Crochet Dog Sweater

December has been insanely mild this year here in the Midwest.  Whereas we usually have had a foot or two of snowfall already, the past few months have rarely dropped below freezing and in some cases have actually been warm enough to go out without a jacket (this is madness for here!).  Luckily for me, it’s given me a little bit of extra time to make up a crochet dog sweater for one of the newest members of our family:

This is Baine, our sweet little min-pin/Havanese.  His coat is pretty light, and on the few chilly days we’ve had I noticed him shivering outside.  So I figured what better way to keep this little guy warm than to crochet up a coat for him. And so after the holiday craziness died down a bit, I made Baine a brand new sweater to keep him warm.  He loves wearing it, and I think it turned out adorable. 

The pattern for the crochet dog sweater is from Bernat and is a free pattern, although I modified the pattern a bit in order to accommodate and better fit Baine.  For example, I added a two stitch opening on the back of his sweater to allow the harness loop to come through.  I also added buttons and made a front closure and tailored the back of the coat to fit to his body.  I added button loops of 8 chains along the border and placed the buttons at the point on his body that best fits him.  If he gains weight in the future, I can always relocate the buttons, as I left a good inch or two to work with. 

Overall, I’m really happy with how the crochet dog sweater turned out, and by the end of the winter, Baine might just have himself a little crocheted wardrobe.  He certainly was patient enough to model for me in order to take these photos!

~Mellie ★