Love Sewing Magazine Quilted Dog Coat and Wiggle Skirt

Easter weekend was a fruitful few days for sewing! Over the weekend I finally got time to start what I have wanted to do for a while now, and make a coat for my dog!

I used the free pattern from Love Sewing Magazine issue 10. It took my quite a while to settle on what fabric to use, as my idea was to make myself a matching skirt. I fell in love with some grey woolen fabric with a pink pinstripe but knew Marble wouldn't really appreciate the pink. We settled for some checked black and white fabric from Hillsborough Fine Fabrics at £7.99 p/m.
The Dog coat is lined with some left over dalmatian fabric from the dress I am working on at college and quilted with a layer of fleecy fabric also from Hillsborough fine fabrics. The stash also included shop-bought bias-binding, which I used for the first time as I really didn't fancy making 5 metres of my own!

Step one is to cut all three layers of the fabric to the same size and then mark out lines to make diamonds for quilting. The magazine suggests spacing them 2 inches apart, but I just used the width of the ruler to make life a little easier. I used pink tailors chalk to mark these lines out, but it seems to have permanently marked the fabric! I could have used pink pinstripe fabric after all! I'm hoping after a bit of wear or the odd rain shower this will fade...!
Despite the process being just stitching straight diagonal lines, quilting is actually what took the most time! I read that without using a walking foot, sewing three layers can result in the top layer sliding around a bit, so I had the brainwave to do the whole thing with my zipper foot, on the thinking that it wouldn't shift the top layer as much as a regular foot would. Without actually having tried it with a regular foot I can't tell you if this was a good idea or not, but I didn't have much trouble with my layers mis-aligning, so I guess it wasn't a bad idea.

Once the fabric is all quilted it's time to cut out the pattern. Then all that's really left to do is stitch on the binding all the way around the edge and apply the velcro. This project was a nice break from all the shaping that usually comes with making as this pattern is essentially just 2D. The magazine suggests sewing on a collar, but I didn't really fancy it, and also a button hole for the dog's lead to go through, but I think that must be for dogs on harnesses.

The hardest thing about making this was getting the correct sizing while trying to measure a dog who has no idea what's going on. He seems quite happy to wear it now it's made though.


Second make over Easter weekend was my matching skirt (without pink chalk lines on this time!). I used the Wiggle Skirt pattern also from Issue 10 of Love Sewing, but found it is exactly the same as the Lottie Skirt. I didn't mind too much though as I was eager to make another Lottie skirt anyway as I have been wearing my blue one quite a lot at work.
I made a few alterations on my first Lottie skirt, which I never applied to the paper pattern, but luckily I did save the bit I cut off of my first skirt. I drew round this onto my checked fabric so that this skirt would fit the same. Genious!
The main difference, besides this fabric being much thicker, was that this time I DID use interfacing on the waistband, which was a much better idea than not using it!

I was pretty pleased with myself for getting the skirt fully made in a day! I'm really happy with both the fabric and the fit. I can't wait to wear it to work! The thicker fabric really suited the style... And I got away without adding a lining! I am really going to have to pluck up the courage and make something with a lining, maybe next time!

x

Ps, who spotted the sneaky matching hairbow? Do I have too much time on my hands?

Currently listening to: If Love Was a Plane, Brad Paisley