Sweaters to Knit for Dog and Cat Lovers

I like to share a range of patterns with you all, include free and paid patterns, and projects with a lot of different styles (though admittedly most of the things I share are things I would actually want to knit myself, if I had infinite time and yarn!).

In scouting around for patterns I regularly visit the websites of the big yarn companies that often produce free knitting patterns, and that’s how I found these beauties.

I think I spotted the dog pullover first, but in good, unbiased fashion, there’s also a cat pullover pattern.

Both of them are worked flat in pieces with worsted weight yarn, using the intarsia method of colorwork.

If you don’t know what intarsia is, it’s a method of colorwork where you’re knitting blocks of color, each with their own ball of yarn. So for instance when you start the bottom of the cat’s face you’d have a ball of yarn for your main sweater color, then one for the light gray, one dark gray, another light gray and another one for the background color. You twist the threads as you go so there aren’t gaps in your knitting. It’s really easy once you try it, but yarn management can be an issue.

Anyway, the sweaters both come in seven sizes, with a chest measurement ranging from 42 to 65 inches (it’s clearly meant to be worn with some positive ease). The cat sweater as shown uses five colors, while the dog uses six. It would be easy to make the cat sweater look more like your favorite feline by changing the colors. For the dog you could look for other dog breeds done in knitting charts if you want to alter it to look more like yours.

Both the dog and the cat are available as free downloads from Lion Brand, or you can buy a kit with all the yarn you need.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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