A Knitted Cape for Lynnie

Yes, I am one of those! I knit and sew for my dogs. Before 2009, I would not have dreamed of taking the time to do something like this. But then I adopted a five-year-old Toy Poodle I named Sophia and fell into the abyss of fashionable dogs. It’s a life style.

For Lynnie’s first knitted piece, I picked a pattern from “Making Clothes for Your Dog” by Jisu Lee, also known as Tingk.

I found this book on Amazon eight years ago and fell in with the cover with the shawl on the front. Ironically, there are only two knitted items in the book. Everything else is sewn (full patterns included.) The sewn patterns come in three size ranges. However, this shawl comes in one size and that could be a problem for some knitters.

The pattern is two rectangles knitted separately and then sewn together. I knitted a test swatch of my cotton yarn, took measurements, and adjusted the pattern. Lynnie needed something just a bit bigger, and adding a few extra stitches wasn’t a problem.

Flowers

The pattern instructions gives instructions for flowers but I had another book that I wanted to use, which was Knitted Flowers by Susie Johns.

Many of the twenty patterns in this book were too big. However, on page 28 there is the Sweet William that is only one and a half inch wide. Mine aren’t perfect and none of them look the same but they were fun to make and look cute.

Little Extras

There are two little things I added. Firstly, I added corded elastic around the top front of the shawl. This was to make sure it fitted better around her neck and it added a ruffled edge, which I liked.

Here’s a good view of the straps and the gathers created by the corded elastic. You also can see how single crochet is used around the bottom of the front. I also carried it out around the straps.

Secondly, I added some straps with velcro that sit just under her front legs. Once, I bought Sophia a shawl similiar to this and after two seconds, she was tripping over it because it turned around as she walked. These straps keeps it securely in place and Lynnie is always on the move, so we need the straps. I think all dogs need the straps; even if they aren’t too active. Their length depends on the width of your pup’s chest. It was a “see as you go” thing. At first, I had them too long and had to unravel my knitting a bit.

This was such a cute and easy knitted project. I would definitely make another one for her.

Thats it! Lynnie and I thank you for visiting and reading about her new shawl.