PonderEthereal

Usually, if a service trains your dog, they purchase and provide you with a vest (as well they should, for the amount they charge!). I am training my own service dog. I could purchase a vest - but why spend money on one if I don’t have to? So I made it myself.

The total cost of this DIY Service dog vest project is under $10. I’m not very good at sewing and did it by hand and it took me two hours. Someone who is good at sewing or uses a machine could cut the time considerably as well as the cost, as you are likely to have needles and such already. The outcome is a very professional looking vest.

This process is written for the smart (in retrospect, it’s written like an engineer might write a cooking recipe) but sewing inept. :) My recommendations and estimates are for an 85 lb German Shepherd. A smaller dog would need considerably less.

You Will Need

• strapping (also called nylon webbing) - You need enough to go around the circumference of the vest as well as for the actual straps that hold it in place. For a tiny dog, you could use more narrow strapping. I used 1″.
• Strapping Clips or buckles
• Strong, water resistant, fur resistant material (pack cloth, DuPont cordura etc.) - I found mine at a deep discount on the clearance isle of my local fabric shop. I think the one I chose is usually for table cloths. While your vest can look like anything you want and there are no requirements, I do recommend choosing something suitable for the role of the dog. Having a flowered vest might earn you more challenges than having a more professional looking vest.
• thread in the color of your choice
• larger sewing needle. I didn’t need the super heavy duty yarn needles. I used the larger needle in a sewing needly variety pack.
• a lighter (for finishing the edges of the nylon strapping)

1. Print out this image of the dog with the measurement letter labels. This is your quasi pattern.
   
   • Take measurements A-E (see image) and write them all down on the dog chart next to the letter they correspond with.
   • Measure A-C first to figure out how big you want the vest. You will make up the difference between these measurements and measurements D & E, later on, with strapping.
   • For Measurement B add a half inch and for Measurement A, add an inch. This will allow for wiggle room for mistakes.
   • The sides can be rounded, square or triangle. However, the top section between the shoulders needs to be more narrow because of how the dog’s body moves - otherwise it will bunch up. No matter what shape you prefer, the measurement principals are the same… measure from furthest point to furthest point.
2. Buy your supplies - the amount of fabric and strapping you need depends upon your measurements. For reference, I needed a yard of fabric and approximately 80″ of strapping.
3. Draw Your Pattern - this is easier than it sounds. Refer to the below diagram.
   1. Cut your rectangle of cloth out. Measurement A is the width and Measurement B doubled is the length.
   2. Subtract Measurement C from Measurement A. Divide this by half. We’ll call this Measurement X. Write down measurement X somewhere on your piece of paper.
   3. From the edge of your cloth, measure out Measurement B lengthwise. This is the lengthwise center of your fabric. Mark it with a pencil. Along that lengthwise center line, measure Measurement X into the center of the fabric and mark an X. Do the same from the opposite edge. This should give you Two Xes with a dot between them in the center of your fabric. The two Xes represent the center more narrow edges of your vest.
      

4. Draw your shape. This too, is far easier than it sounds. :)
   1. Fold your cloth into quarters along your center lines.
      

   2. Starting at the center X, draw the shape that you want to have the corners to have in pencil (triangle, rounded or square), ending at the edge of the fabric. In this example, I have done a rounded shape. By drawing on the quarter folded fabric, all 4 corners will have the same shape and size.
      
   3. Cut along your line.
   4. Unfold the fabric. You should have your basic vest cut out.
5. A thick heavy duty fabric doesn’t really need to be finished off - and instead, we will be using strapping for the edges. Fold your strapping in half long ways so that it wraps around the edge of the vest and sew and even line of stitches through both layers of strapping and the vest edge.
   
6. Create the Straps
   1. Subtract B doubled from Measurement E. This is the remainder of the chest measurement that must be made up with strapping and a clip. Add 3 inches for sizing. We’ll call this measurement Y… write it down on your paper.
   2. Subtract B doubled from Measurement D. This is the remainder of the tummy measurement that must be made up with strapping and a clip. Add 3 inches for sizing. We’ll call this Measurement Z… write it down on your paper.
   3. Cut 2 strips of strapping that are each half of measurement Y. Lightly singe the tips with the lighter. The fabric will melt together and keep it from fraying. Sew the male side of the clip onto one of these straps and sew that strap to the underside of your vest perpendicular to the length of the vest. See diagrams.
      
   Cut two strips of strapping that are each half of measurement Z. The fabric will melt together and keep it from fraying. Weave the female side of the clip onto the strapping, fold one end of the strapping over it’s self and sew it to make it too thick to pull back through. Sew the other end of that strap to the underside of your vest parallel to the length of the vest. See diagram

   

Optionally

You can add a strip of reflective tape to the bottom edge of each side.
You can embroider or iron on lettering to say ‘Service Dog’ or similar.
You can add a D Ring for your dog’s id.

Also See
How to Make Service Dog Identification and Information Cards