I’ve had a few requests for more details about how I made Zig’s Endpaper Mutt sweater, so I’m going to do my best to explain it here. Forgive me if I over-explain the obvious-- I’m a Virgo and these things are important to us. :)
Collar:
Cast on as many stitches as you need to accommodate your pup’s neck/head and knit in whatever rib you want (I did 2x2) for the desired length. A turtleneck would be adorable if you have the attention span (am I the only one who maxes out after 1” of ribbing?)
Collar-to-body transition:
Once you’re satisfied with the length of the ribbing on the collar, start knitting back and forth instead of in the round. It took me a while to get to a point where I could transition his sweater onto a cable needle, but I just kept loading up more stitches onto fewer DPNs until it seemed possible. The photo at left was taken when I was finally able to get it all onto the cable needle.
Sneak in enough increases to get your stitch count up to a multiple of 10 (and would you believe I added short rows to the back? I don’t think they did anything functional, though... I was just being geeky). Begin working the 2-color pattern and continue until the piece reaches ~1” shy of the desired length.
I used the Endpaper Mitt chart-- which can be found here on Eunny’s site. I ended up transferring it to Excel and color coding it because this was my first colorwork project and I started going a little nuts trying to keep it straight. I started with the chart at the left, and then after the first whole work-through of that chart, I only used rows 4-13, since the pattern overlaps.
To finish up the back piece, knit ~1” in whatever rib you used for the neck.
Chest piece:
Cast on a few stitches, I think I might have done 3 or 4, and increase 1 stitch at each end of the right side rows (I used a kf&b-- worked 1 stitch in from the sides to make it easier to seam later) until the piece is the size you want it to be. I just knit a little piece to cover the front of his chest (see photo at left). I casted off with an i-cord bind-off in the contrasting color (see: I’m a geek, above).
Sew the chest piece into the nook created when you switched from knitting in the round to knitting flat. I didn’t sew all the way down to the two bottom points, I left them as little flappies and then sewed them to the underside of the ribbing along the sides.
Side ribbing:
Pick up stitches along one side-- obviously how many depends on whether this is for a teacup chi or a mastiff. When I picked up the stitches, I overlapped the loose bottom points of that chest piece by ~1/3” so I could seam the two later. Knit the ribbed edging to the desired length (I used a garter rib [k2p2 RS, p WS] so that the rib wouldn’t pull in as much-- I wanted it to stay flat and full-length along the sides).
Repeat for 2nd side, except work a buttonhole on the 2nd side at whatever point you want the button to fasten.
This is the part where I went back and just anchored the side ribbing to the loose points of the chest piece. I’m sure that part doesn’t make sense to anyone. Email me if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Strap:
Pick up stitches along where the side ribbing meets the back piece on the side without the buttonhole (you laugh, but I had to frog it the first time) for as many stitches wide as you want the strap to be. I tried picking them up along the edge of the ribbing, but it looked wonky, so I retreated back to where the seam was. I knit it in garter stitch (stretchiest I could think of) because Zig was SUPERCRANKY that night and I knew measuring him, trying it on, etc. wasn’t going to be an option. Knit until it’s the right length. Stick a button on the end. Voila. Endpaper Mutt.
Oh yeah, I did end up tacking the side ribbing to the strap because the side ribbing was sticking out funny.
Block and love.
