Knit Your Own Dog: Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 25 Pedigree Pooches

Dog lovers may want to knit these 25 charming "pedigree pooches" as a display set, although it will be a lot of work! Each little dog--they range from 6.75" high x 8" long (Afghan) to 3.5" x 6.25" (Corgi)--has a lot of parts, which need to be joined or sewn together, stuffed, and embroidered with noses and eyes. For example, the cover dog (Wire-haired Fox Terrier) requires knitting two back legs, two front legs, a right side and tail, a left side and tail, a body, a neck and head, a tummy, two ears, and a collar.The designers have done a fine job in capturing the essentials of each breed. My favorites are the Poodle (knit in boucle yarn) and the wrinkly English Bulldog; my least favorites are the Labrador and Dalmatian, which are still quite identifiable by their breeds. Breeds included are: Afghan Hound, Whippet, Dachshund, Basset Hound, Wire-haired Fox Terrier, Jack Russell, Scottish Terrier, West Highland Terrier, English Bull Terrier, Cocker Spaniel, Red Setter, Labrador, Portuguese Water Dog, Dalmatian, Poodle, Miniature Schnauzer, French Bulldog, English Bulldog, Pug, Rough Collie, Border Collie, German Shepherd, Old English Sheepdog, Corgi, and Siberian Husky. Experienced, creative knitters can no doubt adapt the patterns for other breeds.The patterns call for small amounts of various Rowan yarns (Pure Wool, Kidsilk Haze, Cashsoft, Felted Tweed, etc.), but the authors include a brief note on substituting yarns. If I were knitting these, I would use something other than Kidsilk Haze for the Schnauzer's long muzzle hair and the Rough Collie's thick "mane", as the thin mohair isn't quite convincing as a dog's silky coat.I haven't knit-tested the patterns, but the instructions seem very clear. Stitch counts are included at the end of increase/decrease rows, and close-up photos illustrate head details and leg angles (for sewing to bodies). I was briefly confused by the instructions "k3wa" and "k2cr", but these merely refer to yarn colors ("wa" for "walnut" and "cr" for "cream"). Special stitches, such as loopy stitches, are explained at the end of the book, and there are hints on stuffing, and on adding pipecleaners as needed to strengthen legs.This is a book for experienced knitters, as the patterns call for a lot of shaping, saving stitches on holders, and some special techniques. However, any moderately experienced but adventurous knitter should be able to knit the dogs from the pattern instructions. If you're a real dog lover, this is a 5-star book, because it's fun to look through even if you don't want to knit the dogs. If you're mainly interested in patterns for knitted toys, then better choices might be Debbie Bliss' Toy Knits: More Than 30 Irresistible and Easy-to-Knit Patterns, Kath Dalmeny's World of Knitted Toys, Zoe Mellor's Knitted Toys: 25 Fresh and Fabulous Designs, or Sarah Keen's Knitted Wild Animals: 15 Adorable, Easy-to-Knit Toys.

This is the cutest book ever! It provides instructions for how to knit 25 little doggies - including my two faves - the Collie and the Corgi. The patterns are rather detailed (but very well explained) and I am a very novice knitter, so I won't be attempting to knit myself a dog. But the pictures are just adorable - very ingenious! I passed the book around to all my friends and family so they could admire the knitted pets - the next best thing to knitting them myself!

I already had the 2nd book (The Second Litter) and bought this one primarily for the French bulldog pattern to make one for a friend. I made the body for the dog using the Staffordshire Bull Terrier pattern while I was waiting for this book to arrive (bought it used). Was glad I did because I much prefer the look of the continuous legs and body. I used the head pattern from this book, but used the w&t stitch from book 2 in place of the pult stitch which looks better in my opinion (I knitted a couple of sample Frenchie heads first).Roughly half the dogs in this book have bodies and legs that are knitted as one piece. I prefer that look to the separate legs that are sewn on, except separately knitted and sewn legs look right for the French poodle (which I have not made).I also made the Dachshund from this book. I think the body is a little too long and thin in relation to the head. Next time I'll make it a couple stitches shorter as I plan to make one for my sister who has some Dachshunds.I'm having a lot of fun making these dogs and am attaching photos of some I've made, including some sewing and stuffing in progress shots while making the Bernese Mountain Dog from the 2nd book. They don't take much yarn and are so cute. You do need to have some patience stuffing them as it can be tricky. I also knit left handed so the sides and legs are reversed (e.g. when instructions say I am working on the left leg it is the right leg for me).You don't have to use the yarn they call for, that yarn is quite thin. For my first few projects I used a thicker yarn, Red Heart acrylic yarn, using larger (size 6) needles and they turned out fine (I do knit tightly though). You really don't have to worry about gauge unless you want your dog to be a specific size, just make sure the knitting is tight so the stuffing won't show through. A needle that is a couple sizes smaller than what the yarn wrapper says should work. They will turn out a bit larger but are a whole lot easier to sew and stuff.These patterns are NOT for novice knitters. If you are a relatively new knitter, I'd recommend starting with a solid colored dog without any loopy stitches. Use one of the patterns from this book where the legs are made separately and sewn onto the body which should be easier to stuff, the Labrador is a good choice. You may need an experienced knitter to help you out with some of the trickier stitches, and for sewing and stuffing the dog.

This is "preliminary" because I have not yet made any of the dogs. I have, however, gone through the book thoroughly, comparing the pictures to the dogs I have had or known well. I have had an AFGHAN HOUND and have to say that the designers have done a fantastic job of getting a realistic looking knitted Afghan. Mine (Patches) was a sort of brindle, but the main things are the shape of the head, the face, the stance, and the enormous amount of long, long hair, and those are perfect. A neighbor's IRISH (Red) SETTER used to bring me home from grade school. It would wait for me in it's front yard and as soon as it had gotten it's loving, would follow me to my front yard. Once I was up the steps it turned and went home. The designers do admit that their color is off. And it is. My friend was more truly red, a sort of coppery, shiny, red, very soft and silky. My ONE DISAGREEMENT is with their GERMAN SHEPHERD. I have had one when young, another as a teen, and now, after many years of pound puppies and rescue pups, I have another. Unless they are being playful or at peaceful rest, I see them as a dignified looking dog with a sort of quiet "don't mess with me or mine" look. I thought theirs looked silly. First the tongue is too wide to fit in the mouth, second no dog has an almost white tongue (Jamie's is a dark rose), third they don't stand around with their tongues hanging out unless they have just exercised, fourth the ears should be sort of "elvin," very large and upright (I think double thick like their Husky's ears, but much longer), and lastly, their tails do just miss hitting the floor, so theirs is too short. As a barely intermediate knitter I plan to start with a one-color pup. If that goes as well, as I believe it should (from carefully reading a few of the pattern directions), I'll try the German Shepherd, with the changes I've noted above. I'll let you know how it goes. I'd love to see other reviews! - especially any with helpful hints or things to watch out for. Thanks.Workman Publishing 490446 Black Dog Books-Knit Your Own Dog

I love this book!! It came very soon and I'm just in love with each of the dogs in here. I haven't had time to knit any of the patterns yet, but they look easy enough and very lovable. They would be the perfect dog for people who, for whatever reason, can't a live one. I think a wonderful present for someone who has just lost a beloved pet would be one of these (of the same species--or close to it) to memorialize a big part of the family.

The knitting patterns in this book are easy to follow, but it is the directions for sewing the pieces together that I found to be a little fuzzy. I have been struggling as to how one sews the 3 part head of the English bulldog together. A simple diagram would have been helpful. I am an experienced knitter, but parts of this project seem difficult. A beginning knitter might well get lost.Experts often write the least helpful instructions because they unconsciously assume others understand what is intuitive to them.Or maybe it's just me. I would like to hear how others liked this book.

Easy to make dogs but not enough clarity on putting them together.I’m still trying to sew one together. I’ve knitted the Dashhound but not sure which way the belly piece goes. The directions need to specify which end you start when knitting, is it the tail end or the neck end.

If you have never knit anything but scarves, potholders or maybe a hat, I would not suggest this book unless you want to learn some new techniques first as it is for the knitter with some experience. In addition to basic cast on/off, knit, purl & increase/decrease in K & P rows, stockinette & garter stitches you will need to know things like: casting on more stitches at end of rows, pult, slip, PSSO, w&t (wrap & turn), loopy stitch, I cord, color stranding (fair isle technique- working with more than one color at a time), intarsia & working short rows. You will need to hold stitches & then use them later. There are plenty of good vids on you tube to learn these things and anyone experienced knitting socks will probably know & have little trouble with this book. Some dogs have as many as 10 parts that need to be fitted & stitched together (and some really need to be modified to fit better), so you should be able to do that as well as French knots for the eyes. Again none of that is hard, but you may have to learn it if you don't already know how. I have seen a lot of posts from frustrated knitters having problems w/ these patterns on various sites, but it is largely the knitter not knowing the technique needed & not the book. I am an avid sock knitter and have been knitting for 50 years and had no problems, but a less experienced knitter might.The big warning with this book & the other volume is that, depending on which edition you get, there are a LOT of errors, so before you begin tearing your hair out knitting an Irish Setter with 2 heads, pls check the publisher's website for the errata to correct the patterns. I have found more errors not corrected yet, so you need to be able to work thru a pattern that might have an error or two.My pet peeve with this book is that ALL of the patterns are given only with using Rowan brand yarns, which are very expensive and nothing I would be inclined to invest in to make little stuffed dogs. If you want to spend $15 USD for a 25 g small ball of Rowan Kidsilk Haze mohair yarn, be my guest! The author does not give any gauges or measurements & everything says US size 2 needles, so if you are not going to use the Rowan, you need to be able to deal with adapting to another yarn which may or may not be close to the Rowan brand. One suggestion I can make is that any sock yarn or fingering yarn like Paton's Lace will work nicely for the often used costly kidsilk haze yarn. I have used all sorts of yarns from my stash on these dogs & I have used double point needles- you will need them for the I cord parts anyhow, so get some if you don't already have them as longer needles or circulars are silly w/ such small items. You will be knitting DK or worsted weight yarns on the size 2's. I also found it annoying the author refers to the Rowan color names in the pattern, so instead of simply saying black and white or tan and gray or whatever, you have to deal w/ the abbreviation of the Rowan color name, which can be confusing. She suggests a chopstick to help pack stuffing, but I found the eraser end of a standard pencil worked much better.There are photos of finished dogs only, several of each, but there are NO photos showing you any tricky parts of knitting or how to assemble & stuff the dogs and some of the instructions are a bit vague. This book would benefit greatly with the addition of such step by step photos. For the dogs to come out really nice & true to breed it will take some tweaking on your part & many look better if you do the "feathering" differently than she does. Loopy stitch is very slow, oh how I hate it! As long as you can fly by the seat of your pants w/ knitting needles in your hand, you will be fine & have fun with this book.OK, all that being said, this is a unique book and you can make some cute little dogs and, w/ a little tweaking on your part, they can be really nice & authentic. If you are familiar with dogs breeds, you can adapt the patterns to make more breeds than the ones shown- for example put the right markings on a Lab & you can make a Rotty, do custom portraits of mixed breeds or whatever. I have had a lot of fun with this book and I do recommend it, but only if you are a fairly experienced knitter or are willing to learn some new things.

Ho gia' acquistato l'altro libro di Sally Muir sulle razze canine e con questosecondo libro ho ampliato gli schemi per realizzare ulteriori razze

外国の本らしく作品の作りが少し雑に感じます。そこが素朴でいいのかもしれませんが…。

Das Buch ist super, allein schon die Bilder der gestrickten Hunde sind sehr gelungen.Ich war nur überrascht, als ich das Paket mit dem Buch öffnete, dass dieses auf Englisch war - die Abkürzungen sind hinten gut erklärt. Ich habe trotz passabler Englischkenntnisse ein Wörterbuch für manche Wörter gebraucht, die englische "Strick-Fachsprache" ist doch etwas eigenwillig.Ein erster Hund ist schon entstanden, das Stricken ging dann doch einfacher als gedacht, und der Hund ist echt süß geworden.Wenn man allerdings nicht einigermaßen gut die englische Sprache beherrscht, wird man die Anleitungen leider nicht nacharbeiten können - für den deutschen Sprachraum wäre sicherlich eine deutsche Übersetzung empfehlenswert.Das Buch ist super und macht mir viel Freude!

livre extra trop bien,je le recommande vivementlivre e n anglais super bien expliquéje l'adore et modèles super réaliste

Lo compré como regalo, trae 25 modelos de razas de perro, y trae las razas más comunes así que venían las que tengo.Lo recomiendo totalmente, muy original.