A Halloween Project

About a month ago I had the idea that I would make a Halloween costume for my dog, Jake. I knew right from the beginning what it was going to be...a tennis ball! Jake is a Border Collie mix and is a very high energy dog, he always wants to play especially with his tennis ball. Where you find Jake, you will find a tennis ball. Here is my journey:

Ok..so it's going to be a tennis ball...I need: 1) sewing machine, 2) fabric, 3) stuffing, 4) lots of dedication and time!!

I call Ken's Mom and she luckily had a sewing machine I could use...CHECK!

After work one day I stop by our local fabric store Joann's and got bright green felt, white felt, black fabric and velcro. While I was there I grabbed 2 bags of cotton stuffing...CHECK!

Then the project began...

I got a plain green tee-shirt from Richards and cut it to fit Jake, I used the velcro to open and close the shirt over his ribs. Once the shirt, AKA base of the costume, was made I started on the ball. I measured (with the help of my awesome dad) and cut the green felt.

On the living room floor working away

After measuring, I started to cut what I thought the shape would be...

After I cut my shapes, I decided to hem all the cuts to make it look professional...(wink wink*)

This is where you would find me after work or school, sewing away!

Once I had the green pieces of the ball made, I started to apply the white stripes.

pinning the white stripes into place

Then I had to attach the two green pieces together, this would make the shape of the ball.

I think Jake knew I was making him a very large tennis ball, and he was so excited! He would stare at me, while I was sewing and chew on his tennis ball. It was so cute!


Lou and Jake had the most fun playing in the stuffing for the tennis ball. They would wrestle and lay in it all day.

I think Lou likes it the most...

Can anyone see Lou?? hehe

I put everything together and the tennis ball was complete. It was a very long and tedious process. But in the end (thanks to my amazing mom) the tennis ball turned out wonderful!

We got to show off Jake's costume at the dog park the day I finished it. Everyone in my family went, it was so fun!

Jake could barely fit into the car with the big tennis ball on his back!

Jake walked around and got a lot of comments on how cute his costume was. It made me feel good to hear people say how cute he was in his costume!

Lou and Jake about to go into the dog park. Lou was a alligator...hehe

DA DA DA LAAA!!! The finished product!!! Jake in his wonderful tennis ball costume!

It was fun to make, but A LOT OF WORK! I think I will think twice before I start a project like this again.

Happy Halloween!!