How to Sew a Pet Walking Vest for a Rabbit
It's common to see a dog out for a walk. Occasionally one might see an exotic bird on a person's shoulder with a harness. All kinds of critters are sporting fashionable vests, harnesses and leashes to take walks with their masters. Even fashion conscious rabbits are convincing their masters to make adorable, comfortable walking vests.
Materials:
- Rabbit
- Measuring tape
- A friend
- Pad and pencil
- Scissors
- One yard of cloth--soft, but not too stretchy.
- Leash
- One inch Velcro tape
Procedure:
- Place the rabbit on a firm surface; keep it calm.
- Ask friend to hold rabbit in place.
- Measure circumference of neck, belly and about two thirds down spine. Add three inches to the measurement.
- Put bunny back in its cage or let it hop around.
- Cut two three-inch wide strips. One the same measurement of the neck, the second the same length as the girth of the rabbit.
- Cut the yard fabric to eight inches wide and the length of the rabbit.
- Fold material in half length-ways. Mark the wrong side down the center with a pencil.
- With the two tips of the right and left side together, mark two inches from the top edge toward the middle and two inches down from the top edge.
- Connect the two inch markings creating an arc. If necessary, mark both sides so that you have two identical arcs on both sides of the body of the vest.
- Cut the arc line.
- Hem the arc line allowing one half inch seams.
- Hem the top, sides and bottom allowing one half inch seams.
- Sew the edges of the strips cut in step 5, allowing one half inch seams.
- Pin one side of the neck and body straps to the appropriate places on the vest, right sides facing.
- Sew the neck and body straps into place, using one half-seam allowance.
- Cut two--two inches of Velcro tape. Remove paper covering sticky back.
- Adhere the fuzzy side to unattached ends of neck and body straps.
- Adhere the scratchy side to the matching points on the vest.
- Sew Velcro pieces into place.
- Cut a three by one inch strip from remnant. Fold in half, wrong sides together.
- Center the ends to the center of the back of the walking vest.
- Sew across the ends attaching the loop to the vest.
- Place rabbit on a table or flat surface, and try on its new walking vest.