Braided Dog Coat by Chrysalis Leigh OK everybody, this is my first attempt at writing a pattern and I m still a newbie quilter. So, please read all the way through before you begin. If you are more experienced than I am, you might want to go in a different order or be able to make a few short cuts, or a few embellishments that I don t have the skill for yet. You should know that I have two dogs (Daisy and Charlie) and although they are both considered small, they have very different measurements. This pattern will work for all sizes of dogs, of course the fabric requirements will change with the size. I made a coat for Daisy first but only took a few pics to help my process. This pattern is based off of Charlie s coat, but I will include photos of both and point out the differences, so you can adjust for your own furry friend. So, here we go What you need: 15 Jelly roll strips 3x44 (Cut in half) 1 Fat quarter 10inch length of 1 wide Velcro
Measuring tape Brown paper bag or newspaper or something to draw a pattern on About 4 hours of free time Let s start with the pattern. I recommend you custom fit yours to your dog so it looks more natural. You can also decide at this point how much coverage you want. I wanted something to use for walks in the snow. So I wanted it to cover their entire sides. Grab a measuring tape, your pup and something to take notes on. Take down these measurements: 1. Base of the dog s neck, along the spine, to the base of the tail 2. Width wise across the hips and down the sides of the back legs 3. The same way over the shoulders and down the front legs 4. On the chest area, from where the collar his at the bottom of the neck down the length of the chest to the point it starts to curve under 5. Under the belly to mid way up each side (You will see that Daisy is much longer than Charlie and I decided that two belly straps would be better than one) Now, consulting the photos below, make marks depicting you measurements on your paper of choice and connect the dots by drawing a large U. On the top of the U the width will be determined by the chest measurement. Then draw a smaller u to connect those two marks. I left a little extra length on every end of my pattern when I cut it out so I could fit it around my dogs to make sure I was on the safe side of out of control scissors. Once you ve got the pattern figured out it s time to start your braiding. Take two of your strips and cross the ends right sides together. Then sew on the short end as seen in the photo below.
Here s where you decide if you are going to iron between each step or when you are finished. I just ironed at the end and paid attention as I added each strip to hold the seams flat, either open or to one side (I chose open). So open flat what you have just put together and add another strip to the opposite side, this time sewing the entire length. I like to picture this as climbing a mountain. Repeat until you have enough to cover your pattern. You ll notice in the top of the photo with Charlie s pattern the center is not connected. This is because I was able to salvage some already completed scraps from Daisy s coat to make Charlie s. Now take a second to iron out your seams if you haven t already.
Now it is time for the backing fabric. For Charlie I was able to get away with a single fat quarter. Daisy has a little more love in her hips. So I had to add a little more width and length by using an additional strip where needed. I then trimmed off the edges to make it more manageable. But for each dog I did it different. For Daisy s I traced the pattern and then cut a wide berth around it. For Charlie s I just cut to the size of the fat quarter. Then make your quilt sandwich using your choice of batting (I used two layers of thin batting for the snow) and baste and quilt to your preference and skill.
At this point you need to stop and make the straps and your binding. The binding for both Daisy s and Charlie s coats took four additional strips; I chose to make one continuous strip alternating colors. For the straps you will be building two pieces that will Velcro under your dog from each side. Each piece should reach all the way across to the other side so there is plenty of overlap. Take two strips and fold them in half right sides together. Pin or hold a piece of batting on one side and sew down the edges, tube style. Then turn them right side out and add a few lines to quilt them together. Alright back to your pattern. Trace your pattern onto your quilted braid. Then pin the straps where the pattern indicates. Sew down the binding on the top of your quilt following the traced lined and skipping the sections where the straps are.
Trim off the excess and complete the binding. Mark the straps where the edge of the coat is and trim off the excess leaving about an inch of strap on the other side of the line. Tuck the raw edges of the coat into the coat. Fit the straps inside and sew together a few times for strength (You can use a zigzag stitch or any other of your choice to add interest). Now if you have quilted in this area you might need to pull up a few stitches. No big, just make sure you reinforce the quilting when you re done. Last but not least, time to add the Velcro. Pin down one neck strap and one waist strap. Lay out the Velcro as shown below and sew it into place. It will help if you keep the soft sides of the Velcro on the same side of the coat. Also the soft Velcro on the waist strap should be as close to the edge of the coat as possible while the rough Velcro should be close to the end of the strap. If you d like to make the neck adjustable to a smaller size add an additional piece of Velcro an inch away from the first.
You might notice that if you have done this correctly you have made a reversible coat. Now you have options. If you are going to use this in the rain or snow I would also recommend a layer or two of scotch guard so you don t have to put it in the dryer after every walk. Additional embellishment ideas: -Of course if you can free hand a quilt pattern that coordinates with your fabric choice (in my case flowers would have been cute) it will add to the look, especially on the reverse side. I caution you to plan ahead for the space where the straps will go so you don t have to take out a lot of stitches. Of course you can get to this point and then add quilting if you d like to not risk an error early on. -You can add a popped collar with a cute edge if you d like. Create a 3 ½ x6inch quilted rectangle. If you are able, round the two ends of one of the long edges. If you want to add trim of fur or ruffles, start at the bottom (right angled) corner and follow up a short edge to a rounded corner, across the long edge to the other rounded corner and back down the other short edge to the other (right angle) bottom corner. Here s where I hope you were reading ahead. You need to pin this to the center of the neck on the little u side before you add the binding. Then attach it the same way you attached the straps. It can add a lot of interest to your coat. The reason I didn t add it is because it gets in the way of both of my dog s leashes when were on walks. If that is not an issue for you then go for it. It s also a practical addition if you use a harness. Although, if you choose to do that you will need to add a button hole for the D-ring on the harness in the center of the back of the coat. And that my friends, is up to you to figure out.
I truly hope these instructions are easy enough to follow and that your pampered pet is as happy as both of my girls are. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any clarification on the steps above. Enjoy!