Fleece Dog Sweater

Dog wearing the sweater.I made this pull-on sweater for my dog to wear while laying around camp after a wet day of hiking. The design features a band collar (mock turtleneck type), large leg holes for free movement, and a shirt tail to cover the rump. Although the pattern can be scaled to fit your dog and fleece is stretchy, the tube-type construction of this sweater makes it hard to put on and take off of large dogs. This pattern is more suited to medium-sized and smaller dogs. For larger dogs, I suggest using a coat-style pattern that lays like a blanket across the back and closes with straps under the tummy and across the chest. Look in Other Resources for such a pattern. Many of the sweaters for greyhounds have this type of construction. Size:
This pattern fits a 40 lb short-haired female mixed breed with

• * Neck circumference: 17"
• * Girth at chest: 27"
• * Waist circumference: 21"
• * Body length (collar to tail): 24"
• * Chest width (shoulder to shoulder): 5"

Materials:

• * 1 yard of polyester fleece material, 200 weight
• * thread to match
• * Optional: matching or contrasting lycra material for binding

Cut: One of each pattern piece Instructions: (seam allowance is 1/4" for a plain seam or 1/2" for a top-stitched seam)

• * With right sides together, stitch BACK shoulders AB to CHEST shoulders AB.
• * Match BACK side CD to CHEST side CD and sew right sides together.
• * Repeat 1st and 2nd steps for the other side of the sweater.
• * With right sides together, fold COLLAR crosswise and sew ends EF together.
• * Turn COLLAR to right side.
• * With the right side out, fold COLLAR to match raw edges.
• * Match COLLAR out side to sweater body right side and sew together.
• * Finish the sweater with either a 1/4" or 1/2" hem or a lycra binding.

Suggestions: *

• If you are making this sweater for a male dog, you may want to make the curve deeper on the tail end of the pattern to expose more of the tummy area.

Pattern Pieces:

• * Seam allowances are NOT included.
• * Grid Scale: 1 square = 1 inch