I've got the Sew-ies!

I got a new sewing machine a couple days ago!  It's so exciting that I can call it my own.  I've of course been searching the house for things to make or mend.

My most recent, exciting project is a doggy raincoat made from a broken umbrella.  I didn't need much material to cover my dog, so the small red umbrella that was nothing more than a risk to eyeballs was the perfect thing.

First thing you have to do is find a broken umbrella lying around your house.  I had a small umbrella which worked well for my medium sized 24 pound beagle.  You could probably have made it with my small umbrella for a dog up to 40 pounds.  Any bigger than that and you'll need a bigger broken umbrella.

Before:  Broken umbrella

 Next, using a seam ripper I undid all the small stitches holding the umbrella to the wire frame to remove the material.  Careful not to poke holes in it!

 The tricky part is getting the top center piece off.  I tried popping it off with a screw driver only to realize all I had to do was just turn this piece counterclockwise to unscrew it!  Who knew?

Next you'll want to measure your doggy.  Now my dog, Lyna had a little bit of Benadryl today so she is a rather willing client.  You'll need to measure the length from the base of their neck down to their rump where their tail meets, the circumference of their neck, and their chest.   If your dog is overweight, now is not the time to insult them.  I added about an inch to each of those measurements because you want to leave room for hemming.

 Next, before you do the hard work, you want to make sure you've got enough material.

 This looks like it should do it.....

Then you want to either draw out your pattern or print it off.  I free-handed my pattern, but used this one as a guide:  Canine Coat.  I didn't really see the use in having that extra chest plate, so I left it out.  After cutting out my pattern and testing it around my dog before cutting the umbrella material, I had to make a few minor adjustments hence the extra material.

 This is what it will look like if you are laying it on top of your dog with its head at the top of the picture and tail at the base.  The top two points wrap around his or her neck, and the bottom two points wrap around his or her chest.

 The next part is the most difficult in my opinion.  I did a 1/2" hem all the way around the edges.  Since I'm still getting used to this sewing machine, I felt like I was driving a car for the first time.

Then you'll want to use either Velcro or a button (or even those nice hooks that they use for horse blankets) and add it to the "arms that wrap around the neck and tummy.  Here I used a spare button that I saved from a pair of pants that were being thrown out.  For the arms that wrap around the tummy, I used the Velcro from the part of the umbrella that when it is closed you wrap it around the umbrella to hold it together.  If your umbrella had a loop handle made from string or something, you could cut that off and use it as a tie also.

 Here we have the finished product:

  I tried getting her to sit up to show off her new coat, but she was still feeling the effects of the Benadryl.

I am also planning on adding a button on hood with the extra material, but haven't had the chance to do that yet.  Perhaps I can get it too loop over her ears or something so it stays on.  She'll let me do anything to her, so we'll see!