Bristol's No-Sew Fleece Vest for Dogs

Bristol is not a hot dog, by any stretch of the imagination. He seems to be more of a chilly dog, and is always looking for opportunities to get warm. He likes to press up against us on the couch, or crawl under a blanket, or take advantage of the body heat along our legs. 

Last night, I suspected he was cold when he woke up in the night, so after we came back in from outside, I covered him with a blanket in his crate. He didn't even whimper when I closed his crate; he just lay down, and went back to sleep. I knew the blanket would come off during the night, but I thought it would help as he fell asleep.

Today I was determined to make my short-haired, Sharpei mix pup a warm vest. Yes, I could buy one ready-made, but where's the challenge in that? I don't have a sewing machine, and never hope to have one again, so I needed to be resourceful. 

I kept thinking I could just adapt a child's pullover to fit my 30 pound pup, but I decided to see what suggestions I could find on the internet. There was an idea that involved using the sleeves from a man's sweatshirt, which would make two jackets, but I liked my idea better.

Child's Small (size 6) worked well for my 30+ pound pup

As luck would have it, we had just received a 25% off coupon in the mail from Goodwill, and so after I selected some stuffed toys for the puppies, I chose a beautiful turquoise fleece pullover, in size small. With my discount, I only spent $2.25.

Keep in mind, I was not going to be sewing with a machine, and certainly not by hand. I felt like the fleece would hold together pretty well anyway, but I took advantage of the interlocked seams on the fleece shirt, and cut just outside the seams along the arm holes. Then I cut below the seam across the chest, under the zipper placket, to allow plenty of space for pottying needs, and then I just cut off the front of the jacket, using the side seams as my guide. 

When I slipped it over Bristol's head, he didn't balk or mind at all. He went back to playing with his new stuffed animals. Sami, of course, wanted to bite and chew  Bristol's snazzy vest, but luckily, only did that a few times. My boy seems quite content to wear his fleece pullover; he has worn it all afternoon, during play time and nap time. 

No, it's not as fancy as the sweaters that can be bought at the specialty pet shops, but it didn't cost me much money either. Like Charles Schwarz said, "Happiness is a warm puppy." If Bristol's happy, I'm happy.