Make a Sock Into a Tiny Dog Coat

I figure that there may be other folks who find themselves in same the situation that I faced last week when Winnie came here.  She needed something to wear to keep her warm, the roads were too icy for me to go out to get anything, and it takes time that I didn't have to knit or crochet a coat for her myself.  After thinking on it for a minute, I realized that she is about the same circumference as a sock ... and I certainly should have an orphan sock in the laundry room that could do the trick.

Before I get to the tutorial, here is an observation ... I took this photo of Winnie a few minutes ago, as she was sitting and being completely adorable.

This sweater that she is wearing was given to us by a friend who used to have a tiny poodle.

It's too big for her, but it does the job for now.

Striking resemblance, don't you think.

This is a photo from a post I did in 2010 about catching mice.

Anyway, back to the sweater....

I used to wear these socks a lot.  They were always a bit baggie on me, though they were warm and comfortable inside boots, and good for wearing around the house.  This sock has been in the orphan sock pile for a LONG time ... so I didn't feel too bad about sacrificing it for the benefit of a tiny, cold little dog.

I cut the sock off at the heel, to have as much length as possible to keep Winnie's back warm.  (Discard the foot portion, unless you can think up some other use for it.)

I measured the distance between her front legs and cut two small slits in the sock.

The leg holes needed something to keep them from unraveling ... I decided that crochet may be perfect.  With some cream-colored yarn from my stash and a small crochet hook, I loosely worked one row of single crochet around the slits to form finished arm holes.  (For those of you who don't crochet, overcasting the edge with blanket stitch would work just as well.)

That's all there is to it!  The tail of the sweater raveled a bit, but it wasn't bad enough to worry about.

This boot-sock-turned-dog-sweater served Winnie well for a few days, keeping her warm during our arctic cold spell last week.  Just like these socks did when I wore them, the sweater is all stretched out now and needs to be washed and dried before I can use it on her again.

In a day or two, Winnie will have a new sweater ... I'm knitting one for her.  I looked all over Pinterest for a pattern, and I only found one that was free and was practical for a dog this small.   I'm still having to modify it a bit.  I will show it to you when I'm finished.

Feeling Crafty: Knitting Dishcloths

A couple of years ago, I was given a hand-knit dishcloth as a gift.  I had seen them before and wondered what all the fuss was about ... who would take the time to knit a dishcloth, for Pete's sake.  Turns out, that hand-knit dishcloth is softer, more absorbent, and cleans better than my store-bought ones.  Even though I really like using it, I never took the time to see what it would take to knit some more of them.

Earlier this week, I was working to sift through the mess in my sewing room earlier this week,  and I found some balls of cotton yarn in my yarn stash.  What the heck, I thought ... I might as well see how long it would take to knit a dishcloth or two ...

Or three (so far).

 

 

The pattern I'm using is called "Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth", and it is so simple to make.  Even if you can barely knit, this is absolutely a beginner type of project.  I love the detail of the eyelets at the edges!

 

 

 

The directions for this pattern are all over the Web ... but I will put them here, to make it easier so you don't have to go hunting.

 

 

"Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth"

 

Cotton yarn (like Sugar 'n Cream, available anywhere that sells yarn)

Knitting needles (I used size 7)

 

Instructions:

 

Cast on 4 stitches.

 

Row 1: knit 4.

 

Row 2: knit 2, yarn over (increases one stitch on the row and makes the eyelet), knit to the end of the row.

 

Repeat Row 2 until you have 45 stitches on the needle.

 

Row 3:  Knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit to the end of the row.

 

Row 4: knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to the end of the row.

 

Repeat Row 4, which decreases one stitch from each row, until you have 5 stitches left on the needle.

 

Row 5: knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 1.

 

Bind off the 4 stitches.  Weave in the ends.

 

 

 

That's all there is to it!  I have cranked out one dishcloth per night for the last three nights, and I have a little bit of a fourth one already started.  It's a great mindless activity, to keep my hands busy while watching TV in the evening.  We'll see how long my fascination with this lasts.

 

 

 

Almost makes me WANT to do dishes, when I have something this pretty at the sink to use.

 

 

To Infinity and Beyond

The onset of cooler autumn weather is guaranteed to send me scurrying upstairs to the sewing room to sift through my stash of yarn.  I love to sit and knit or crochet in the evenings, and my favorite projects are ones that I can wear to help ward off the chill of winter ... or give as gifts.

I have been seeing all sorts of Infinity (aka, Mobius) cowls, and I love how they look.  I figured crocheting one of these would be interesting, mainly because it would require that I learn a new trick ... how to make the seamless half-turn in the piece to create the Infinity/Mobius look.

This is what I have so far. 

I slipped a piece of paper under the twist to help you see it better.

To show you the difference, a regular cowl is just a plain tube.

 

I wish I could tell you that I have a thorough understanding of what I did to create the twist, but I would be lying if I said that.  I followed the instructions, blindly doing what I was told, and it sort of worked.  There's a funky lumpy spot at the end of the first round, but I think the dark color of this purple yarn hides it pretty well. 

All that's left now is to keep crocheting round and round and round, until the cowl is as wide as I want it to be.  It's simple, and pretty mindless, and very relaxing.

 

I think I may try something like this next. 

Pattern is HERE.

I'm determined to keep working this until I understand exactly what makes that twisting part.  This probably means that there will be quite a few Infinity items under the tree this Christmas.

Happy Sunday, Everyone!!