Seems the only exercise I have time for these days is walking. Well,
like many of you, I don’t like to walk alone so I take our beagle, Maggie, with me. Winter’s here and as luck would have it, I couldn’t find Maggie’s coat. The sewing machine was already out so, of course, here goes another project! (My husband’s favorite saying…”You can make that!”)

Step 1: Supplies:

Supplies needed:
-Large piece of non-raveling fabric such as felt. This will eliminate the need to hem the edges. I had previously nuno felted a large piece of fabric with silk chiffon sandwiched between two layers of alpaca fiber batting. I dyed this in a marbled red/blue.

-Sew on Hook & Loop Tape such as Velcro

-Sewing machine or needle and thread

Step 2: Measuring:

This is the basic shape for most dog coats. The bottom part wraps
around the torso and is attached with hook & loop tape at the belly. The front pieces wrap around the neck to keep the whole thing in place. I measured around Maggie’s belly, neck and the length of her body to get the general size.

Step 3: Sewing:

All I did was sew the pieces of hook & loop tape to both sides of the belly part and both sides of the neck part. I couldn't find the wider tape so instead I used two pieces of the 1" tape for a snug fit.

We took the coat for a test drive and it works like a charm! And the
beauty of alpaca fiber is the warmth even though the fabric itself is very thin and lightweight. Now we just need to see how durable it is.