For most dog owners, their pup is like a member of the family. They take them on vacations, feed them from the table and shower them with gifts on birthdays and holidays.
Show your furry family member you care during the frigid winter months by giving him or her a hand-knit sweater to keep warm during walks and potty breaks.
Knitting a dog sweater is no harder than knitting a scarf — you just need a few basic knitting skills, materials and time! This pattern is for a sweater to fit a small or medium-size dog up to 20 pounds. The great thing about knitting your own dog sweater is that not only will you save money, you can completely customize the pattern, the colors and even the shape and fit! Who said your dog can’t be as stylish as you?
Tutorial provided by Caron International. For a complete step-by-step tutorial on knitting a striped dog sweater, use this one provided by Chopped Tomatoes. If you’d prefer a visual to follow, check out these videos for beginners.
What you’ll need
- 1 x 100 skein of 8-ply double knitting yarn in two colors (“A” and “B”)
- Four double-pointed needles, size 3 mm / US 2.5
- Four double-pointed needles, size 4 mm/ US 6
- Stitch markers
- Tapestry needle to knit in the loose ends
Abbreviations to understand
- MC – Main Color
- CC – Contrast Color
- rnds: rounds
- st – stitch
- sts – stitches
- K – knit
- P – purl
- Inc – Increase 1 by knitting into the front and back of the next stitch.
- tog – together
- beg – begin
Knitting the sweater
Back: Begin at neck opening with two strands of Color A held tog and larger needles; cast on 40 (54, 68, 72) stitches. Work even [or knitting without increasing or decreasing stitching), changing yarn colors every 8 rows, following the color pattern (A, B) until piece measures 8 inches. Maintaining the color pattern, start 1 st each edge every other row 8 (8, 12, 12) times. Repeat again for 24 sts. Work even until piece measures 12 inches from beg. Be sure to bind all stitches loosely.
Underpanel (bottom): Begin at neck opening with two strands of Color A and smaller needles, cast on 7 sts. Following color pattern (A, B), work in K1, P1 rib, inc 1 st each end every third row 7 times until you have 21 sts. Follow the color pattern until piece measures 8 inches from the beginning. Again, be sure to bind all stitches loosely.
To finish: Sew underpanel to back, leaving a 2-inch space on each side for front leg openings at the widest point of bottom/underpanel. Make sure the stripes match when sewing the panels together.
For the neck: With the 4mm/US 6 size double-pointed needles and two strands of Color B, pick up and knit 44 sts evenly around neck opening. Place a marker and work in K1, P1 sets in a rib pattern for 3 inches or desired length. Bind all stitches loosely.
Leg openings: With the 3mm/US 2.5 size double-pointed needles and two strands of Color B, pick up and knit 20 sts evenly around opening. Place a marker and work 5 rnds in K1, P1 sets to create the rib patterns. Bind off all stitches loosely.
For body ribbing: With 4mm/US 6 size double-pointed needles and two strands of Color B, pick up and knit 78 sts evenly around the back opening. Join and work 5 rnds in K1, P1 ribbing pattern. Bind off all sts loosely. Weave in the loose ends using the tapestry needle.
Depending on your knitting expertise, this sweater can take up to a few months to complete.
More handmade tutorials
How to knit – for absolute beginners
Teach your kids to knit
Two sticks and a string: Knitting craft books
Leave a Comment