Alright,

long-time lurker first time poster. I have been incredibly intrigued by the MYOG idea and started thinking of things I could make that I needed. The first thing that popped to mind and seemed simple enough (which kind of wasn't simple at all) was a fleece for my dog. He has a soft shell, but has been getting cold in camp during the winter and I wanted a little something else for him to layer with that I didn't have to spend $30.00 so. So I bought 2 yards of fleece (of which I only used one) and started cutting as best I could figure out. The jacket is a pullover (to reduce seams) and has a single long seam on the side (to reduce rub if he's wearing his backpack.

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to post it and see what any other beginners out there were making, or even get some pics of long time pro's first products. Lets see some pics!

Also, I left the sleeves off so that he could layer it under his softshell without that material bunching up. I found that dogs have such a wide range of motion that the sleeves and neck had to be very wide to accommodate all his running, jumping, curling, etc. So anyone making dog gear should be aware of this because it can really wear on them hard otherwise.

Pretty cute outfit on a very patient model.

Yea, he was super patient. It really takes the edge off the night air for him. Before the fleece he would retreat to the tent to lay on the bags but now he feels comfortable hanging by the fire. Not a bad investment for 3 bucks and an intro into stitching. However, now I see why I rarely find anyone making clothes on here. The odd angles and specific cuts are a little tricky.

Nice project. I see your dog is wearing an ultralight/fast drying base layer (short hair). The fleece should help keep him a happy dog. I've seen some thicker fleece at the local fabric stores that would make a really deluxe warmer - now that you've got the pattern down. My dog has plenty of hair but is impossible to dry out once he gets wet...and he always gets wet. So I am thinking of making something similar in some sort of light but durable water proof. Here's the bum:

Hey Chris that fits him well. I bet it was tricky getting the leg holes in the right place, nice job.

Chris - that looks pretty good. Nice work. Watch out though; as others have noted, MYOG is rather addictive!

Re: your request of first time projects, while I'm no "long time pro", here's the first gear I sewed. It's a padded camera case made by doubling the thickness of some cheap fleece and making a bag. And at 0.5 oz scale weight - 0.4 oz sentimental value = 0.1 oz, it's virtually weightless!

David - Yea, his fur is great during warmer months because he can be more active than many dogs, but it has really been in issue in winter, as he has little insulation. (hence the fleece). Don't dogs just add so much to the experience? Yours looks like quite the adventurer, with that big grin on his face. The one thing I learned from this project is that you want the garment to be well fitted near his body but very loose around the neck and legs, because our idea of range of motion is much smaller than theirs, and they need room to contort.

Chris - Yea the leg holes were modified several times to get the exact dimensions. The odd shapes of his torso made the project complicated but very worthwhile, now I see why the "fitted" fleeces at rei are $30+ while the lay over versions are half the price. Of course I doubt they are effective, I wouldn't stay too warm if someone laid my down jacket unzipped over my back, so getting the dimensions right was crucial.

Andrew - Awesome pouch! Funny thing is, if you went to the store to buy one you'd probably have spent 10 times as much for something that did half of what you wanted. These are the types of products I really plan on doing the majority of MYOG on. I want to do some backpacks and tents as well, but when I look at much of the gear in my pack (stuff sacks, tarps, etc.) I just started counting how much money I could have saved. The little things add up. I have already been hooked by the MYOG idea, custom products for a fraction of the cost. Who wouldn't love it.

This was stuff sack # 3 since unboxing my sewing machine a week ago. It's also the first time I've worked with cuben which was pretty exciting stuff. While it could be lighter, I was focusing more on aesthetics and functionality. I wanted to make a stuff sack to hold my tent stakes. Because I carry many different types of stakes, I figured it'd be cool to be able to see which type of stake I'm grabbing, as opposed to having to dump them all out at once and potentially losing one. All the high wear areas are made of ripstop nylon and the body is .51 cuben. It was also a great way to practice flat felled seams :D

"This was stuff sack # 3 since unboxing my sewing machine a week ago."

Isn't it amazing how many stuff sacks you really need once you get a sewing machine?

--B.G.--

That's the snazziest stuffsack I've ever seen! Form, function, AND aesthetics! Now, if it could only serve double purpose as my shelter....

haha Thanks Travis!

"What is this??? A center for ants!? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read... if they can't even fit inside the building? "

Nice stuffsack! I am probably gonna roll a couple of those out soon as well. What cordage did you use as the top drawstring and did you order it online or find it locally? I was poking around Hancock fabrics and didn't see anything I was really interested for the purpose.

Hi Chris, the cord and cordlocks were bought online from joe at zpacks.com Its the cheaper 80lb Polyester cord, and the tiny cordlock. Check out his materials and accessories section for fabrics and hardware