- 1). Measure your dog's neck where his collar sits. Measure the length from the collar to the hip bone area. Measure the dog's chest. Measure the length from the collar to the location where you measured the chest. Write these measurements down.
- 2). Place the paper on the drawing surface horizontally in front of you. Draw a vertical line the length of your dog's neck measurement. Make this line the long side of a rectangle. Draw a perpendicular line on each end the width of the collar you desire. Draw the other side of the rectangle. This is the pattern for the collar.
- 3). Draw a line from left to right down the center of the paper. Make this line the length of the dog's back measurement. Divide the dog's neck measurement by 3. Make a vertical line this length, starting on the left side of your back-length line and drawing downwards perpendicular to the back. Divide the dog's chest measurement by 3. Measure down the back line on the paper to the point where you measured for the dog's chest. Draw a vertical line from that point downwards to the length of the chest divided by 3. You now have a long horizontal line, a short vertical line and a longer vertical line. Draw a dot at the bottom of each of the two vertical lines. Draw a dot at the right end of the back line. Now connect these dots in a pleasing curve. This is the pattern for the back of the sweater.
- 4). Draw a vertical line the length of the dog's chest measurement divided by 3. Draw a short horizontal line at one end the desired width of the chest strap. Repeat this line at the other end. Repeat the vertical line to close this rectangle shape. This is the pattern for the chest strap.
- 5). Cut out your pattern pieces and place each piece on a folded piece of fabric, long side along the fold. Pin pattern pieces in place. Mark the location of the chest measurement on the bottom edges of the fabric. This is the place where you put the second dot. Cut the fabric pieces out with seam allowances on the collar (3 sides), chest strap (3 sides) and the neck end of the back piece.
- 6). Try the collar piece on your dog. Make sure that there will be room for movement without binding. Fold collar in half crosswise with cut ends down. This fold line should be lined up with the fold line of the center back. Pin collar and neck edge together and stitch in place. The flattened back should have a section of collar sticking out on either side. These collar sections should be the same length.
- 7). Fold the collar in half lengthwise, right sides together. Starting on the short end of each side: stitch, turn corner and continue, stitch-up to but not including where collar and back are joined on each side. Trim corners and turn right side out. Fold open edge of collar under and stitch down over seam line.
- 8). Fold chest strap in half lengthwise. Stitch down the long side, making a tube. Flatten the tube and stitch one end to the back where you made the dot marking the chest strap. Try the sweater on the dog and make sure all measurements are correct. Adjust measurements as needed and add desired closures at neck and chest strap.
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