Happy Earth Day! Check out these previous posts for ideas on things you can do to make your pets more earth-friendly.
Before you get rid those out-of-style sweaters you’ve been holding onto, consider making them into a snuggly bed for your pet. One way is to make a pet bed by crocheting strips of old sweaters. Pick colors that look good together—that awful 1980′s mustard yellow should probably be avoided. Visit a thrift store if you’re short on old sweaters. Or if you only have ones that are mustard yellow. No really.
After a little stutter of snow yesterday, it’s actually snowing with some conviction here in our corner of the Pacific NW. So here’s a clever project that recycles an old, wool women’s cardigan into a cute coat for a smallish dog. A large men’s sweater would work for at least a mid-sized dog. Make sure you use a wool sweater, otherwise it won’t felt. Don’t have an old sweater around? Get thee to your thrift store and find one for cheap. Be sure it’s larger than your pup, because it will shrink when you felt it.
Felted knits handle more like fabric and are more durable. (Here are a few tutorials on felting, in case you need them: this one covers both hand & machine felting, here is a printable one on machine felting, and another on hand felting.)
The tutorial has you fitting the sweater by pinning it while it’s on your dog. This seems like A Very Bad Idea. I think a better idea would be to mark the sweater where you have it pinched to take up the excess material. It might not be as precise, but you also won’t risk poking holes in your dog or yourself, which sounds much more pleasant to me. If you’re making one for a larger dog, I’d check the length of the sleeves before you cut them off.
So check out the tutorial and don’t miss the video that also shows how to make the cardigan dog coat. It can give you a better idea of how this project works.
I think this happens every Fall. The days start getting shorter and somehow my I’ve-Got-To-Make-Something! button gets pushed. Here’s the first DIY post in a long time—how to make a cardboard cat “tower” that hangs on your wall.
This is a great idea, since it doesn’t take up floor space, doubles as a cat scratcher, doesn’t cost much to make, can be customized, and can double as art. How cool is that?! You can use cardboard you have or you you can buy sheets of it. I would treat the “face” of the cardboard (the part that faces the room) so that it’s more aesthetically pleasing by painting it or by applying wallpaper, decorative paper, or fabric. This tutorial shows how to make your cat a happy camper!
You’ll need:
Are you sensing a theme with another raincoat post? Yes, it’s still raining here in the Pacific NW. I never thought I’d be someone who put a raincoat on a dog, but then I noticed that if it was raining on walks, Saffron would walk next to walls in their rain shadow and she’d linger a looong time under trees. I realized if she were a feral dog left to make her own decisions, she’d be snuggled up under a porch or bush where it was dry. Smart dog! The least I can do is make her more comfortable, but her old coat is too short and doesn’t protect her ears at all.
So now Saffron needs a new coat and:
Quilted version
I’m going to have to make it myself, so I made a trip to my favorite thrift store and found an awesome women’s stadium coat with a hood for $9.99. With the help of this great tutorial on how to make a dog coat from a recycled jacket, I’m going to turn it into a raincoat for Saffron. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
In the meantime, check out the tutorial which can be used on any type of recycled jacket or with yardage. There’s a printable pattern that’s in real size so you can print out the pieces, tape them together, & adjust the size to fit your dog. And never fear, there are excellent printable instructions, that include tips on how to adjust the pattern to fit your dog.
(The creator of the tutorial is Diana Durkes from the super cool blog, Fine Diving–New Life For the Tossed & Found. If you’re in the Chicago area, check out her sister blog, Garage Sale Warrior.)
