Homemade Dog Raincoat

Rain or Fine Dogs Must be Taken for T...

A homemade dog raincoat is a snap to make!

We're indebted to Ruth Morrison of Oklahoma for the pattern for this waterproof dog coat, as shown in the September/October 2006 issue of Handwoven magazine.
Click here for the link to the Handwoven site, then follow the directions below to find and print out a copy of her template:

note that the template is all the way at the bottom

This item can be made with either a fixed collar or a removable hood.

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HOMEMADE DOG RAINCOAT

Comet as "Little Blue Riding Hood."

MATERIALS

• Vinyl upholstery cloth or a suitable waterproof cloth
• Length = Length of your dog from head to base of tail
• Width = circumference of your dog from the neck down to behind the front legs and back up to your starting spot
• Scissors for cutting cloth
• A black marker or other fabric pen for marking cloth
• Velcro, 1-2 inches (25-50mm) wide; 14 inches (355mm) long
• Needle and thread to match the outside of the cloth

• Two to three hours
• Cost to be determined (we used leftover items from other projects)

• Measure from between your dog's shoulder blades to the top of the breastbone
• Measure along the dog's back from the collar to the base of the tail
• Adapt your dog's measurements to the pattern: each square is 1x1 inches (25x25mm)
• Comet's were easy, being exactly twice the inches shown
• Draw the grid on the underside of your cloth with a marking pen
• Transfer the design to your grid, block by block

You should now have a fairly close copy of the pattern on your cloth to make a doggie raincoat

CUTTING OUT AND FITTING THE COAT

• Cut out the design
• Have your dog stand, using a helper if need be
• Place the cut out design on your dog
• Fold the flaps the way they will be when fastened and use tape to hold them

• Note any adjustments that need to be made with your marker
• Do any additional cutting needed
• Note: The chest plate did not appear to be necessary for Comet so we cut that part off
• Fold the edges of your material over and sew a 1/4 inch (6mm) seam all the way around

• We cut pieces of Velcro 2 inches (50mm) long and trimmed the corners to make oblongs
• Feel free to cut your Velcro patches the size and shape you want
• Attach one half of each patch in the places shown, either from the photos or the paper pattern
• Sew them on, even if the Velcro is self-adhesive
• Pin the other half of the Velcro patches in the proper places and try them out. Sew them on once you're sure of correct placement

ADDING A COLLAR OR HOOD

• There's one more step to making a homemade dog raincoat and that is to add a collar or hood
• For the collar, copy the paper pattern, adapting the size to your dog's measurements
• Hem the edge, then either sew the collar onto the coat body, wrong sides together, or add Velcro (See * below)
• For the hood, copy the design from the photo or make up your own design
• Hem all the way around

• Apply Velcro in three places, on both the wrong side of the coat body and the hood
• Apply Velcro on the right side if it blends in nicely with the vinyl. Our Velcro was a dirty yellow so we hid it on the wrong side