The Making of a Dog Sweater

Ed and Sharon adopted Shaggy.  Shaggy is a dachshund/cocker mix, and from his pictures, a very cute little guy.  Winter in Alabama, where Shaggy came from, is very different from winter in Wisconsin.  Shaggy needs a sweater!

Esther Bozak wrote a custom fit dog sweater pattern that I had used before.  The dog sweater's previous recipients were Suzy Q, a tiny Yorkie, and Coquetta, an elegant and charming King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. Each of these girls got a couple of sweaters. 

Perhaps my favorite was a sweater made for Coquetta out of black worsted and a fun fur yarn that was very popular at the time that matched Coquetta's coat.  That was a fun project and I laughed the whole time I was knitting it.

When Sharon asked if I knew anything about dog sweaters, I went back to Esther's pattern confidently.   An e-mail requesting the needed measurements went off...and the measurements returned.

Next, I pulled some Willow Burrow Worsted out of my stash to knit Shaggy's prototype sweater.  As always, I did a nice gauge swatch.  Satisfied that I had the right fabric, I did the math and began the sweater.

Fortunately, I done this before.  I do not recall having the same problems with the original sweaters as I did with Shaggy's.   Someone, in the intervening years must have re-typed and not proofread the pattern.   As I know what the sweater was supposed to look and fit like, I was okay.  Had I followed the pattern without thinking, I would have had a sweater for a very oddly shaped dog.   Having seen pictures of Shaggy...I knew better.

The sweater left in the mail yesterday.  I hope it fits!  If it does, there will be one done in Packer colors...and maybe a couple more...

Shaggy's Sweater