Created in honor of the Chinese Year of the Dog, this dog sweater has the Chinese character for “dog” worked in a stranded band around the neck.

The sweater is worked top down in the round from neck to front leg holes. Stitches are bound off to start leg holes, and chest and sides/back are worked flat separately, then rejoined after leg holes to work the middle of the body in the round. The lower body is worked flat. Body and leg hole edgings are added during finishing.

Difficulty
Adventurous beginner to intermediate: skills include basic arithmetic (multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting), reading colorwork chart, increasing and decreasing, stranded knitting, and picking up stitches for edgings.

Sizes & Measurements
Given the enormous variation in dog dimensions, I gave up on trying to grade this pattern in a half-dozen “standard” sizes, and instead wrote up instructions for customizing the fit for your dog. If you have tried to buy sweaters or jackets for your dog, you know that to choose a size, you are generally asked to measure chest circumference at the widest point, length from collar to base of tail, and sometimes neck circumference.

For this pattern, there are a number of additional measurements required. This is because the first two prototypes I made for this sweater had the following issues: on the first try, the front leg holes were too small and too far back, decreasing range of movement (the front legs actually swing from the point of the shoulder (see diagram), which is higher up on the chest than you might expect). The leg holes were also too far apart, causing bunching of fabric at the chest. On the second try, the bottom of the sweater tended to ride up. The additional measurements are intended to better place the leg holes, and to allow the pullover to be narrowed just behind the ribcage, holding it in place.

Measurements required:
A) Neck circumference just behind/below collar
B) Chest circumference at widest point
C) Body circumference just behind ribs (this should be smaller than chest circumference; the sweater narrows at this point to prevent it from riding up)
D) Distance from collar to point of shoulder (to find point of shoulder, feel for bony prominence on left or right of upper front chest)
If D is between 2.75” and 3.5”, the larger stranded pattern is too large to complete before the leg holes start. The smaller stranded pattern (not shown) can be substituted, or the stranded pattern can be omitted. If D is less than 2.75”, even the smaller stranded pattern is too large to complete before the leg homes start, and can be omitted.
E) Distance between points of shoulders
F) Distance from just below collar along underside of chest to widest part of chest
G) Distance between front legs
H) Front leg circumference at top (measure as close to underside of body as possible)
I) Distance from just behind collar along back to base of tail (if you subtracted .5” for (D), do the same here)

Note: If your dog has a small neck and a large but short chest, this pattern may not be suitable, because chest increases are worked every other round or row, and this may not be a rapid enough rate of increase. To find out:
Multiply (F) by rnd/row gauge (7 rows per inch), then subtract 8: _______rnds/rows. This is the number of rnds/rows from the end of the neck ribbing to the widest part of the chest.
Subtract (A) from (B), then multiply by stitch gauge (5 sts per inch): _______. This is the number of sts increased from the neck to the widest part of the chest. If this is greater than the first number, then this pattern is NOT suitable for your dog.
Example: (11 x 7) – 8 = 69 rnds/rows from ribbing to widest part of chest. (25-15) x 5 = 50. Since 50 is less than 69, this pattern will work.

Yarn Plymouth Yarn Select Worsted Merino Superwash (100% superwash merino wool; 218 yd/200 m per 3.5 oz/100 g): Main Color (MC) #86 Denim, Contrast Color (CC) #01 Natural.
This yarn is borderline #3-#4 DK/Light- Worsted/Medium.

Calculate yardage needed for your dog:
Multiply C times I to get generous estimate of square inches for Main Color (MC), then divide this number by 1.5 to get estimated yardage of MC: _______
Example: 22.5 x 21 = 472.5 square inches; 472.5 / 1.5 = 315 yds or 2 skeins

Multiply A x 3 to get generous estimate of square inches of Contrast Color (CC), then divide this number by 1.5 to get estimated square yardage of CC for your dog: _______
Example: 15 x 3 = 45; 45 / 1.5 = 30 yds or 1 skein

In the above examples, there is ample extra yardage because 2 skeins of MC = 436 yds and 1 skein of CC = 218 yds. IF your calculated yardage is very close to total yardage in skein(s), recommend purchasing additional skein.

Needles US Size 6/4 mm: Needles in preferred style for small circumference knitting in the round, for upper Body, and circular needle, 16-24” long depending on dog’s chest measurement, for Body. US Size 4/3.5 mm: Needles in preferred style for small circumference knitting in the round, for neck and leg hole edgings, and circular needle, 24-36” long depending on dog’s size, for body edging. Adjust needle sizes if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions
Markers (m); stitch holders; tapestry needle.

Gauge 20 sts/28 rnds or rows to 4”/10 cm in stockinette st, using larger needles. Measure gauge on blocked swatch. For pattern calculations, 1” = 5 sts and 7 rnds or rows.