Sweater for Missy

Missy is a fairly grouchy dog and does not like to be brushed, so we keep her hair cut pretty short.  Sometimes she's awfully shivery in the days after a haircut, and since it's winter anyway, Mike asked me to make her a sweater.  I had no idea whether she'd even wear it, so I didn't want to put too much time into a crocheted one.  And given the way she's especially grouchy about her head, it couldn't be a pullover.

With that in mind, I trawled the internet for dog sweater tutorials, and found this tutorial/pattern on Mimi and Tara.  I didn't need a hood or a santa costume, but it had the requisite front closure, so using the pattern pieces as a base, I whipped up this little fleece number for Missy.

Overall it fit remarkably well for a first try.  There are a couple of areas that I'd like to change next time, yes, some tailoring for dogs, but it went pretty well.  She didn't like it at first, but she seems to like it fine now.  Unfortunately, about three days after I made it, Mike accidentally put it inside a box containing a jacket he'd sold online and shipped it off across the country.  Luckily the kind recipient sent it back to us, but for several days we could not figure out what happened to it.

I was always one of those people who couldn't understand why dogs needed clothes, but she does seem to get chilly in the winter, and she does look pretty cute.  :)

Have you ever sewed clothes for your pets?