Big Watson Sweater

Dogs have weird bodies, yet we try to design sweaters for them that are based on sweaters for four-leggeds. And every dog body is different, so patterns invariably don't quite work. In these parts, it does get cold occasionally (although lately at unseemly times, like NOW), so those of us with short-haired dogs persist.

Pattern: Big Penny Sweater, by Corrinne Niessner.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, in "Denim"
Needles: US10.5
Modifications: see below

Watson is a medium-sized dog, but the medium fleece jacket I bought for him, while long enough, does not go around him very completely, as he has a deep chest. So I knew I would have to make at least some modifications to the pattern. I started by mixing and matching the stitch counts for both sizes in the pattern, going for the smaller number for length and the larger for girth.

And yet I still had to add inches to the girth while extending the back and also ending the main part of the body soon enough so that he doesn't pee on it. I didn't seam the top inch or so, as it is too bulky with his collars. My plan to reinforce the leg holes also had to be abandoned, as the holes are a bit snug and misaligned.

At some point I will probably custom design a sweater for him, but since winter is almost over (DESPITE THE SNOW FALLING FROM THE SKY TODAY), I will postpone that project.

Not fashion forward

I guess one could call this a "grandpa vest". Nothing special, just an exercise in top-down knitting. I also used up the last of the Wool-Ease Chunky left over from this project.

Pattern: Sleeveless Sweater by Barbara G. Walker
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, colorway 115 'Bay Harbor'
Needles: US11
Modifications: Stuck with a plain vanilla design, for simplicity's sake and to avoid running out of yarn.

This project was quite the learning experience. For one thing, I started with a different pattern and different needles before settling on the final ones. I struggled with gauge. I learned how to do an invisible cast on (eventually) and how to get the arm hole borders to lay flat by the armpits. Using a store-bought vest to help me with things like width, arm hole size, etc., I sized the knitted vest to the external dimensions of the store-bought vest, forgetting that the chunky yarn would subtract from the internal dimensions, so the fit is a bit snug. I redid the bind off for the neck and arms multiple times, finally settling on EZ's sewn bind off, and the arms are still a bit binding.

BUT. It is comfortable and warm, if rather plain and dowdy, perfect for wearing around the house or under a jacket.