QUICK TUTORIAL FOR A HARNESS/LEASH OPENING
This is easier than you could ever imagine.
When working your dog sweater, after you have knitted 3-4″ in, on a RS row, find the center stitch of your work. Back up two stitches from there and bind off 4 stitches, then finish the row. Working back on a WS row, when you get to the bound-off stitches, cast on 4 stitches and keep working to the end of the row.
That is it! When you have finished the sweater you can single-crochet or slip stitch around the opening to give it a little finesse, but that is optional.
EMBELLISHED & FELTED PET COLLAR
Right before Christmas I found these amazing porcelain skully beads at Savannah’s Paris Market and just had to find something to do with them. I bought a couple for April and me to string on silk cords and wear around our necks, but I really had Willie’s neck in mind. How could I make my little man a collar to match his personality? Thus was created “Bad to the Bone”. I couldn’t leave out sweet Chopsticks either, so a trip to JoAnn’s later I had the ingredients for “Sweet Hearts”, a collar for my camera-shy but precious older pup.
This week I worked up these two cute collars for my babies, and thought you might want to do the same for your kids ~ pups or kits. There’s a free pdf download somewhere on this page (they make them hard to find here at WordPress). The collars are easy to put together, and there are endless combinations of yarn, fabric and bibbity-bobbities to put around their necks. They wear just like real collars, but bear in mind I walk my dogs on harnesses, so the collars are more for identification and fashion. If your dog’s collar gets a real push-me pull-you workout at the end of a leash, I would suggest stitching your felt creation to a solid webbed collar and skipping the lining.
And the dogs will wear them. Honestly, when it came time to write this tutorial and I needed the collars for measurements and such, the kids were positively bereft at having to give them up. Ain’t parenthood grand?
My Savannah Cottage 
Kay!
These collars are GREAT!
I want to make one RIGHT NOW. I might have to start.
It reminds me of that one you did for the natural flea repellent?
Can you remind me where you found that?
-kts
Yes, that pattern came from a book I have. I will bring it to show you on Tuesday night. It’s a very clever pattern where after you knit it it opens up at the end and you can drop in a mixture of herbs for natural flea repellent. It worked pretty well for my dogs! I think the book is someting like “Knitting for Dogs,” by Judith L. Schwartz.
Found your blogs over at ravelry, and love these patterns. I’m going to have to try them out!
hey Savannah, i love the yorkies sweater they r so sweet. Im gonna make one to my lil man (also a yorkie). you r such an inspiration tks.
Thank you for the Little black dress w/ pearls. My daughter surprised me with a little 2 pound dog for Christmas and here in Michigan it has been freezing since november so this will come in handy. Now I am going to Etsy to see your other patterns.
Thank you
judy ann
Hi, I love the LBD dog sweater pattern, but for the ruffles, what does M1 mean? And why do we bind off at the end only to pick up the exact number of stitches immediatly afterward? Just curious. Please help with the M1!!!
Thanks, Amy
See below for the explanation of M1. Binding off and then picking up the same number of stitches makes a more distinct transition from the stockinette to the ruffles. But if you prefer to just keep going, try it and let me know how that works for you.
sorry!!
Me english is very,very bat….sorry!!!!!
I love the Raspberry fool sweater but the dc5tog I can’t figure it out.
Can you please explain the berry pattern and give me the instructions for the dc5tog.
Thanks
Chris
I am in the mist of knitting your little black dress pattern and have a silly question. for the ruffle you state K1, M1 to end of row. Does M – mean miss a stitch??
M1 = Make One = Increase one stitch by knitting into the front and back of the next stitch. On this row you will increase one stitch for every stitch you knit, thus making the fabric ruffle.
Thank you for your beautiful, very classy FREE patterns! With such classy free patterns, I am headed right over to your store to see what little garments you have for sale that are sure to delight me! I know that I am far more likely to shop at a store where the owner has given GOOD value, delightful free patterns that shows they appreciate and respect their potential future buyers. Thank you for giving me that 🙂
Mary
PS: First, I a, going to go and join your helpful, informative blog. Thank you for that too!
Thank you, Mary. It is nice to be appreciated. 🙂
THIS IS MY FIRST DOGGY SWEATER- I AM MAKING IT FOR MY FRIEND YORKIE – WISH ME LUCK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR WEBSITE
Dog collars should be made from natural leather because it is more comfortable to wear for a dog compared to synthetic fibers. ‘“”`
Till next time
http://www.healthmedicinelab.com/centipede-bite/
These are made from “natural” felted wool, not a synthetic fiber.
What is the sk tch abbriviation stand for? I don’t know how to do this stitch.
Sk tch = skip turning chain
I love the Raspberry Fool, but I have not been able to get the directions. Can you help?
There is a link on the Free Patterns page.
Please explain the meaning of DK yarn. I am an experienced knitter, going back maybe 30 years,,,I taught knitting and also worked in a shop in Amherst, Massachusetts many for years. For the first time I’m frustrated!!! I’m not familiar with the term DK , M1 or the mattress stitch ! means or how to do this !! Are these terms used outside the US? Where may I obtain instructions… I am very anxious to try your wonderful patters…but am sort of afraid to begin at this point. Please help !! p.s. Savannah is beautiful. We live in Charleston, SC and visit your city often.
DK yarn is light worsted weight. M1 is an increase stitch and can be done in various ways. Mattress stitch is a common method of seaming knitted garments. If you do not have a copy of Vogue Knitting (the book), it is an invaluable resource for instructions and definitions, as is knittinghelp.com, with how-to articles and videos. Ravelry.com is another excellent resource for help with these terms (which are quite common here in the United States).
Great looking dog collars, I love how you make them different to mach their personality..so cute!
On that cute ruffled sweater with pearls, I am concerned about not having ribbing at the neck. Have you had any problems with that? Will hold off my knitting till I hear from you. Thanks. You can also email me at elaine.marks@sbcglobal.net.
Elaine, I have made this sweater countless times, and I have never had a problem with its fitting over the head. Good luck!
I am working on your valentine sweater, don’t understand on rs and following alt rows knit 24 sts,then M1 right slant, knit 7, then M1 left slant, adding 2sts to center section between right and left increases on each increase row. Don’t understand adding 2sts to center section. After making the m1r and the M1 left am I suppose to add 2sts between. Please reply stuck. Cbetty46@yahoo.com
The m1s will add the two stitches.