Jack's Coat

Wow, I let a long time go again in between posts.

A quick catch-up!
Well, I moved again.  I ended up moving in with my boyfriend in July to Fairfield, inbetween Sacramento and San Francisco.  And the best part (besides of course seeing my handsome man everyday) is I have my own sewing room!  That's the dream folks.  It's messy right now because it's been doubling as a gift wrapping station, but I'll get a picture of it up soon. I've done some sewing, but honestly not that much.  I think I've made 2 tops and 2 dresses since I moved.  I've just  been busy!

Not only did we move in together, but we have an addition to our family:

This is Jack.  He was  my boyfriend's mom's, but he no longer fit into her lifestyle.  She knew I always loved him, and now she gets to spoil him as a grandma!

The day after Thanksgiving, we all went to chop down a Christmas tree and we brought Jack with us.  It was pretty cold, so I ended up doing this:

I love my boy so I don't mind looking like a crazy dog lady, but clearly he needed a coat! I was looking in various stores and at craft fairs and I didn't see any I liked, so to the sewing room it was!

This is McCall's 5998 in view C, minus the booties.

I also omitted the elastic.  I had seen other dog coats in my travels and I'd never seen one with elastic on the rear so I left it out.  I also didn't put the little tab with the D ring.  Instead, I plan on making a slit in the back with my buttonhole maker so I can pull the D ring of his harness through.  This is something I saw in doggy-ready-to-wear that I liked.  But I haven't done it yet because I want to practice on the fleece before I mess it up!

The fabric is a fleece from JoAnns.  It was on sale for 50% off, and then I had a coupon for 25% off.  I bought 3/4 of a yard to be safe, but I could've gotten away with less than 1/2 a yard.  It only cost me $3 though so I can't complain! The lining is a navy blue cotton I had in my stash.  I have no recollection of buying it, I must have had it for years.

Overall, this went together very easily.  The hardest part was probably just sewing with fleece.  Especially when I was attaching the velcro.  Up where the collar and the body meet were some parts that were pretty thick and trying to attach the velcro there was no fun.  My machine really didn't like that.  But like I said, overall it worked out great.

Poor guy, the sun was in his eyes.

I made a size small, but it's a little snug on him. He's pretty barrel-chested.  I think a medium would've been too large though.  If I were to do it again, and I may one day, I would add an inch to the body and an inch and a half at the neck. I tried to measure before sewing it up because I know he's barrel-chested, but there were no front pictures on the pattern envelope and I was confused about how it ended up wrapping around the front.  So here's a front picture of Jack so anybody else making this pattern can see how it looks. 

And one more shot, just because my dog is a cutie!

My pattern review can be found here.