Make a Dog Sweater from an Old Human Sweater

We have a long-haired Chihuahua, and even though he's pretty big as far as Chihuahuas go, he's a little dog and gets cold pretty easily. He has made it clear that the past few mornings have been much too cold for his tastes by shivering for several minutes after he comes back in from outside.

We decided to make him a doggie sweater from an old sweater I'd kept for craft projects. It's mostly cotton and not the most attractive sweater around, so I thought it'd be perfect for our sweet little dog.

For a small dog like ours, one sleeve is all that is needed, so there is plenty left over for a purse, hat, or other project.

To get started, measure your dog's neck size and then measure around the small end of the sleeve (stretched) to ensure it will fit over his or her head. Then, measure from the base of the neck (collar) down the back as far as you want the sweater to go. Cut that length of sleeve.

Cut the sleeve open, leaving approximately 3" at the narrow end intact.

At this point, you'll want to do a test fit to double check the neck size and length down the dog's back.

Now, go back to the sweater and remove the rest of the sleeve you've already cut.

This will fill in the chest and upper stomach area of the sweater, so do a rough fit and cut two leg openings in the piece. Try it on your dog to make sure the leg openings are wide enough.

Take both pieces off your dog and sew them together by placing them right sides together, then sew down each side. I used a narrow length, wide zigzag stitch to ensure that the sweater doesn't fray.

Finish off all the edges, including the leg holes, with a narrow length, wide zigzag stitch. You could also hem the edges for a more finished look, or if you're a perfectionist. (I am not, obviously.)

Our dog is a male who squats like a girl when he pees, so I didn't want the sweater to come down very far on his stomach. If you have a girl dog or a boy who pees with his leg up, you could use a wider second piece for more coverage.

It isn't the most attractive doggie sweater I've ever seen, but he definitely likes it. We can just call this his "staying in" sweater, and we'll make him a prettier one for going out on the town.