Sweater for chihuahua

My daughter's dog Benjamin came to stay with me over the weekend. No clothes with him, and we got the first proper frost of the winter. So I decided to make a sweater for him in a hurry - such a tiny dog needs something to keep him warm in the snow! I used wool yarn for warmth.

Benjamin hates fitting clothes on, as you can see in his expressions! But since I had no pattern and anyway every dog is a different size, I had to try it on him.

I used 3 different yarns, just to use up some of my stash.Knitting needles size 4.0 mm.

First I made 3 separate strips, each 10 stitches wide. The length is from the collar to the start of the tail. I crocheted them together from the right side. I picked stitches from the neck on to double pointed needles and cast on more to have 48 stitches to knit the collar.

The collar is 5 cm long (2 in).

Then I picked stitches from the start of the collar to make the bit for the dog's chest. You also need holes for the legs. For a female dog the bit under the tummy can be much longer!

Added short "stockings" for the front legs and the yellow border so that the grey and brown strips won't curl. Finally, small loops to fit around the hind legs so the back stays in place.