Finally! We adopted our pretty Bull-Boxer mix, Nala, from BARCS animal rescue of Baltimore, and she’s a big girl. There are lots of sweaters and coats for those tiny froufrou dogs, but our little pittie is pretty big. She needs a big coat.

Nala Needs a Coat was designed for all those beastie-sized pups. It provides full coverage for your baby’s belly, access to a harness, full-body length, and the freedom to move. Rather than struggling to pull paws through sleeves and heads through turtlenecks, the button flaps make it much easier to put on, and the worsted weight yarn whips up fast! The harness opening is reinforced to handle some mighty tugging, too. Add in some seed stitch and Herringbone for style. Yay! Nala deserves to be warm and fashionable just like the rest of our family.

To create this coat, you should be able to work short rows, one-row button holes, K and P through the back loop, twisted rib, minor cabling, and sizing a squirmy pooch. This pattern is written line by line, without charts. Intermediate knitters should be comfortable. Work it up and don’t let a little cool weather keep you from a long walk!