Update on Lindy Lu's Sweater

A few weeks ago, I posted about a sweater I made for Lindy Lu, my sister's Italian Greyhound Chihuahua mix. I used the same pattern as I did for Beemer's two sweaters.

The husband and I went to their house for a Labor Day Barbecue and I took along the sweater. Lindy Lu was kind enough to model it for the Camera, but she wasn't very keen on it. Could it have been because it was near 90 degrees?

Isn't she cute?

Happy Knitting!

Beemer's Blue Sweater

The sweater for Beemer , aka Mr. B, is done!!! He even agreed to model it for us on a 90 degree day! The pattern, wurstwarmer by Pamela Wynne of Flint Knits was easy and fast to knit. As with human sweaters, sometimes a pattern has to be adjusted for a perfect fit and I will have to make a couple of quick adjustment to the pattern to get it fitting him like a second skin. However, even the first thing my husband said when he saw it was, "it fits him perfect like it was made for a dachshund"!

The express reason I knitted it in the first place was that store bought clothing for pets were not made with the dachshund in mind. As discussed in an earlier post, their long body, deep chest and short legs make them perfect candidate for a custom made sweater.

As for the adjustments, the sweater is a little snug over the back between the sleeve openings and I think that the decreases at the belly are a little to "steep" for Beemer. His pattern size is medium. On the first row of the sleeve opening, the pattern says to leave 34 stitches over the back between the sleeve openings and 26 between the sleeves on the belly. On his next sweater, I will move the openings closer together on the belly side with 38 stitches over the back and 22 stitches between the sleeve openings on the belly side. I am hoping that this will eliminate the pulling that you see on the pictures above.  I also plan to knit the belly decreases more gradually. The decreases are done in every other row and I think that I will do them every third row.

Well, let's see. . . I think Mr. would look dashing in red! Don't you?

Happy knitting!

Not Your Average Sweater

This is my baby, Beemer! And although summer is coming and it will be hot, I needed something fast and easy to knit when I couldn't concentrate easily enough to knit lace, so Beemer is getting a sweater.  Searching for a pattern is easy when you use Ravelry and not only did I find a dog sweater, I found a dog sweater specifically designed for the not-your-average-shaped-dog shape of the dachshund. The Wurstwarmer is a pattern available for sale through Ravelry. Most of the patterns that I knit have been free downloads, but this one was worth every penny of the $3.00 charge.

Designed by Flint Knits, the pattern's "short rows add extra material to accommodate a dachshund’s barrel chest. A long, ribbed, generously-sized turtleneck gently hugs the neck and allows for a wide range of neck and chest shapes and sizes. A long body covers the belly, and more short rows curve the sweater over the rump. Short, wide-set triangular sleeves will stay on even the wiggliest pups."

I am using some old acrylic sport weight yarn by Caron. And when I say old, I mean it -- the yarn is some 14 or 15 years old. The pattern is knit with only one yarn. However, you know I have a hard time not fiddling with a pattern, so I have incorporated a stripe into the sweater. I knit down to the end of the chest increase/short rows in navy, then switched to a medium blue just before the bind off and cast on for the leg holes. A total of 9 rows of knitting in the medium blue, then a single row of cream, three rows of medium blue, another single row of cream, 9 rows of medium blue and back to navy.

If you have ever knit socks with a short row heel, this pattern should be a breeze. In fact the sweater looked a lot like a giant sock until I intentionally knit in two holes for Beemer's legs! I am guessing that this pattern would be great for other long low dogs such as Basset Hounds, short legged Jack Russell Terriers and Dandie Dinmont Terriers. Although a Dandie Dinmont pretty much has its own sweater!

If this one works out well, I may be knitting an entire wardrobe for my Mr. B!

Happy knitting!