This is Winnie, in her sweater that is the subject of this post.
When we adopted Winnie last month, it was cold and snowing. While she was at the rescue and being treated for her many ailments at the time, the vet needed to get a better look at her skin and he shaved her back in order to do that ... making it that much more important to keep her covered and warm. (You've already seen how I made her first sweater out of a boot sock from my orphan sock pile.)
Within the first couple of weeks that she was here, I hit the clearance rack at PetsMart and bought her a wardrobe of 'house sweaters' for everyday wear (size extra small, of course). For times when she needs to be a bit warmer, I wanted to knit her some sweaters. Finding a pattern to fit a dog her size proved to be challenging.
Winnie is a very, very tiny dog. She weighs four pounds, give or take a couple of tenths. Her chest circumference is 11 inches and she measures approximately 9 inches from her shoulders to the base of her tail. I found a lot of patterns for dog sweaters on Ravelry and Etsy that I could buy ... but I wasn't willing to risk the money on a pattern that may or may not turn out to be suitable. I wanted a free pattern, so I wasn't out anything but some wasted time if it wasn't right for her.
I finally found THIS pattern, which looked like it would work. The shape and size seemed to be right, but the published version of the sweater has a very complicated pattern of bones and biscuits (and something that they called Moss Stitch) knit into it ... I figured that I could eliminate that stuff and work with the basic directions to design my own sweater pattern for Winnie.
For those of you who are looking for a fairly simple pattern to fit a tiny dog, I offer you the one that I devised .... reshaping my inspiration pattern a bit and reworking some of the directions. Because of the shaping and use of double-pointed needles, this is not a pattern for a true beginner. If you have some knitting experience and can work basic stitches, understand knitting terms, and think for yourself, this may be the pattern for you.
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Winnie’s Tiny Sweater
Materials:
Soft worsted-weight yarn (this example uses Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn" in 'Gelato')
Knitting needles, size 6 and size 7
Set of 5 double-pointed needles, size 6
Instructions:
Turtleneck:
With smaller needles, cast on 42 sts.
Work ribbing of your choice for 3” (either k1 p1 or k2
p2)
Change to larger needles
K one row.
Increase 6 stitches evenly across this row.
P one row.
The remainder of the body of the sweater is worked in K2
P1 ribbing. The ribs give the sweater a
lot of stretch and allow it to conform to the body better than something like
stockinette stitch would. Keep to
pattern through all of the increases and decreases that follow.
Body:
Increase 1 stitch at EACH end of the next 3 rows.
Increase 1 stitch at the beginning of the following rows
until you have 62 sts on your needle.
Work 3 rows even in pattern.
Leg Openings:
1st row, right side:
Work first 5 stitches. Cast off
next 4 stitches. Work in pattern across
44 stitches. Cast off next 4
stitches. Work final 5 stitches.
Work in pattern till sweater measures 1 inch from cast
off stitches, working all three leg sections at the same time, using a separate
piece of yarn for each section.
Joining row: Work
5 stitches. Turn. Cast on 4 stitches. Turn.
Work across 44 stitches.
Turn. Cast on 4 stitches. Turn.
Work final 5 stitches. You will
have 62 stitches on your needle and be back to working with one piece of yarn
again.
Continue to work even in pattern until body section, not
including turtleneck, measures 4 inches.
Shape back:
*Cast off 5 stitches at the beginning of next 2 rows.
Next row: Slip
first stitch. K1. Pass slipped stitch over. Work in pattern to the last 2 sts. Knit 2 together.
Next row: Work
even in pattern.
Repeat last 2 rows to 32 stitches.
Continue even in pattern until body section, not
including turtleneck, measures 9 inches.
For next 2 rows:
Slip first stitch. K1. Pass slipped stitch over. Work in pattern to last 2 sts. Knit 2 together.
Slip remaining 28 sts onto a stitch holder.
Sew center front seam from the * rows to the top of the
turtleneck.
Body edging:
Using four double pointed needles and right side of work
facing, pick up and knit 35 or so stitches from center seam to stitches on
stitch holder. Transfer the stitches on
the stitch holder to double pointed needle.
Pick up and knit 35 or so stitches till you get back to the center
seam. (divide the stitches evenly
between the four needles, and make sure you have an even number of stitches.)
Work K1 P1 ribbing for 3 rows.
Bind off loosely in ribbing.
Leg edging:
Using three double pointed needles, with right side of
work facing, pick up and knit 20 stitches around leg opening.
Work K1 P1 ribbing for 3 rows.
Bind off loosely in ribbing.
Secure and weave in any loose ends.