The Chihuahua is the smallest dog in the world. An amazing, intelligent and sociable pet, named after the Mexican state of Chihuahua, is in great need of the care of loving owners. Many people dispute the need for special care, special food and clothing for Chihuahuas, considering this to be a whim of the owners, pampering. But for those who have seen how a little dog is afraid of the cold, how she looks at you in the hope of at least a drop of warmth, the answer is obvious - the pet simply cannot do without a warm new thing in the cold season, which means hand-made clothes for a Chihuahua will be a great gift.
Warm wardrobe for Chihuahua
Taking into account the miniature size of the breed, clothing is vital for such dogs, because even just damp or slightly cool and windy weather is dangerous for them. So, be sure to provide your pet with waterproof overalls for the off-season, and with the arrival of real cold weather, you need to wear something warm knitted things - a pullover or jumper.
Regardless of whether we buy ready-made clothes or knit them ourselves, it is necessary to take into account the main feature of things for the animal: blouses, sweaters and overalls should perfectly warm your pet, but in no case hinder its movements during walks. If clothes for boys are open on the tummy, then for girls this area is necessarily closed.
Don't forget about shoes - without them, your pet could be injured by broken glass or step into a puddle containing toxic motor oil.
And, of course, preference should be given exclusively to natural fabrics and materials.
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Depending on the weather the clothing is designed for, a denser or lighter material is selected. For example, for summer or autumn options, “breathable” material is more suitable, otherwise the dog will be hot. To go outside in the winter cold, the fabric should be thick and, if necessary, even double-layered. At the same time, do not forget that even in a warm suit, the Chihuahua should move without problems.
For sewing winter clothes, it is better to use a lining based on padding polyester or plush. These are quite warm materials that go well with the dog’s coat. For Chihuahua girls, it is better to sew clothes that cover the tummy well, so that in the future she can bear healthy puppies.
When sewing clothes, you need to consider the following point: the main purpose of walking the dog is to relieve itself. It is important that even in warm clothes she can do this without problems. That is, it is worth providing an open space around the genitals. Winter clothing for Chihuahuas, which will completely cover the legs, should be elastic so that at any time you can help the Chihuahua go to the toilet by quickly lifting up its panties. Trained dogs will not do their job straight into the clothes, but will first ask their owner to help them lift them up.
You can sew not only clothes for the cold season. A hiking option is also quite useful for traveling in a car. The fact is that many dogs of this breed do not like to ride in public transport and out of fear they begin to shed stress. Light clothing will help protect the car seat and passengers' clothing from Chihuahua fur.
Beginning seamstresses should know that to create clothes in a Chihuahua, that is, miniature size, you must leave a seam allowance. Therefore, when tracing a pattern, you do not need to strictly follow the guide; you should always leave a margin of at least 1 centimeter.
When creating a winter overall, the lining can be cut out in the same way as the product itself. Only in this case there is no need to leave an allowance.
An important step is trying on the finished suit. It should not sit too tightly on the dog. Also, he should not squeeze the Chihuahua's throat or paws. But a suit that is too loose will also be uncomfortable, and besides, it will be unsightly to hang on the dog.
How to knit a sweater
When thinking about how to knit a sweater for your pet, first of all decide how you will do it - knitting or crocheting. The choice of product pattern and threads will depend on this.
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Choosing threads
Regardless of what kind of Chihuahua you have - short- or long-haired - its skin is very delicate and sensitive, so the threads should be soft, warm and not “prickly”. The ideal option is yarn for children. In addition, it is important to correctly select the thickness of the threads to match the size of the selected knitting needles or hook: the thinner the knitting tool, the thinner the yarn should be.
Choosing knitting needles
As already mentioned, the knitting needles must match the yarn density. You should not choose a tool that is too large - the dog is still very small, and a large knitted product would be inappropriate on it.
Clothing scheme
On average, to dress an adult Chihuahua, you will need no more than 250 g of yarn (you can take the remnants of different colors and knit a pattern). Before starting work, be sure to knit a small test piece to calculate the knitting density (number of loops per 1 cm of work).
Now it’s time to take measurements - we carefully catch the pet and take the necessary measurements. You need to know the girth of the dog’s neck, the width of the chest and the girth of the paws, as well as the length of the future product - the distance from the withers to the base of the tail. Armed with the information, we calculate the number of loops that need to be cast on and get to work.
Having collected the required number of loops, you need to knit two rows with garter stitch, after that - 20 rows with a 1x1 elastic band. Now we move to the front stitch, each time retreating from the edge of the work by three loops. In each next row we will increase the number of loops - a total of 15 times one loop at a time.
As a result, from the elastic to the beginning of the formation of the armholes, you need to knit 28 rows. Now we do this: we leave about 10 loops on the chest, and close 12 (this will be the base of the armhole), again the front loops (about 30 on the back), and again we close 12 (the second armhole), again 10 loops on the chest. After this, each of the sections must be separately increased by 1 row.
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Now you can knit all the loops, gradually restoring the armholes. As soon as you have 72 rows from the elastic band, make 4 more with an elastic band, and you are ready to finish.
If you need sleeves, they are knitted with stocking needles. The description of the process is as follows: cast on about 28 loops and knit in a circle for about 18 rows, forming an elastic band, then fasten the edge of the product without tightening it tightly, and sew the jacket.
Selection of materials and tools for work
In order to knit cute and bright clothes for your pet, you should first choose yarn. It should not cause allergies, but be warm and natural. Thick and fluffy threads are best. In the store you can buy cotton yarn, mohair, and linen threads. Wool with the addition of acrylic is also suitable to increase wear time. Also, clean wool will be itchy and can cause allergies. As we noted above, the yarn should be natural, since artificial yarn will be absolutely useless in cold weather, because it will not warm the dog.
Pure viscose is also not a very good option, since things will stretch and quickly lose their shape. Pure acrylic threads accumulate static electricity. Often very bright threads have an odor, which indicates that unsafe technologies were used when dyeing. So you should not buy such yarn, as your four-legged friend may experience an allergic reaction and other health problems.
If you decide to knit clothes for your pet, then you should choose the right size knitting needles or hook. Crochet can also be used to join pieces together to avoid seams, or to create a beautiful finish.
Video “Knitted sweater for Chihuahua”
From this video you will learn how to knit a warm jacket for a dog yourself.
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Photo gallery
Photo 1. Dog in a sweater with fish
Photo 2. Chihuahua in a bunny suit
Photo 3. Chihuahua in a knitted suit
Photo 4. Chihuahua in a sailor suit
Photo 5. Dog in overalls with a hood
Photo 6. Chihuahua in a black sweater
Summer T-shirt
Such clothing will be more decorative than protective from bad weather. Therefore, you can take any material to sew it. The easiest way is to take a small children's T-shirt and cut out the exact size of your dog right on it. After leaving a few centimeters at the edges to accommodate the seams, calculate the maximum chest circumference beyond the elbows and cut the T-shirt along the front or back. Sew the product on the sides and measure it on your dog. You can decorate the product with sequins, stripes, rhinestones, laces and so on.
Ideas for inspiration
Svetlana Komarova
Elena Ermak
Anna Kudinova
Marina Bondarenko
Suami
myknittingworld
Suami
Author - Kamlin, translation - lika55
MasterPlanner
What patterns can be used
The choice of pattern depends on how warm the product should be. In winter, when it is necessary to warm the pet, a tight knit is chosen. Openwork models made of cotton threads are good for summer.
The report (width/height) of the diagram should be small, since the jacket will end up being small. Magazines for knitting children's items will help you choose a pattern with a detailed description.
Openwork
Small dogs can wear openwork sweaters even on cool summer evenings. In such patterns, facial loops and yarn overs are used. Thanks to the yarn overs, which are arranged in a special way, a lace pattern is obtained, making the product weightless.
Jacquard
The jacquard pattern is knitted with knit stitches, combining multi-colored threads. This can be a small pattern of five different colored threads or a knitted pattern located on the back of the overalls.
When choosing yarn to create this pattern, not only color combinations are taken into account, but also the thickness of the threads - it must match. Otherwise, the product will not be uniform in thickness.
Embossed
Relief patterns combine front and back loops, with the help of which the relief is created. This type of knitting requires careful attention from the craftsman, as mistakes will lead to the disappearance of the relief.
The owner of the dog can dress up his pet to his liking, and he can create clothes for him with his own hands, for example, knit. Even if the first jumpsuit turns out completely different from the one in the picture, it doesn’t matter - you can always add an original decoration to make the product original, author’s, “designer”.
Take into account your own mistakes, make adjustments to the patterns, then each subsequent work will be much better than the previous one. Patterns for hand-knitted clothes for dogs can be found on specialized resources or you can create them yourself, focusing on the sizes.
Crochet pattern for dogs overalls, details
We will crochet number five. You can take the same white or milky yarn (Cinse Artico), or you can choose something brighter. You will also need a pink ribbon, about forty centimeters, and one pearl bead.
We knit according to the pattern: air loop, connecting column, single column. and a column with nak.
Before.
We start knitting the fabric from the waist line. We cast on 81 loops and close it into a ring. Next, using pattern number one, we knit seven centimeters in a circle. Next, the canvas needs to be divided into two parts. The bottom consists of 14 motifs, and the top of 12. Leave 2 motifs between them on both sides. for the armhole. We knit everything according to pattern number one.
Bottom part.
After 10 cm has been passed from the armhole, set aside 7 motifs in the center for the neckline. We knit the right and left parts separately. After 14 cm from the armhole, finish knitting. We knit the second side in the same way.
Top part.
After 10 cm has been passed from the armhole, set aside 6 motifs in the center for the neckline. After 14 cm from the armhole, finish knitting. We sew the details of the bottom and top along the shoulders. The neckline or neckline needs to be tied. To do this, in a circle, first knit 2 rows with single stitches, then 2 rows with stitches. with nak. Use scheme number two.
All that remains is to knit the sleeves and the bottom of the overalls. First we knit the sleeves for the front legs. To do this, we raise the post in the armholes. and knit in circular rows of 10 centimeters using pattern number one. Then make a 4 centimeter column with a nak. according to scheme number two.
Let's move on to the bottom. From the first row along the waist line we knit 20 centimeters according to the first pattern. Then set aside 11 mot. in the middle under the hole for putting on. We knit the left and right sides separately 7 centimeters. At the same time, we perform a decrease, 2 columns. from each side. We sew together the parts of the fabric, not forgetting to leave an opening for putting on and armholes for the paws.
Using the first pattern, we knit in the armholes for the hind legs in a circle of 7 cm. Then make a column cuff without tape. 2 cm.
According to the third pattern, we tie the bottom of the overalls. We make a bow from the ribbon and decorate it with a bead.