As promised, a free knit sweater pattern for your extra small dog.
……She’s so cute and warm and sleepy from all the modeling……
For those of you new to my blog (thats everyone but me) Darby is my adorable 3lb 1oz chihuahua who spends most of her time asleep on my lap and is the owner of an ever increasing sweater collection. Now that it is starting to rain and get colder in the Pacific Northwest she is more that happy to wear a sweater or two.
As promised to my blog reader, I’ve rewritten Darby’s sweater pattern and (hopefully) corrected any errors. This time, it has a cable on the back, ribbing at the top and bottom (to prevent rolling and give it a nice stretch) and shaping along the center, between the legs so it is fitted all the way along the body. I am working on a new pattern and trying some different methods of shaping the see if I can get an even nicer finished look. I apologize in advance for the awful harvest gold color, it was a stash-busting opportunity for me.
Lion brand Woolease
Size 8 double pointed needles
I hate sewing edges, so whenever possible, I will knit in the round. Naturally, I make a lot of hats. This sweater will start out at 24 inches, increasing for the chest area and then adding leg holes. I have added a cable along the back. If you don’t want to do that, just knit all the way across each row and do the increases and decreases the same. It may come out a little looser though.
Cast on 24 sts loosely, divide equally over 3 needles, 8 sts each needle, join together (this will be the bottom center, between the legs area)
Do a k2, p2 rib for 2 inches
Begin increases for chest
Switch to straight stitch
kfb of first stitch, k7, p1, k6, p1, k7, kfb of last stitch (26 sts)
Kfb, k 8, p1,k6, p1, k8, kfb, (28 sts)
Kfb, k9, p1, k6, p1, k9, kfb (30)
Kfb, k10, p1, k6, p1, k10, kfb (32)
Kfb, k 11, p1, k6, p1, k11, kfb (34)
Kfb, k12, p1, do a cable crossover here, (pick up the 1st 3 sts to be knitted and put on cable needle, k the next 3 sts and then knit the 3 sts on the cable needle), p1, k12, kfb (36)
Kfb, k13, p1,k6, p1, k13, kfb (38)
Kfb, K14, p1, k6, p1, k14, kfb (40)
Making leg holes
Kfb, k3, bind off 7, k to end of needle, p1, k6, p1 (center needle) k6, bind off 7, k2, kfb
Just to make sure I’ve explained this right, you will have 4 sts, 7 bound off and 6 more sts on 1st needle, 8 sts on 2nd needle, and 6 sts, 7 bound off, and 4 sts on last needle for a total of 28
Kfb, k 3, cast on 7 (I do this by making a backwards loop on my needle for each cast on st.), k6, p1, k6, p1, k6, c/o 7, k3, kfb (44)
Kfb, k 17, p1, k6, p1, k17, kfb (46)
K19, p1, make cable, p1, k19
K19, p1, k6, p1, k19
K19, p1, k6, p1, k19
K19, p1, k6, p1, k19
K19, p1, k6, p1, k19
K19, p1, k6, p1, k19
K19, p1, make cable, p1, k19
K19, p1, k6, p1, k19
K19, p1, k6, p1, k19
SSK, k17, p1, k6, p1, k17, sl1, k1, psso (44)
K18, p1, k6, p1, k18
K18, p1, k6, p1, k18
K18, p1, make cable, p1, k18
K18, p1, k6, p1, k18
K18, p1, k6, p1, k18
Ssk, k16, p1, k6, p1, k16, sl 1, k1, psso. (42)
K17, p1, k6, p1, k17
K17, p1, k6, p1, k17
K17, p1, make cable, p1, k17
K17, p1, k6, p1, k17
K17, p1, k6, p1, k17
Ssk, k15, p1, k6, p1, k15, slip 1, k1, psso (40)
K2, p2 ribbing for 1 inch, bind off loosely.
Sleeves
Pick up the 14 stitches around the sleeve hole plus an extra by grabbing one of the stitches in between the bound off rows for 16 sts total. Knit for 8 rows and bind off loosely.
Finishing
Sew in all loose threads. (I hate this part)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
autumnblossomknits 
What is Kfb?
Kfb means knit into front and back of stitch.
Great pattern!
Hi!! I am so glad you posted this pattern. Look forward to making it soon.
julie
I just made this pattern last night for our new little chihuahua, 3 mth old “Juniper”. I used self striping yarn and it is REALLY cute! Thanks so much for the pattern. I live in Montana so i know I will be making her a bunch of these!!!
Hi!
I just started working on this sweater pattern for my friend’s 4 1/2 lbs. Chihuahua. The pup has a 10-in. neck. I don’t think that the CO sts of 24 is going to be big enough or loose enough to get his head through.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Deb
Cute pattern! My chihuahua unfortunately is 8 lbs so I have to do some fudging the numbers thing to make this one fit her 🙂
what is b/o?
and are you ment to have 3 needles? i am confused!!!
Hi September, I can’t seem to e-mail you your answers, so here is the e-mail I sent you, hopefully you’ll pop back on here so you can see the answers.
Hi September,
Ok, the sweater is knit in the round on three double pointed needles (like this: http://knitting-and.com/wiki/Knitting_With_Double_Pointed_Needles ) instead of being flat and sewn up afterward. If you have a very small circular needles I’m sure you could use that or 2 circular needles at once Like this: http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/twocirculars.html or the magic loop method (which I haven’t tried) like this: http://knitting-and.com/wiki/Magic_Loop
You can see why i might prefer knitting with the double pointed needles, it looks like the easiest out of the three, but everyone has their own prefence and many find the other methods comfortable.
B/O means to bind off your stitches, you might just say cast off instead: http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/casting-off
Hope it all helps!
Autumn
Can’t wait to try this pattern my M-I-L just adopted a 6 week old toy poodle in the 2lb range and I think this will be perfect. My other patterns work for my 8lb min pin (petite size) but that’s still too big so today I hit google and hit gold with your site right away!
Your Chi baby Darby is very very cute!
I really would love a new sweater for my chihuahua this winter! and this looks like the perfect project! could you tell me how many pounds is your chihuahua? mine is about 5lbs so I am not sure if this will fit him maybe I have to change it a bit..
also what is ssk and psso?
thank you so much ! great pattern and your chi is soooo cute!!! >.<
These are great patterns! I’ve been looking for Tiny Dog patterns, and these are the best yet. 🙂 TY!
I want to knit a dog coat for a two pound eight week old chihauhau ……..any chance for a pattern would be very helpful.
June Bryant
Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada
Just like you, I hate to sew in ends. I have adapted a pattern to knit in the round rather than in 2 parts. Thanks for this pattern; hope to try it soon, perhaps w/o the cable.
I love this but my Zoe is 5.6 pounds – would you help me with how to make it fit – I guess I could figure it out with the guage but if you can help I would b appreciative.
Your baby is adorable!
thanks,
Debbie
Pingback: 5 lb Single Cable Dog Sweater « autumnblossomknits
What measurements do I need to take of my dog to make this sweater fit? I have a 1 yr old 2 lb chihuahua. What are the measurements of your dog?
I measure around the neck to get my starting size and around again just behind the front legs so that I know how big I need to increase to. If I were to do it again I would knit it a little bigger for Darby, who actually weighs LESS now then she did a year ago when I revised this pattern.
Darby is 7″ around her neck and just over 10″ around her chest. When I wrote this I think she was maybe 5″ around her neck and 8″ around her chest, but that’s just a guess at this point. I knit at 4 stitches to the inch so I just measure around the neck, multiply by 4 and cast on.
Great post. I was going to write something similar. Will check this blog more often I think.
you can find a pattern here, too – http://chihuahua-clothes.blogspot.com/2009/12/hand-made-chihuahua-clothes.html
There is more than 1 there
have been looking for such a pattern to knit a sweater for a friend who has such a dog. thanks heaps! plan to try it right away. at 85 i hope i can make it work for me.
HI…Thank you for such a cute pattern….I scanned the internet for a pattern for a tea cup Chihuahua, Because after years and years of trying to purchase one i could afford…I am finally able to see one tomorrow…PLEASE pray i can bring this baby home…so cute..i was sooo excited, I right away found this pattern and am knitting it as we speak!!… Thanks so much
Celine April 2011
Thank you much for this pattern. I started it today and finished it. Gotta love that. I will say that I haven’t done the legs yet, but my little Lucy is snuggled on my lap wearing her sleeveless sweater as I type. 🙂 I probably will do the legs since we walk to work most days regardless of the weather. I’ve got to find her some cute boots to match, hee hee! Again, thank you, it was truly a delight to knit, and I’ve already got plans to do another in a heavier yarn for the colder days. I’m on ravelry (wonderfullyknit), so you can check Lucy out in her pink cabled sweater. 🙂 Lori
I have a question about the straight stitch. You say to switch to straight stitch right before the chest increase. Wouldn’t that mean that the stitches would be opposite from the previous row? For example your instructions say:
Kfb, k 8, p1,k6, p1, k8, kfb, (28 sts)
Kfb, k9, p1, k6, p1, k9, kfb (30)
My question is: wouldn’t it be like
Kfb, k 8, p1,k6, p1, k8, kfb, (28 sts)
Kfb, p9, k1, p6, k1, p9, kfb (30)
I am a beginner, so please explain whether I’m totally wrong, and why.
Thanks!
I got it! I was a beginner when I wrote the pattern. What I meant to say was to switch to stockinette stitch (all knit stitches). Maybe I got my words jumbled. I’m really sorry that this response is so late in coming too, that’s totally lame of me.
Alright, I figured it out. This being my first time knitting in the round, I didn’t realize each row wouldn’t have to be switched. Thanks for the pattern, I’m having a lot of fun with it.
I was wondering what the finished measurements of your dog sweaters are. My neighbor has an adorable Chi-weanie. I don’t know if I spelled that right, she is a Chihuahua mix with a 13 inch girth (Chest). I am going to make a sweater for her for Christmas.
Wow, the chi-qweenie is much bigger than Darby. My finished sweaters are usually about 8 inches around and maybe 10 inches long. Darby is only 3lbs, so the sweaters I make are dinky.
🙂
Love your patterns, so darn cute, it is hard to find XXS, my little girl weighs in at a heavy 26oz. My question is is there a printer friendly button I can hit and skip all of the gobbly-gook? Love to read the stuff but don’t want a print out. Thank you for the patterns….
I really don’t know. I think I would have to make it into a PDF to make it more printer friendly.
I shall try this, I have a 2.2lb chihuahua and its getting cold here in Norfolk, UK!! thanks
is it possible to knit this flat? I haven’t mastered knitting in the round yet!
Great Pattern ! I made for a lady who’s pup is 1.2 lb and pup and lady adore the coat! She has asked me to make another one for the pup in another shade of pink ! Thanks for a great pattern…easy to read and easy to follow ! Keep up the great work !
Thank you!
After doing the two inches of K2 P2 you say to switch to straight stitch… So I just transfer all of the stitches in the round to one needle? Sorry I am a beginner so I want to make sure I get it right.
Also, if I am transferring all of the stitches to one needle how will I connect them (to be round) at the end?
Straight stitch is another name for stockinette stitch. You will continue to work in the round and knit all the stitches instead of knitting and purling. Do not switch to one needle, keep going around and around.
Reblogged this on Stella's Many Twisted Stitches and Winding Roads and commented:
I am currently working on a very quick project, a Little Dog Swearter, for a friend’s 4 lb puppy. It is going fast; hope I get it done before Copper outgrows it!!!
Thank you, its turning out perfect!!!
Glad to hear it!
Who is the author of articles and clothes ?
I am. That is why I post them here.