iN PHOTOS: Okanagan dachshund owner makes hats for dogs

Kelowna resident Brandy Hansen’s hobby is making stylish hats for dogs that are not only adorable but help protect their eyes in the Okanagan sun.

Using a pattern she found on the internet, Hansen creates the hats in her sewing room at home, and her hat model is her 10-year-old dachshund Sadie.

“I sew, I took home economics in high school and when I got my dog, I thought I should start making dog hats and clothes, and she puts up with me,” she said.

Hansen finds bargains on materials to use and has a trunk full of fabrics with different patterns.

She sells the hats for $15 and has mailed them out to people across Canada and in the U.S.

Most of the hats are made to fit a dachshund and her biggest supporters are part of the Kelowna Dachshund Club.

“I’m not a professional, I do my best,” she said. “I don’t sell them for a huge amount of money, they’re just handmade. I can make ones for bigger dogs, but I have to figure it out as I go along.”

A pharmacist, Hansen has been sewing hats as a creative outlet for a few years.

While some orders come in around Christmas, most of them are requested during the summer months.

“In the summer, I’ll bring Sadie to dachshund events with her hat on and carry a few extras with me,” she said. “They fit well, I have elastics on them and the dogs put up with them. They’re good for bike rides and paddleboarding to protect the eyes.”

Go here to order hats for your pups.