Pix of my dogs' trail vests

Wow, those are very nice Kathleen!

Time to think about marketing your product....;-)

Penny S

ps, been biking lately? We miss you at AMB.

Kathleen, those vests are great! I really like how you curved it around the shoulder area,they look really comfortable for your pups. Also, where were those photos taken? It's a beautiful area. Elaine

Kathleen,

The vests are so neat! One of our dogs is extremely cold natured and I've thought about trying to make something for him, because he loves to be outdoors (it actually does get very cold here sometimes, though usually just in periods of short duration). I have some cordura. What did you use to bind the edges?

Your dogs are beautiful!

Thanks for sharing the pics.

Doreen in Alabama

Kathleen, these are great. Are they more to protect the dogs from brush and barbed wire, or to keep them from being mistaken by hunters, or so you can find them easier? Or maybe a little of each?

Your dogs look like excellent companions, for you and for each other!

Karen Maslowski > Not a new project, but I finally got around to putting some pictures up. >

The pix were taken at Lost Valley, a multi-use trail in St. Charles County, Missouri. The place is a treasure.

Kathleen

They are the best dressed dogs around.You shouldn't have trouble selling them I think. Who wouldn't want their dogs to look so good.Don't underprice yourself. You have a lot of labor invested in them Juno

Not as much as I'd like. Between sewing, subbing and flyball I've mostly been getting my riding in on the streets around town. Hopefully things will calm down some this summer.

Kathleen

I didn't bind the edges. I sewed the lining and the outer cover, trimmed the seam allowance, clipped the curves and turned the vest. Then I edge-stitched around the outer perimeter.

Cooper, the JRT gets really cold, too. While I'm sure the vests are better than nothing, I made him a 200 weight polartec coat to wear when it's really cold. It covers the front and back legs, the back and the chest, but leaves the belly and buns bare so as not to interfer with elimination. It looks kinda funny, though - like long underwear with the trap door always open.

I used KwikSew pattern number 3076 and for extra dog-lunatic points, I made it up of some dark green Malden Mills fleece that I had left over from making myself pull-over and pants last year. So now me and my dog have matching outfits. Also, I used black lycra edging instead of ribbing edging and cuffs.

All of the above. And also to make it obvious to anyone they encounter on the trail that they are not stray, lost or feral, but are out there on purpose.

I enjoy them thoroughly, but both BCs and JRTs are extremely high energy breeds. They need their runs in the country to stay sane. So do I, come to think of it.

Kathleen

Thanks for the tips! I'm sure Casey would love a polartec coat. The problem is, we live in the woods, literally, and he loves to ramble through the underbrush and sawbriers...fancies himself a great squirrel-chipmunk-rabbit hunter, although he's never caught anything! I think cordura with a fleece lining, similar to your dog vests, would have the best chance of lasting through at least one winter.

I made a baby horse coat a few years ago. One of my daughter's mares foaled early during a very cold spell, and the colt was so small, a bought foal blanket was too big and just hung on him. Worse, the straps hung low and there was a danger that he would get his hoofs/legs tangled in them when he got up from a prone position. So I drove over with my Bernina, some lovely irridescent stuff I had planned to use for a windbreaker (this was early Sunday morning and no stores were open), Hancock-quality fleece, and lycra for binding, and sewed him a custom coat (made a muslin first, of course)! He grew up to be a big, handsome fellow.

Wow, those are great, and don't seem to bother the dogs at all. They do make the dogs easy to spot in the brush; is that the idea?

Great job.

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

--------------

Wow, those are beautiful as well as functional. Your dogs look like they enjoy them, too. Congratulations!

I hope you've kept a log on time involved so you can price them appropriately.

Beverly

Kathleen, my oldest daughter has a border collie (blond, though), and he has always been absolutely tireless. Luckily, they were young and vigorous when they got him 10 years ago, and they could manage to throw the ball 3 million times a day. He wore me out when I took care of him for them! Now they have a second, younger dog, who gives the older dog plenty of exercise. I don't know why they didn't think of that sooner!

We used to have a dog that wandered (long story), and someone kept him, not once but twice, because he kept slipping his collar. The coats would be much more difficult to "lose".

Karen Maslowski > Karen Maslowski wrote:

Great job there! Nice vests, very cute pooches! They look really happy and full of bounce. :D

Thanks, Beverly! As a mom, it makes me happy good when one of my adult daughters calls on me, with full faith that I (and my sm) can produce whatever it is she needs. You know the feeling.

Doreen in Alabama

Indeed, I do. Just wait until your *grandchild* demonstrates that faith! Even better. ;-)

Beverly

In the pictures Cooper is wearing his harness over his vest because he can yank his pointy little head out of any rigid collar and I wouldn't dare put a martingale on him out in the brush. I've seen dog vests with a small mesh or plastic pocket for holding a light stick, a blinker or ID info. It'd be an easy enough feature to add.

Kathleen

Kathleen,

Thanks so much for posting those pics! What great babies you have!! Give them all smooches and an extra scratch at the top of their hips for me. ;)

The vests are wonderful. It's obvious that you put a lot of thought into them and that you also understand who you are sewing for. ;) I wish you tons of success marketing them. Like others have said, be sure you price them so that you make the venture worth your while. Remember, you don't want to undercut mass produced stuff on price; you want to outshine it on quality. :) And I really don't think that will be a problem for your work.

Sharon