Thinks “fashion designer”, but with the pieces about one-third or one-fourth of an adult’s size. You will be sketching outfits, matching material, and coming up with seasonal collections for man’s best friend – dogs!
These days, people pamper their pooches so much that the entire pet care industry — food, haircuts, medicines, etc. — is looking bright. As of now, only a few pet shops offer made-to-order clothes for dogs, so this is definitely a business with much promise.
Start-up capital is P1,000 for 3 to 5 outfits. Time to finish is depending on the intricacy, number of outfits, and other design factors, it will take a few days to a week to design and create one outfit.
Materials Needed
- Fabric, P60-80 per yard
- Fabric accessories (beads, buttons, fabric paint, velcro, etc.)
- Measuring tape
- Patterns
- Sewing supplies (fabric glue, paper, pencil, needle, etc.)
Procedure
- Sketch your desired pattern. You can find ideas on the internet — www.sewing.circleofcrafters.com, www.make-and-build-dog-stuff.com — and just tweak them into your own.
- Buy fabric. Just be sure the material is comfortable for the dog, durable, and washable. To save money, you can also use old clothes you have around the house. Shop around for desired accessories and details you want added to the outfit.
- Use a measuring tape to get measurements around the neck, across the chest (from inner front left leg to inner front right leg), leg and inseam measurements. The pattern you selected will have detailed instruction for any other measurements you might need.
- For example, for an easy shirt pattern, fold a piece of fabric in half, lengthwise, and lay it on the table. Measure the dog from across the shoulders, and measure half of that number onto the top edge of the fabric and draw a line. Be sure it curves, as this part of the shirt will go around the neck.
- Measure from the side neck area to the top front leg area and draw the measurement onto the fabric.
- Then, measure from the nape to the mid-back area, adding a couple of inches for hemming, and draw this measurement down the fold part of the fabric.
- Measure around the dog’s waist, and draw half of that measurement onto the fabric.
- Then, measure from the mid-back area to just under the front leg and draw this measurement onto the fabric.
- Finally, measure around the top portion of the dog’s front leg.
- Cut the shirt pieces and sew the garment together — attach the front and back shoulder area, hem the neckline, sew the opposite shoulder pieces together, hem both armhole opening, sew one side seam, hem the bottom, then sew the other side seam. The shirt is complete.
Tips: Make sure your selected fabrics are soft and flexible (tough fabrics don’t move with the dog and can be uncomfortable). Also opt for velcro or buttons to attach any details.
How Much Will You Make
Add a 30% markup on your final production cost and you are looking at a selling price of anywhere from P200 to P500 per outfit.
source: Katrina Tan, www.entrepreneur.com.ph, photos by Ocs Alvarez
hi!
had been in the garments industry specializing on corporate uniforms, shirts and sprts, childrenswear for at least 18years already. But, have recently closed shop for a lot of reasons,specially with all these financial crises humming around for i do not know how long!
am very interested on going into these PET CLOTHES, STUFFedTOYS & RAGDOLLS area cause i have so much excess FABRICS i have accumulated for years, tons of these textiles actually.
in this regard, where and from whom can i get reliable sources,data and statistics regarding VIABILITY of getting into producing these Products, like, how saturated are the supplies or if demands for these, especially dogclothes, are high?, are these products
easily sold on market?,etc
thanks a lot!