I have a toy poodle, and it seems like he's always cold here in Colorado. I have knitted, crocheted, and even sewed him many warm dog shirts, and it takes time. Thankfully, I have found a quick, easy, inexpensive way to make him shirts out of old clothes, and they are now the most comfortable clothing he has.
While shopping at a thrift store last winter, I saw so many cheap sweaters and sweatshirts for sale, some very soft. They were cheap, from $0.25 to $2.00. I was wishing that I could use them for something. What a bargain! But I had enough sweaters for a lifetime.
Touching the sleeve of a very soft sweater, I realized suddenly that the sleeve was about the size of my poodle. I could cut off the sleeve, cut holes two holes in it, and I'd have a great dog shirt for my little guy! So I bought two of the softest sweaters and took them home. Each sweater has two sleeves, so you get two easy dog shirts! And, of course, this also works well for cat clothing.
This is what I did to convert them into dog shirts:
Cut off, or undo the seams of the sleeves where they meet the body of the sweatshirt or sweater. You'll see that where the sleeve joins the sweater, the sleeve is shaped perfectly for the top back of the dog shirt. The holes for the front legs will go close to this end.
Hold the detached sleeve up against your dog. Measure where you should cut it off to fit your dog properly. Remember that you should leave room to fold the wrist-end of the sleeve down, as this will be the turtleneck of the dog shirt. The neck will seem extremely long, but it will fit fine on your dog. I haven't had to cut off any of the sleeves I've used, just folded them down around the neck.
Using a sharp scissors, cut slits where your dog's front legs will go through.
Try it on your dog to make sure it fits correctly. Make any changes you need to make so that the sleeve fits your dog comfortably.
If the new sweater is made of a material that could unravel, sew down the leg openings and cut ends so that it will not unravel. If you are an experienced seamstress, You can use pieces of the body of the sweater to create short sleeves.
Decorate the dog shirt if you'd like, with embroidery or applique.
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