They say documenting the process triples the production time. (And I work more slowly than most.)
My Nimbus was cold.
She needed a new coat, sooner than later.
As someone who has been blogging the “behind the seams” process of my Makes since 2009, my usual custom garmentmaking practice involves taking lots of “process shots” and constantly thinking about how the creation story might be told, sharing all of the twists and turns as I work my way through the custom process.
And as my students will likely tell you, I thrive on being thorough.
But for this out-of-the-ordinary weather-contingent project, I decided to make it my challenge to document the story AND keep it quick. I promise this will not become a dog blog, but it seemed stingy not to share about my Cuties and their new couture coats.
So this is my (maybe unsuccessful) attempt at being brief! Enjoy!
The Inadequate Store-Bought Coat
Nimbus, my nearly 5 year old hound/terrier mutt, loves being warm and loves wearing clothes.
The cute coat my husband Charles and I bought her a few years ago, when we mistakingly thought she was full grown, wasn’t fitting anymore, even after a couple of modifications.
And the temperatures were dropping to record lows.
To get started making Nimbus a new coat, I traced the old one as a starting point. I used these lines, while referencing her “fit photo”, to draft a new pattern that might fit her a little better and offer a slightly new style.
The Mockup
When I was happy with my first test pattern, I made a mockup for Nimbus to try on.
After some tinkering, I started letting her wear it on walks. I’d watch how it fit her as she moved around and did doggy stuff, while dreaming about design details and construction processes.
Each walk, she’d get a slightly different iteration to try out. I love messing around with mockups!
Nimbus gets a New Coat
Nimbus deserves great fabrics, which will also be a joy for me to sew. In consultation with Charles, and after careful consideration of many options, I bought enough of this delicious deadstock double faced brushed wool (and dark fleece) for at least two dog coats.
When the fabric arrived, I tested a lot of samples. And those tests told me that nearly all of my original ideas (which included wool binding and bound buttonholes…) were not going to work.
So I started letting the fabric tell me what it wanted to do!
Making a million tiny decions along the way, I decided my first coat for Nimbus would be a light jacket, using only a single layer of the thick double-faced wool fabric.
To “finish” the edges, I cut it into fringe! I cut the raw edge with pinking sheers, then used each “pink” to space out my clips.
The “finished” coat, ready for Nimbus to wear on its first test walk!
As we head out, the sunset was offering a perfect backdrop for a photoshoot of Nimbus in her new coat.
As Charles was getting out his camera, our neighbors’ very muddy dogs come running over to join us! Here’s the shot we got!
If you look closely, you can see a muddy dog running for us. (And if you look reeeeally closely, you’ll see another muddy dog running for us. )
I snatched off the coat. It’ll get ruined someday, but not on Day 1!
Here we are the next morning….
And here’s the best shot I’ve got of the final version! Nimbus loves her jackets, but does not love stopping to pose for photos.
The Second Coat
In a lot of ways, the first coat was the “wearable muslin”. I got to learn how the fabric behaved and I got to observe how the pattern worked on Nimbus’s body.
In anticipation of an imminent snowstorm, I wanted to make her a sturdier warmer version, quilted to a fleece lining.
In my earlier tests, I learned that the wool would not be a good bias binding for the edges. For the second coat, I searched my fabric stash looking for something lightweight – and I hit the jackpot! I had totally forgotten about this rosy pink linen, which I used to create one of my tops on-camera in my eCourse Top Class. I had a little leftover yardage AND some leftover bias binding!
I thought I’d be lucky to find some black fabric to turn into bias binding. This linen was an unexpected perfect pink match!
Had I found this linen earlier, I probably would have used it on the first coat and not dreamed up the fringe idea (which I LOVE). So I’m glad the story happened in this order. Happy accidents!
Here’s some random process shots while putting it together!
I was especially proud of hiding the dart in the stripe.
And the reveal!
She likes it! (But again, doesn’t really want to pose for photos.)
Scoop wants a Coat too!
Nimbus is not my only dog! About 7 months ago we adopted Scoop.
Scoop, a one year old pup, had not shown interest in clothes. But when it got REALLY cold (and after being an eye-witness of Nimbus’s various custom coat capers) he was feeling more willing to give it a try.
Nimbus’s coat fit Scoop almost perfectly! The only changes needed were to the length and placement of the strap. I wasn’t planning on making a coat for Scoop, but this seemed like a perfect snowed-in project.
As I searched my fabric stash for a suitable fabric, Scoop adorably auditioned swatches.
Sitting in my stash since 2019 has been a small piece of fabric leftover from a really cool custom wedding dress I made for a bride named Andy.
I’ve never had a single idea about what to do with this remnant before now. I would never have dreamed it would become a dog coat, but it now seemed like its destiny.
I wondered if I could change the color slightly, even though the fabric was made from mostly synthetic and metallic threads.
My swatch test knocked down the white ever-so-slightly.
I liked it ever-so-slightly better.
So I dunked my yardage in dye.
Before….
During (but don’t let it fool you)…
After = not much change. Out to dry, while Nimbus, in a sweater, keeps an eye.
Riffing on Nimbus’s patterns, I quilted the fashion fabric to the fleece.
I searched for a contrasting fabric to add some sportiness to the design. Charles helped me define Scoop’s style by incorporating a scrap of denim (leftover from a skirt I made in 2014) and a cute button.
Process shots!
The basted fitting!
And here’s the best shot I’ve got of Scoop wearing the final version!
Scoop loves his coat (and the snow)! Like Nimbus, he does not love stopping to pose for photos. Coats are for outside, and outside is for FUN (not standing around)!
For the Pattern Nerds...
All three coats were made using a variation of these custom-made pattern pieces. As you peek around them, you’ll see variations, ideas I used, ideas I didn’t use, edits, redos, notes, the fabric stickers from Mood, even a repair from when Scoop chewed off a bit of the pattern paper…
I love to see the history that a messy custom pattern has to tell!
The Fringe coat and Scoop’s coat used a separate pattern piece in the front.
Nimbus’s warm coat was made using the same pattern piece(s)…
…but in this cut-in-one “wrap” configuration. Same fit, different style.
These coats will probably last for years, so I wonder when/if I’ll use these gorgeously messy pattern pieces to make more…
Warm Pups, Warm Hearts
Charles and I are SO lucky to have each other, our wooded property, and these super-good dogs.
Yes we leash them!
1) Remember those neighbor dogs? They are part of a Roaming Dog Gang. Nimbus and Scoop would love to join. It’s a (mostly) friendly gang, but a filthy gang. Our dogs live in our house, cuddle on our furniture, sleep in our beds, wear couture coats…
2) Nimbus and Scoop both have a lot of Hound in them. IYKYK
This very friendly member of the Gang’s is (appropriately) named Kissy. She hikes with us quite a bit.
Forced to pose for a treat, here’s the best shot I could get of Scoop and Nimbus together in their coats. Warm and ready to go out hiking again!
That’s it! The longer story evolved over several weeks, involved making approximately one million little design decisions, including lots of brainstorming with Charles, and letting the fabrics tell me what they wanted. It was really fun and satisfying to have the whole family involved in my sewing projects! And my dogs have become such Couture Cuties!
Now, the snow has melted, and as I type, the dogs are barking at the window watching Kissy bring a deer leg into our front yard as a gift, and I’m ready to get back to making some clothes for myself…
I feel blessed to have this beautiful life.
Do you make clothes for your pets? Do your family members ever help with your sewing projects or design decisions? Thanks for following along this little bonus project!
NEXT POST: I’ve got some ideas, but not sure! Let me know if you have ideas for what to blog about next!
6 Responses
Love this blog! And such stylin` pooches. Nimbus with her matching leash too. Are you going to teach yourself how to make matching booties?
While making the fringe, did you cut at the valley of the pinked edges?
Did you try to waterproof the exterior part of the coats?
Thank you BrooksAnn!
Yay! Thanks for following along. I don’t know about booties, but I do have enough leftover fabric to make myself something… Maybe a matching scarf or hat?
And yes, I cut in the valley of each “pink”. It helped me keep my spacing even and it gave a cute “point” to each piece of fringe.
And no, I did not try to waterproof the coat fabrics. Didn’t even think about it! Is that something that is possible? Do you have product/method to suggest? Would it make things stiff? The pink fabric is a gorgeously super-soft brushed wool and the blue fabric is a creative mix of lots of fibers. I love the way the fabrics feel, and I suspect any waterproofing treatment would change that. But interesting to think about! Thanks for sharing the idea!
Beautiful coats! And I too have two very cold dogs and need to sew new coats for them. The velcro always undoes itself in the snow – are your coats fastened only with a button and elastic loop? Thank you, as always for the inspiration!
Yes! Great question. I have also been disappointed with velcro for dog coats, so I used buttons and elastic loops as the closures for all three of these coats. Stylish and functional! I suspect that the elastic will stretch out or break, but I also know it will be an easy thing to replace. Wrapping the strap all the way around the dog was also designed to help keep it from coming undone. So far so good! Thanks for following along!
Cool project. and good looking dog coats. I don’t have dogs, but some of your techniques would apply to garment sewing. I like the idea of using the pinked valley for fringe cut marks, but it sure looked tedious. I would think you could make waterproof coats using the same fabric the coat makers use. Maybe a thrift store upcycle?
Good idea! The dog coats I’ve made in the past (for our coonhound who lived to be 15) were all made by upcycling clothes that we were no longer wearing. This is the first time I’ve purchased fabric for a dog project. Nimbus loves luxury…
Thanks for following along!