puppy crafting: a simple coat

we just got a new puppy this weekend - meet lonnie, a boxer/mix that we saved from the cleveland apl. he's so tiny and has such short fur that we thought lonnie might need a little coat for the cleveland winter weather. i happened to have all the supplies i needed already on hand. first i drew out a pattern on some large sketch paper - basically i made a 10 in. x 10 in. rounded square and then added a straight strap around the mid section and a circle at the head of the square. i cut out the paper pattern and tested on lonnie to make sure i was on track. next i pulled out some padding that i have set aside from taking apart the baby crib bumpers that we never used (i have future plans for the fabric from the bumper too). and i had the other fabrics already on hand, the owl and apple fabric is corduroy that i just thought was cute and bought without any particular project in mind. the white fleece is used as the lining - i know white is probably the worst color for a dog coat but that's what i happened to have and it's soft and cozy (i have no idea what i was planning on using that fabric for so it found a new purpose instead). i cut out the fabric using the pattern, cut a square of the padding and a couple of pieces of velcro. i sewed right sides together then flipped, inserted the padding square then top stitched around the whole piece and then in a quilter's pattern to hold the padding in place. then i just added the velcro to the straps (making sure the scratchy side is facing out away from the body). it only took me a couple of hours total and lonnie has a little room to grow too.