Knitting a sweater for a dog

Video: how to: knit your dog a sweater w/ PATTERN for beginner knitters

Content

To step
Part 1 of 4: Measure your dog and check your measurements
Part 2 of 4: Knitting the back part
Part 3 of 4: Knitting the belly part
Part 4 of 4: Assembling your dog sweater
Necessities

If your dog gets cold on the daily walk, knit a sweater for your four-legged friend! Since you want a sweater that fits your dog well and isn't too loose or too tight, measure your dog's length and girth. Decide whether to knit a small, medium, large, or extra-large sweater. Use the basic knitting stitch to make a back part and a belly part. Then pull a thread through a large blunt needle and sew the two pieces together to form the sweater. This sweater is great for beginners as it only requires one knitting stitch!

To step

Part 1 of 4: Measure your dog and check your measurements

Use a tape measure to measure your dog's chest and height. To measure chest circumference, wrap the tape measure around the widest part of your dog's rib cage. To measure your dog's length, hold one end of the tape measure at the neck, by the collar, and pull it towards the base of the tail. Write down the number.
- To make your dog stand still, you can give it a biscuit.
Determine what size the sweater should be. The number of stitches you start with to make the back part and belly part depends on the size of sweater you want to make. View your dog's sizes and determine which size best matches them. The finished sizes are:
- Small: 45.5 cm (18 inch) chest and 30.5 cm (12 inch) length
- Medium size: 56 cm (22 inches) in chest and 43 cm (17 inches) in length
- Large: 66 cm (26 inch) chest and 51 cm (20 inch) length
- Extra Large: 76 cm (30 inch) chest and 61 cm (24 inch) length
Buy enough wool for the sweater. Look for very knobby or thick wool in a color that you like. To make a small, medium, or large sweater, you will need one to two 170 gram (6 ounce) balls of wool. To make an oversized sweater, you will need two to three 170 gram (6 ounce) balls of wool.
- If you want to knit with different colors, choose two or three colors. Switch colors as you knit the rows.
Choose 9 mm (13 US) needles for the project. Use needles that are most comfortable for you. Try bamboo, metal, plastic, and wooden needles. You will also need a thick blunt needle with a large eye to sew the back and stomach part of the sweater together.
Check your size. To make sure that your sweater shows the true size, you need to knit a test piece that you can measure. Make 8 stitches and knit 16 rows to make a square patch. Use a ruler to measure the square. If the thread and needles are suitable for the pattern, the patch will measure 10 cm (4 inches).
- If the patch is too big, use thinner needles. If the patch is too small, use thicker needles.
- Discard the patch when you are done measuring.

Part 2 of 4: Knitting the back part

Cast on the stitches for the sweater you are going to make. Use 9 mm (13 US) needles and cast on as follows:
- Small: 25 stitches
- Medium: 31 stitches
- Large: 37 stitches
- Extra Large: 43 stitches
Work the next 18 to 40.5 cm (7 to 16 inches) in garter stitch. Once you have cast on the stitches, make each row the same way to make the garter stitch. Keep knitting this stitch until the back of the sweater is the following size:
- Small: 18 cm (7 in)
- Medium Size: 30.5 cm (12 inches)
- Large: 35.5 cm (14 inches)
- Extra Large: 40.5 cm (16 inches)
Make a diminishing row. Once the back piece is as long as you want, you need to decrease the stitches so that the knit is narrower. Knit one stitch and then knit the next two stitches in one stitch, making the knit a bit narrower. Then work regular stitches until you reach the last three stitches on the needle. Knit two of them together into one and then knit the last stitch.
- The narrow end of the knit will reach the dog's collar.
Work the next three rows in garter stitch. Keep knitting each stitch in the next three rows to make the garter stitch.
Knit one decreasing row. To make the knit gradually narrower again, knit the first stitch and then the next two stitches together into one.Then knit each stitch until you reach the last three stitches on the needle. Combine two stitches into one stitch and then knit the last stitch on the needle.
Alternate garter stitch rows with diminishing rows. Knit three more rows and then work another decreasing row. Repeat this four times if you are knitting a small or medium sweater. If you are knitting a large sweater you will have to repeat this five times and if you are knitting an extra large sweater you will have to repeat it seven times. Once you have completed the diminishing rows, you should have the following number of stitches on your needle:
- Small: 15 stitches
- Medium: 21 stitches
- Large: 25 stitches
- Extra Large: 27 stitches
Cast off the back part. To remove the back piece from the needle when finished, knit the first two stitches. Insert the tip of the needle into the stitch closest to you on the right needle. Trace that stitch so that it ends up in front of the second stitch. Let him fall off the right needle. Continue to knit one stitch from the left needle to the right needle, then repeat one stitch until only one stitch remains on the needle.
Cut the wool and knot the last stitch. Cut the wool so that you are left with a piece of 12 cm (5 inches). Loosen the last stitch on the needle to enlarge the hole. Pull the loose thread through the hole and remove the knitting needle. Pull the wool tight to tie off the wool.
- You should now have a finished back part without a needle.

Part 3 of 4: Knitting the belly part

Cast on enough stitches for the size sweater you are going to make. To make the belly part of the sweater you will need to cast on the following number of stitches:
- Small: 11 stitches
- Medium: 13 stitches
- Large: 15 stitches
- Extra Large: 17 stitches
Work the next 11.5 to 27.5 cm (4 ½ to 10 ¾ inches) in garter stitch. To make the garter stitch, knit each row until the belly part of the sweater is the following size:
- Small: 11.5 cm (4 ½ inches)
- Medium size: 18.5 cm (7 ¼ inches)
- Large: 26 cm (10 ¼ inches)
- Extra Large: 27.5 cm (10 ¾ inch)
Knit a decreasing row. Knit the first stitch and then knit the next two stitches together into one stitch. Keep knitting each stitch until there are three more stitches on the left needle. Knit two of those stitches together to decrease one stitch and knit the last stitch normally.
Work the next four rows in garter stitch. Keep knitting each stitch in the next four rows.
Knit another decreasing row. To make the belly part of the collar narrower, knit the first stitch normally and then knit the next two stitches together into one. Then continue working the stitches normally until you reach the last three stitches on the needle. Knit two stitches together into one and knit the last stitch on the needle as normal.
Alternate garter stitch rows with diminishing rows. Knit five more rows and then another decreasing row. Repeat this twice for a small sweater and three times for a medium sweater. If you are making a large sweater you will have to repeat this four times and for an extra large sweater you will have to repeat it five times.
Cast off the belly part. To remove the belly part of the needle when it is finished, knit the first two stitches. Then insert the tip of the left needle into the stitch closest to you on the right needle. Pass that stitch over so it comes before the second stitch. Let the stitch fall off the right needle.
Cast off the last stitch. Continue to knit one stitch from the left needle to the right needle and pass each stitch over the stitch before it. Repeat this until you only have one stitch left on the needle.
Cut the wool and knot the last stitch. Cut the wool so that you have a piece of loose thread measuring 12 cm (5 inches). Pull out the last stitch on the needle to widen the hole. Pull the loose thread through the hole and pull out the knitting needle. Pull the thread taut to tie it off.
- You should now have a finished belly part that is slightly smaller and narrower than the back part.

Part 4 of 4: Assembling your dog sweater

Pass a thread through the eye of the blunt needle. Pull about 18 inches (45 cm) of thread from the ball and thread it through the blunt needle. Use the same thread that you used to knit the parts of the sweater.
Align the back part and the belly part. Place the back part and the belly part on top of each other, so that the right side (the front sides) are facing each other. Align the edges evenly.
Sew the back part and the belly part together. Place the blunt needle in the narrow side that you bound off. Sew the sides together and repeat on the other side of the sweater. To make sure you leave room for the dog's front legs, sew the pieces together as follows:
- Small: 5 cm (2 inches)
- Medium Size: 6.5 cm (2 ½ inches)
- Large: 7.5 cm (3 inches)
- Extra Large: 9 cm (3 ½ inches)
Leave an open space for the legs. To make room for the legs, stop sewing and leave a few inches open. As follows:
- Small: 7.5 cm (3 inches)
- Medium Size: 9 cm (3 ½ inches)
- Large: 10 cm (4 inches)
- Extra Large: 11.5 cm (4 ½ inches)
Sew together the rest of the length of the sweater on both sides. To sew the back part and belly part together, continue sewing to the end of the sweater. Fasten the last stitch and cut the thread. Turn the sweater inside out to hide the hems and put it on your dog.
Add decoration, if desired. If you would like to add buttons or make a collar on the sweater, decide which style you want. Choose decorative buttons for the side or belly of the sweater. You can also sew felt flowers, pompoms or small bells to the sweater.
- If you want to make a hooded sweater or a sweater with functional buttons to open and close, find a more challenging pattern for your dog sweater.