.

    • 3
      Frostbitten skin may look burned.

      Measure and cut the sleeve according to the previous measurement.

    • 4

      Fold the ends of the sweater sleeve under 1 inch and tuck inside of the sleeve "tube." Pin.

    • 5

      Measure from 2 inches below the dog's left ear, under the chin/throat, and to 2 inches below the right ear. Divide this number by two and add 1 inch to the measurement. You are constructing the hat's chinstrap that will hold the hat onto the dog.

    • 6
      The hat is secured onto the dog with an elastic chin strap.

      Cut a piece of elastic according to the previous measurement. Center one end of the elastic on one pinned end of the sweater tube, inserting it 1/2 inch into the tube. Pin the elastic inside of the sleeve/hat. Repeat for the other end of the elastic and the other end of the hat/sleeve tube.

    • 7

      Sew, using a straight stitch and a 1/4-inch seam allowance, horizontally, across the pinned end of the hat/sweater sleeve, securing the elastic chinstrap inside of the hat. Remove pins as you sew. Repeat sewing for the other side of the hat/elastic.