Trimming my waste: Week 24 (pupcycling)

What to do with an old sweatshirt or sweatpants?

If you're interested in upcycling some cozy old loungewear, you're in the right place. Turning an old sweatshirt into a coat for chilly puppy is easy!

Goals - Week 24: 

• Celebrate upcycling of every sort!
• Encourage everyone to just start somewhere 
• Keep reminding myself (and you): a "zero-waste" lifestyle is about mindfulness, choice and creativity - not perfection

Meet Peanut. Four months old and just 1.7 kg (3.5 lbs). She's not only the star of this (p)upcycle, she's also the newest member of a popular Instagram family! (see them together below)

When my friend Natasha started @mayathesausage, she did it for fun. Her daughter's new dachshund puppy, Maya, was cute, photogenic and getting on well with Minnie, their pet African Pygmy hedgehog. They now have almost 29 thousand Instagram followers ... and a new Peanut!

Four-month old Peanut is a very recent addition to the family. And tiny. Tiny enough that she really feels the cold...and it gets chilly in England, even in summer. So Natasha got creative and I'm happy to be able to share what she made.

What you need to make a cozy dog sweater from your old clothes: 

1. A pair of old sweat pants (Natasha used a pair that her daughter had outgrown)

2. A good pattern. This is the pattern she used, pictured below.  Freebies here.

3. A sewing machine and a cold puppy.

PS: if you don't think you can sew, a project like this is a great way to try. Yes, it's a bit fiddly. But still, what's the worst that could happen? :)

After measuring Peanut, Natasha had to shrink the pattern even more on a copier! 

See the ribbing around the neck? That was created by unpicking and repurposing the waistband on the sweatpants. Nice! 

And there she is. Natasha will tell you not to look too closely at the "garment" because the sewing's not so great. I say, "really? Come on." I love this so much. 

If you can handle the cuteness, follow this tiny trio on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

Snapchat: mayathesausage.