Once I hacked away at the first jacket, I felt empowered to attempt a second, more detail oriented one that would make my sewing teacher proud.

I saw a short tute from Instructables.com for a doggie cooling jacket made from cargo pants. I didn’t care much for the cooling/waterproof/insulated part, but dug the idea of using existing pockets vs. making some.

I didn’t take a lot of photos because I didn’t think it would turn out. Lol. Surprise!

1. Find an old pair of cargo pants and cut out the inner seam. I hunted at Value Village until I found ones that had a big pocket. They were $6.77 with tax (wtf? Value Village charges tax on donated items?)

2. Cut out the basic shapes, as well as the cargo pockets. Initially I cut them too wide, so I ended up trimming them to just under the pocket seam

3. Iron down the hem and see at 3/8″. Or whatever you’re comfortable with, I ain’t picky

4. Add the belly and groin straps. I added buttonholes and buttons since Velcro tends to get full of dog hair and other junk. I had to hand sew the ends, but didn’t leave myself enough room, so they were a pain

5. Add the cargo pockets. I sewed them along the existing stitches, which made an easy guide

Et voilà! Ready to fill with ice packs, weights or their own poop bags!