My friends Sarah and Robb are dog lovers like me. So when I found out they were going to have a baby, I thought a dog sweater would be the perfect gift. The dog on the sweater is Ella, their sweet but skittish girl who is black with a white spot on her chest. When Forrest was born, Ella sent out the birth announcements! Ella is knit separately and sewn on, to make it easy for you to personalize it without having to rework the sweater. Use a different color or texture yarn, and tweak the chart if you’d like to match your own dog (just be sure to match the dog gauge).

This pullover is worked from the bottom up in pieces, then sewn together. You may either work a regular shoulder or a buttoned shoulder, which will make it easier to pull the sweater over the child’s head. The dog is worked separately from either written instructions or a chart, then sewn on.

Skill Level: Intermediate

Skills Used: Increasing and decreasing, picking up stitches, 3-Needle Bind-Off

Sizes: Child’s sizes 6-12 months (12-18 months, 18-24 months, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12).

Finished Measurements: 22 (24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38)“ chest.

Materials: Worsted weight wool blend: 170 (195, 220, 250, 315, 375, 435, 490, 555) yards each A and B; fingering weight wool: 90 yards C, for dog; small amount of white superwash wool in sport weight or finer, for chest (D). Model knit in Vintage by Berroco (50% acrylic / 40% wool / 10% nylon; 100 gram hank = 217 yards): color #5164 Tang (A) and #5165 Wasabi (B); dog knit in Baby Ull by Dale of Norway (100% superwash merino wool; 50 gram skein = 180 yards): color# 0090 Black (C).

Needles and Notions: One pair size 6 (4 mm) knitting needles, OR SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE; one set size 6 (4 mm) double-pointed needles (dpn), for collar; one pair size 2 (2.75mm) knitting needles, for dog; stitch marker; stitch holders; 2 (2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3) 5/8” buttons (optional, for buttoned shoulder); two 3/8” shank buttons for eyes; one 3/16” shank button for nose.

Gauges: In Stockinette stitch, 18 stitches and 28 rows = 4”/10 cm, using larger needles and A; in Stockinette stitch, 32 stitches and 40 rows = 4”/10 cm, using smaller needles and C. TAKE TIME TO SAVE TIME, CHECK YOUR GAUGE.

Buy any 4 of my patterns at the same time through my Ravelry store and automatically receive a 20% discount.