As the weather gets crisper here in Colorado, I can see our little dog shivering more and more. Even though he has one (or two) handmade sweaters I figured it would be a good idea to get some more for him, since there are many cold days ahead. I actually purchased a fleece one but it didn’t seem to fit well, and then we found a thrift store with a big sale and I found 2 men’s sweaters for under $5. I actually bought them for work, but didn’t end up needing them–so I thought I could turn them into sweaters for Freddie instead.

My original plan was to make some simple pattern pieces, cut them from the sweater, and sew them together. But as I was trying to figure out the best way to cut them, I realized that the sleeves were perfect. They already had decreases, and were already tube-shaped, so it was just a matter of cutting holes.

The first one was a white acrylic sweater with long cuffs, so I decided to make a turtleneck (the one problem with my crocheted sweater is I really didn’t leave enough room for the neck). I cut the sleeve to about the right length, then cut a divot in the underside and curved the back. I also cut two holes where I thought the arms would go (trying it on a lot, of course. The dog loved that part, not). Then I just used store-bought bias tape to encase the edges. The secret is just to pin the heck out if it and take your time sewing–first attaching the thinner edge of the bias tape with a zigzag stitch (make sure the bias tape is on the bottom layer so your machine doesn’t go nuts), then trimming, then folding the wider layer of tape over and edge stitching it to encase all of the frayed ends.

The second sweater was a much finer, thinner cotton blend, cable knit, that didn’ t seem like it would fray so easily. For this one I wanted to give it a hint of neon. My hope was a yellow (like Edison Bulb from Madeline Tosh), but I didn’t have any of that so I went with a nice pink sock yarn form Alisha Goes Around. The cuff was too tight for a neck so I cut that off. Next, for the collar and rear openings, I folded the edges in by about 1/2 inch, then stabbed my hook through both layers of the fold, creating a single crochet edge.

Then, I worked a round of dc in the back loop only, followed by another round of dc. Just space the stitches so that you aren’t stretching the sweater, nor pulling it in excessively. Once I had the two rounds of dc built up, I folded them inward to encase the cut edges. I took the yarn to the outside of the sweater and slip stitched around the row to secure it, which is what created the dashed line effect of the trim. I didn’t fold the armholes in (they looked less likely to fray)–instead, I just did two rows of single crochet around each. I think they will hold up pretty well, and I have second sleeves (and whole sweaters!) so am not that worried about it. They are for the dog, after all!

I enjoyed making them and not spending upwards of $30 on crappy dog sweaters at the pet store. I still want to make him another crocheted sweater so I can write the pattern, but realistically that’s a long time coming. I did, however, spend some time last night working on a quick and fun pattern for the holidays that I hope to get released in a soonish manner. I just need to make a few more of them first.

Happy Crocheting!