We often get inspired by new things in our life. Such is the case with Me and Lucy. She is one of Nine puppies that our dog Mona had, so I have known Lucy since she was born. She is sweet and smart and SO cute.

She is my new Muse.

: )

I can tell already she is gonna be totally girly, and will insist on wearing the latest threads, so I decided to start early to hone my puppy-clothes-sewing-skills.

She is just 4 weeks old and is growing quickly, so her first article of clothing will be a basic zippered hoodie with simple details.

In extra-girly, fuzzy pink, of course.

Continue reading to see how I made this, and also for some Darling photos!

Supplies

These are the things you will need:

1. Puppy

2. 1/2 yard of fabric with a slight stretch

3. fuzzy yarn in contrasting color

4. Needle(reg. and yarn), matching thread, scissors

5. zipper, 7" lightweight coil separating

6. measuring tape, pen, paper

Step 1: Measure Puppy.

1. Puppies are squirmy, so get all your supplies ready so you can accomplish this quickly.

(pen/pencil, paper, measuring tape)

1a. If you have a wood floor, that can be a bit slippery, so spread out a bath towel that the two of you can sit on

1b. I also recommend snipping your measuring tape in half. It will be easier to handle while measuring puppy. This will be a dedicated tape for puppy clothing, so even if she turns out to be a large dog, you'll never need more than 30".

2. Write out on your paper what you need to measure before you start.

3. Pick up puppy and smother her with kisses, let her lick your face, then tell her you'd like to take some measurements. (Lucy was cool with that.)

4. Different positions work for measuring different parts; Sitting puppy in your lap, Puppy on floor on all fours, Even get help from a household member if need be. Know that puppies love to move so just be accommodating and move with her.

5. Adding 10% to all your numbers is okay, as you can always make things smaller by cutting away or making seam allowances bigger.

The measuring process should take no more than one minute.

When finished, pick up puppy and smother her with kisses, let her lick your face, and thank her for being so good!

Step 2: Cut Out Pattern Pieces From Fabric

This basic zippered hoodie has several parts:

One back bodice

Two front bodices

Two sleeves

Two hood halves

and four ears for extra cuteness

Understanding how dog shapes are different than human shapes is important for creating pieces.

1. Their necks are quite large

2. They don't really have "shoulders"

3. They have more back than front as far as clothes construction is involved.

4. The arm holes are much more in the front than the side

5. Sleeves need to be oriented in the way they walk on all fours.

6. Paws can be big, and also have claws, so ample space for the sleeve to get arm through is important.

7. Nothing should obstruct underneath below the belly button, or hang too much over the tail on the top.

Using these principles, I drew out the different shapes on paper, then adapted those shapes with her measurements onto the fabric. If a shape doesn't seem big enough, make a new one. You should have plenty of extra fabric if you started with 1/2 yard.

Note: I ended up making new sleeve shapes after I sewed these and realized wider was better.

Step 3: Sew Together Fronts and Back

1. Baste everything by hand with running stitches.

Do a quick fitting on puppy to see what works and what doesn't.

2. I enlarged the neck circle and made the armholes deeper by cutting away a bit.

3. Baste sides together.

Step 4: Sew One Sleeve, Hood and Add Zipper

1. Baste sew the side seam of one sleeve, and sew together the two hood halves

2. Install zipper with running stitches, laying face down on fabric as shown. One side should have a one inch seam allowance outside of the zipper tape. This will be used to fold over and create a backside for the zipper(so no puppy hairs get caught in).

3. Topstitch zipper, creating placket on one side.

4. Baste hood onto body, right sides together.

Step 5: Fitting! and Adjustments...

"OMG OMG I love this fabric!....It is SO COZY! I can't wait until it is done!"

thought Lucy.

1. Do fitting on puppy with bodice first, then sleeve separately. Make note of adjustments needed.

2. Mine needed a smaller waist, smaller hood opening and much deeper arm holes into the neck and front section. I also needed wider sleeves for her paws to easily fit through, and shorter, too. I don't want her first piece of clothing to cover all her cuteness! Sew all adjustments on machine, with long stitches for thick pile/stretchy fabric.

3. Orient sleeves a quarter turn towards the front, compared to if your were sewing a human version. This puts the top of the sleeve not at the shoulder seam, but at the center back of the sleeve hole. Pin sleeve into armscye and stitch.

4. All parts sewn together

Step 6: Hems and Finishing Touches

1. Fold over hood, sleeve and bottom hems once and stitch. Give garment a good cleaning with the lint brush. Snip any errant or baste threads.

2. Sew two ear pieces, right sides together. Leave bottoms open.

3. Turn ears right side out and stitch to hood in a floppy position. Stitch again for added strength.

4. Using a yarn needle sew details like running stitches along edges of hood, sleeves and bottom, even adding faux pocket lines.

Step 7: Ready to Wear!

1. Pick up puppy, smother with kisses, receive licks back

2. Put hoodie on Puppy and repeat step 1.

Take glamour photos for instagram and share with the world!

"Follow me, Lucy, on Instagram!"

It is a little on the big side... unintentional but perfect! She should be able to enjoy it for a good two weeks, even more.

She was SO sleepy when I took this photo as she had just feasted on Mommy milk, so she was a pretty good sport, and nicely, had no problem running around while wearing it as she started to wake up.