Doggy couture

Weaving on a triangle loom is fast and easy. Doing something with the resulting triangles - not so much. A logical project seems to be dog scarves, but then one must figure out how best to attach the triangle to the dog in a canine friendly way.

This denim scarf in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky was an experiment in trying out a different yarn weight on the 8" triangle loom. The fabric tends to be a bit dense, but otherwise chunky is an option. I picked up stitches along the "top" of the triangle, used a knitted cast on to add straps to either side of the triangle, then knit back and forth enough to have a strap of sorts. (Suspended bind off.)

A bit short, so I made sure the next one, in i-cord, was much longer.

This scarf is in the mystery yarn from class, which is a "heavy" worsted (aran?) On the loom, the weave looks rather open, less so when it comes off the loom, then even less so once soaked and blocked (and I use "blocked" rather loosely in this instance). The strap is 3-stitch i-cord, which is a bit tedious to knit, but definitely one solution for tying a scarf on a dog.

My daughter is the one who likes to dress up her dogs in bandannas, so I am going to let her product test these versions. There is another scarf in progress, which I hope to get to work with a D-ring closure. We'll see how that turns out.

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.

Bunny Hour

I have to tell you, that dog sweater is the cat's pajamas (so to speak). When the air turns arctic, Betsy dons her new outfit and actually stays outside for ten or fifteen minutes instead of seconds. The only problem has been that the whole sweater shifts backwards on her, stretching the neck and putting stress on the seams. So tonight, during Bunny Hour, I added a turtleneck and cuffs.



I have been using Lion Brand Thick 'n Quick, leftover from Sean's Go Go Garter Scarf, but there was not enough for tonight's additions, so I had to switch to the leftovers from Nate's Slipper Socks.



Now the outfit reminds me of those "anatomy of a sock" pictures, where the parts of a sock are knit in different colors.



Betsy doesn't care - she is colorblind. Plus, probably from resignation, she actually posed for me and my camera.

FYI - Bunny Hour is the time in the evening when the bedrooms doors are closed and Hip Hop aka Bunny Guy gets the run of the house for a little while. Oh, and Fern has to be locked away in the Florida room for the duration.



She may look like a big fat raccoon, but she is quick.