A Knit Dog Sweater That’s Easy to Customize

I do not know and I have not ever owned a dog, but I know that dogs sometimes get cold. Some dogs like to wear sweaters, and some humans like to dress their dogs in sweaters, regardless of the dog’s feelings about it.

If you fall into any of those camps and have ever wanted to knit your dog a sweater, the Vanilla dog sweater from Ruth Ritskes is a good place to start.

It looks like a really simple design that would be easy to customize for the exact size and preferences of your dog. It comes in three sizes but if you have your dog handy while you’re knitting it, you can easily modify the girth or the length as needed to keep your pooch comfortable and stylish.

It’s worn with leg holes for the front legs and is open around the back. I’ll bet you could add a little bit of knitting to the leg holes if you wanted to give more coverage, and you can make the body of the sweater go as far back on their body as you want it to.

And of course you can go wild with stripes, add in different textured knitting patterns, throw in their name worked in duplicate stitch…the possibilities are endless.

It’s a very easy knitting pattern if you just knit it as written, too. All you need to know is know to knit, purl, make one and knit in the round. The pattern includes photos and links to videos to make it easier for you.

You can get the free pattern as a download on Ravlery.

If you’re looking for more dog sweater patterns, check out my roundup of Halloween-themed dog sweaters (many of which could be altered to not be seasonal if you prefer).

[Photo: Ruth Ritskes]

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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