My First (Dog) Sweater

This week I finally finished a small sweater project I've had in the works for a couple of months now: a dog sweater for Bailey, the precious pooch of my friend Eva. Eva and Bailey come into my workplace every week and have tea and sit and read for a bit (well, Bailey doesn't drink tea, but if you know of a dog that does... leave a comment, that's pretty remarkable!). And I thought Bailey would look darling in a sweater! So we took measurements, and we found the perfect yarn, and I swatched away. I didn't follow an exact pattern, but I did use Kristi Porter's "Knitting For Dogs" as a reference.

I had to put the pieces up against Bailey and make notes where to place the front leg-holes, but other than that the construction was super-easy. The top piece (the back of the sweater) is slightly longer and wider, and the bottom piece (the "front") is skinner and not as long (...you have to make sure the pup in question can't piddle on her/his sweater!). To straighten out the edges I used garter stitch. The difficult part for me was seaming - I'm sort of a novice at mattress stitch, though I've practiced and hope to get better - I suppose I could have left more selvage on parts of it, but overall I'm happy with how it turned out. It was also a perfect fit, and Bailey wasn't bothered at all by wearing it! Here's some pics of her in her brand new sweater, and some pictures of the yarn up close & personal. (It's kind of nubbly - it's easy to get your needles caught in the "bits", but it knits up beautifully and feels gorgeously soft.)

Click to enlarge the pics :)