Beginner Dog Sweater – Free Pattern
This adorable dog sweater is so easy and quick to make. I love how customizable it is. When I was making this sweater, I was frequently trying it out on my dog, Zoey, to see if it needed more increases, where the leg holes would need to be, etc. Luckily, she was pretty sleepy and let me use her as my little model. Overall, this worked up pretty quick. It took me the length of a football game from start to finish (with lots of snack breaks ;P). Without further ado, lets get started!Materials:
- Medium (4) Yarn (I used Red Heart Super Saver in Petal Pink), I needed less than 1 skein for my 15 lb. dog
- 5.5mm crochet hook
- Stitch Markers
- Tapestry Needle
- Scissors
Abbreviations: ch = chain sc = single crochet hdc = half double crochet st(s) = stitches
Notes:Pattern written in US terms Customize this pattern to fit your pup! Keep trying it on your pup and adjust as needed.
First we'll create the neck:
Ch 21 (Make this however tall you want the neck to be, I did a long neck as I wanted a turtle neck vibe) skip first ch and sc in each ch across, turn Row 2: ch 1, skip first sc and sc in each st across, back loop only, turn Row 3-21: Repeat row 2 Tip = Use your dog's collar to know how many rows to do, the width of this neck should be one or two rows longer than your dog's collar. Join the first row and last row together using slip stitch or sc. Where the neck is going to continue on to be the body of the sweater, sc in each row along the bottom.
Body of Sweater:
Now we will hdc all the way around! For the body of the sweater, either have your dog close by to check measurements or measure your dog ahead of time and have the measurements of their chest with you. The body is really easy and customizable. It's basically half double crochet's all the way around using increases/decreases as needed. My dog, Zoey, has a puffy chest, but small waste. So I increased every 6 half double crochets for about the first 3 or 4 rows, and then decreased every 6 half double crochets for one row after chest.
Creating Leg holes:
I was repeatedly trying the sweater on Zoey as I was making it to see when I should make the leg holes. When I finally reached the point where the sweater reached her legs, I added stitch markers when it was on her, to know how wide the leg hole needed to be.
Continue to hdc in each stitch until you reach the first stitch marker. To create the leg hole, *ch the number of sts you're skipping in between the stitch markers + 2 (I added two ch for some extra leg room) After the second stitch marker, continue with hdc.* When you reach the next stitch marker, rep *. When you have the leg holes in, make sure to try it on your pup to make sure it's fitting at this point. Continue hdc until it's the right length for your pup. Fasten off and weave in ends.