I made these "sock tubes" for Thatsit as the
baby socks weren't really offering much padding to her leg sores, and she was frustrated with having her paws covered.
I used old t-shirts for material, and didn't really have a "design" in my mind when I started working on these, so I just did the padding parts first, and continued from there..
I folded a few pieces for padding - almost like making little nappies.. Then I hand stitched the padding bits to larger pieces I'd already cut out, trying to avoid making any bumpy seams or such. It didn't really matter how it was going to look as the padding would be hidden between two layers of material, and with the wear and tear from Thatsit walking with these, it's likely that these will only be worn for about a week per pair, and then replaced with a new pair. (Although, if they're in good enough condition when changed, then I will wash them to be used again. Must use
Vanish or something, to make sure that they'll be clean enough - after several visits to the litter tray and all, a regular 40
° wash probably wouldn't be enough..)
Tiger toothbrush box was good for size, being about the size of a cat's leg.. Of course, I had to make the sock tubes a bit loose, allowing for the wider part of her "thighs", and her legs would have to move without restriction as well.
At first, I was thinking of leaving the seams outside, just to make the tubes more comfortable. However, they were so soft that I ended up turning them away from sight - and away from her to chew on.. The toothbrush yoke was great for turning the tubes as well.
As I wanted to make sure that the padding part would be exactly where it was supposed to be, I stitched some "shape" to the tubes.
The little fold in one end of the tube, is not a "design detail" - I just did it to make them easier to put on as I hadn't stitched the layers of material together anywhere else than at the seam.
When I was making these, I was thinking they'd probably be too long from the lower parts, and I was right. But I'll make the next pair shorter. Anyway, it was a good decision to leave her paws exposed as she's been less frustrated with these tubes, than she was with the baby socks.
The real problem was removing the remaining baby sock (she'd already shaken off one of them), and putting on the new sock tubes.. When I finally got D to assist, he turned out to be useless. Eventually, professional help was required, and then it wasn't that difficult at all. I held Thatsit firmly, talking to her calmly while the vet replaced the socks, and while she wasn't loving it, she wasn't squirming much, either. Her leg sores were looking much, much better, which was great!
She did actually manage to shake one of the newly taped sock tubes off, right after I let her go, so we did have to tape them on again, tighter than before. There was a possibility of the tapes being too tight, but I promised to keep an eye on her paws, in case they were going to get swollen. They didn't, though.
She's been doing OK with the sock tubes, and I've even seen her licking them as if she was cleaning her own coat =D
It's getting close to the weekly sock change, so I'll be having a craft session again, later tonight..
