This Saturday Jason and I delightfully welcomed the newest citizen of our home: Jak Jak Par, a retired racing greyhound. And, being me, I immediately looked up everything I could about knitting for dogs. You see, Jak has 7% bodyfat, and at 80 lbs and about 3 feet high he is a boney beast of a dog. His short fur has left him just as vulnerable to cold weather as much as you or I. In fact, the rule of thumb is that if you feel compelled to put a coat on when you go outside, you should put one on your greyhound too.

I would have just bought him a coat, but he’s huge and I’m having a very hard time finding one that will fit him. We are going to order a winter jacket from here, but that won’t get here for a bit and I want to start taking him for walks.

{his favorite thing – sleeping!}

As soon as we got him, I measured him up so I could cast on. 29″ from the nape of his neck to the end of his back (right where his tail starts). Lucky for me I found this great pattern for knitting on ravelry for free: The Darling Durby Sweater. It was the only pattern that I wouldn’t have to resize for him. You can use the measurements of your dog. So while the pattern writer used her own greyhound for the pattern, it can be applied to any dog’s measurements.

Now that I had the pattern decided, it was time for the yarn. I wanted bulky because he’s a big guy and I want this project to go quickly. I wanted wool so it would be both warm and water resistant. I wanted two colors because I personally love stripes, especially on dogs. Super cute. Mauch Chunky seemed like the most reasonable choice because I have loads of it around. But oh no! It’s all down at the office.

Not quite all of it, what’s this on the closet floor? Ah ha! Perfect! There was that crochet felted tote I made 2 years ago…and never got around to felting! As funny as it is, I’m actually knitting straight from the crochet bag. I’m striping the sweaters as the colors of the tote change from one to the other.

After our run to Des Moines yesterday to get dog supplies, about 1 1/2 hours in the car time, I’m just about finished with the neck. The knitting is pretty easy, which is great because I can read through the final version of my manuscript and knit at the same time, stopping to jot notes as needed. Excellent.

Here are two other patterns I want to try and make for Jak.

Greyhound, Whippet, and small dog sweater pattern on ebay

Winter Dog Boots

I also want to make a sewn jacket for him, but I’m not sure how it should be shaped, so we are going to get this one, then I’ll make his spring and rain jacket and maybe even a more heavy duty cold weather jacket for him–fleece lined with a rain proof outer fabric.

If you want to hear how Jak came to be in our home, you can read all the mushy love at first sight + adoption process here.

What’s your favorite dog pattern? I want to start collecting up the good ones to make later. Dog beds? Toys? Blankets? Toy totes? Coats? Booties?

I’m off to more knitting and manuscript reading!

Happy crafting!
Kristin