Holiday Dandy Dog Sweater Variations
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The Dandy Dog Sweater has been one of the most popular crochet patterns on the Heart Hook Home blog. This year I am adding to that a whole slew of holiday themed variations so that we can turn our little pups into Santa, snowmen, elves, and more!
Holiday Dandy Dog Sweater Adaptations
We all know that our dogs become a part of our family. There’s nothing better than coming home after a long day and being welcomed with a wagging tail and few licks from our favorite furry friends. ♥
If your pup is always cold, or if you live in a colder climate, the Dandy Dog Sweater is a great way to show your fur baby you care. These dog sweaters are so remarkably easy to crochet, and there is a full VIDEO tutorial included in the original pattern post.
I love that these sweaters don’t take much yarn to begin with so you can usually get away with just one, maybe two skeins of yarn – depending on yardage of course. For my sweaters I am using Brava Worsted, my favorite worsted weight yarn.
The smallest two sizes use just ONE skein of yarn each, and if you are incorporating different colors like the black belt for the Santa version, you could use just one of the Brava Mini Skeins to make this project even more economical. Of course you could also use any suitable worsted weight scrap yarn you have on hand as well.
In this post I will share the modifications I made to the original sweater.
Note that none of the stitch counts have changed, or the total yardage needed. Virtually the only differences are yarn color choices, and the rows at which we change colors to get the Santa, elf, gingerbread man, etc effect.
Make sure to follow along with the VIDEO tutorial if needed, and let’s get started!
Follow along using the original Dandy Dog Sweater pattern making modifications as follows…
Santa Dog Sweater:
For the Santa dog sweater I used Brava worsted yarn in WHITE, RED and BLACK.
Collar:
Crochet the entire collar with white yarn.
Chest/Body:
Switch to red yarn. Complete past the armholes, and switch to black as noted below.
Santa’s belt:
Switch to black yarn for rows 17, 18, and 19 for the XS size, rows 22, 23, 24, 25 for the size SMALL and rows 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 for the MEDIUM size.
Body Tapering:
After completing the “belt” switch back to red yarn in order to finish the rest of the sweater.
White trim:
If desired, add an additional row around the body opening using a white fur or fuzzy yarn. I used some scrap “fur” I had in my stash.
Buckle:
For the belt buckle I used scrap gold yarn I had on hand and held that together with one strand of the DMC E3852 floss, a lovely, sparkly gold. This sparkly strand could, of course, be optional.
Belt Buckle Pattern:
Ch-26, dc in 3rd ch from hook and in next 5 sts. 4dc in next ch. Dc in in next 4 chs, 4dc in next ch. Dc in next 6 chs, 4dc in next ch. Dc in next 4 chs, 4dc in last ch. Join to top of first dc made. Fasten off leaving long enough tail for sewing to sweater body.
Sew belt securely to sweater straddling the black rows. Securely weave in all ends.
Elf Dog Sweater:
For the elf dog sweater I used Brava worsted yarn in WHITE and AVOCADO.
Collar:
Crochet the entire collar with avocado yarn.
Switch to white yarn and change colors back and forth every (4, 4, 6) rows.
When you reach the end of the pattern, add an additional few rows as needed to get the (4, 4, 6) row repeat.
Snowman Dog Sweater:
Crochet the entire sweater in white yarn. We’ll add the embellishments using ORANGE and BLACK as follows…
Nose:
Using orange…
Ch-9. Sl st in 2nd ch from hook. Sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, tr in next 2 chs, dtr in final 2 chs. Fasten off leaving long enough tail for sewing. Weave in beginning tail.
Eyes:
Using black, make 2…
Magic Circle, 12dc in circle. Fasten off leaving long enough tail for sewing. Weave in beginning tail.
Mouth:
Using black, make 4 for XS and SMALL, Make 6 for MEDIUM…
Magic Circle, 10hdc in circle. Fasten off leaving long enough tail for sewing. Weave in beginning tail.
Position nose and mouth. You may want to pin them in place while you sew each piece on. Weave in all ends and you’re finished!
I will continue to add to this list as I make them! I have ordered the Brindle colorway of Brava Worsted to make as a Gingerbread man, and I can’t wait for that one!
More for pets:
Dandy Dog Sweater: Easy Crochet Dog Sweater Pattern
Dog Poop Bag Holder Free Crochet Pattern
Easy Homemade Pumpkin Dog Biscuits
Stellar Dog Sweater Crochet Pattern
Easy Crochet Dog Sweater for Large, Extra Large, and Extra Extra Large Dogs
