Two of my friends gave me a belated birthday present last week, the Knit Your Own Dog book. I love it. It has 25 patterns for different breeds of dogs.
For one of my friends, there is a Westie. I love how realistic these patterns are despite being made of nothing more than yarn, some stuffing and maybe pipecleaners (for some of the dogs' legs, like the Whippet).
Most of the dogs are 6-8 inches long, which is a nice size for a stuffed animal. They are done in pieces, which I know will be my bane. There is a lot of sewing up to be done.
One of the things that I find a little odd though, is that the collars are knit flat and also seamed. My husband suggested that maybe they wouldn't go over the head, but the instructions clearly state that they are sewn together and then placed on the dog. It's weird, but super easy to cast on fewer stitches and to knit it in the round. Easy peasy.
My favorites are the ones with the interesting fur, like the Westie above. The afghan hound and the old english sheepdog with their gloriously fur look much more realistic than the ones where you can see all of the stitches.
Mr. Victor is in there, sort of. There is a wirefox terrier and a miniature schauzer, and the combination of the two would create our little bud.
I think I have a list of ones to make. English bulldogs for a pair of friends, a whippet for my friend with the greyhound (because there isn't a separate greyhound pattern), an afghan for me.
For some of the children I know, I would forgo the idea of realistic and knit these with bright cheerful washable yarns in bright pinks and purples. Almost all of the kids I know love pink and purple regardless of gender, which makes me really happy.
Which breeds would you want to knit?
