Helping our users. ​Crochet Sweater for a Small Dog.

You’ll need:

Worsted weight yarn;

Crochet hook 5,5 mm;

Stitch Markers;

Tape Measure;

Scissors;

Tapestry needle.

Instructions

Collar

The collar is made in short rows then joined so it can be worn around the neck.

To figure out how long you need to start your chain, measure your dogs neck from behind their ear to where their neck meets their body. This will be the height of the collar.

(You can make the collar shorter if you’d like, simply fold the collar down for your dog but also have the option to fold it up like a turtle neck).

Once your chain is long enough, single crochet into the 2nd chain from hook and across, turn.

Chain 1, single crochet in back loop only all the way across, turn.

Repeat the last row until it fits around your dogs neck or is the size of their collar. Add a few extra rows (about an inch) so it will be comfortable around my dog’s neck.

Join the last row to the first row to form a loop to complete the collar. Join by single crocheting or slip stitching the two rows together. Turn your work 90 degrees and single crochet along the side of the collar (one single crochet for each row). Join to the first single crochet. DO NOT FASTEN OFF.

Slip the collar over your dogs head to make sure it fits comfortably.

Body

We will begin to work in rounds using half double crochets to make the body of the sweater.

For this step, you will need to measure your dog’s chest. Using a tape measure, wrap it around their chest under their armpits and around their back. Measure loosely, you probably won’t want the sweater to be too tight fitting.

You will start to increase the following rounds until the sweater matches the measurement of your dog’s chest measurement.

Make two rows of increases (increasing only after every 3 half double crochets) until you got his chest measurement (or close to it).

Once your sweater matches the chest measurement of your dog, try it on your dog to see approximately how much more length you need until it reaches your dog’s legs.

Continue to work half double crochets in the round (just one in each) and trying it on your dog every so often until you see that it reaches your dog’s legs.

Leg Holes

Once the sweater reaches the legs, you will want to make the leg holes.To make leg holes, you will want to put the sweater on your dog and put stitch markers on the inside and outside of each leg.

OR you can measure the space between your dogs legs in the front and the width of your dogs leg.

If you used stitch markers, you will simply continue onto the next row and half double crochet until you get to a stitch marker that marks where their leg begins. Count the number of stitches until the next stitch marker and chain that number of stitches and skip all those stitches to leave space for their leg. Half double crochet into the stitch immediately after and keep half double crocheting and do the same for the next leg hole.

If you used a measuring tape, you will continue onto the next row and half double crochet until it measures the space between your dogs front legs. Then you will work on the first leg hole.

Chain until it equals their leg width measurement. Skip the same amount of stitches and then half double crochet into the stitch after to create the leg opening.

Continue to half double crochet around until you have the amount of stitches left you need for the second leg hole. Chain the amount of stitches left and join to the first half double crochet.

Try the sweater on your dog and make sure it fits them well through the chest and their leg holes are big enough to get their paws in and out.

Finishing

All the “difficult” parts are over and now we just need to add length to the sweater.

Continue to half double crochet around (one in each stitch) until the sweater reaches somewhere around your dog’s rib cage.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

You will now work on lengthening the back of the sweater.

Attach yarn to where it lines up to the outside of the left leg hole and half double crochet until you reach where the outside of the second left hole lines up. Turn your work.

Continue to work in rows until the back of the sweater is long enough to cover your dog’s back.

To add a bit of ribbing detail at the very end of the sweater, alternate front post and back post double crochets for 2-3 rows.