A Sweater for Mavis

For those of us who live in the Northern U.S. (and some points beyond), winter is coming.

Here in Central New York, we’ve already had our first big snowfall, with accumulations of 12″ about 15 miles from me. It’s time to get serious about what the weather gods have in store for us during the next five months.

In our house, we’ve made sure our strategic hot cocoa reserve is fully stocked. The warm blankets and cozy sweaters have been deployed. But one member of the family has been neglected.

No. Not this one.

This is Lobo, our very large, very white husky-and-some-other-stuff we adopted. He was initially found wandering the streets of Puerto Rico with a broken leg. He wound up with us, in a climate he is better asuited for.

Lobo and winter are like peanut butter and jelly. They go together well.

But our younger dog Mavis, who is medium brown and medium size, does not have Lobo’s constitution. She barely has fur. And while she loves to run around and around and around no matter how wild the weather, she starts to shiver once it drops below 30 degrees.

Enter Dana and Kay, whose dog sweaters provided the spark.

The pattern is the Lucky Dog Sweater by Sole Salvo. The yarn is MDK’s Atlas—mostly Lapis with a thin collar of Clementine because I misjudged my yardage. For Mavis I made size L, which was a surprise because she is medium in all other descriptions. It’s also a whole lot more knitting than Kay or Dana needed to do for their pocket-sized pooches.

I made just one modification: it’s sleeveless. Mavis doesn’t mind having things pulled over her head but wrestling her precious paws into sleeves proved to be a bridge too far. Now she can show off her buff shoulders like those dudes on the Boardwalk at the Shore.

What brings me joy is how well designed Salvo’s pattern is. The directions could not be more clear, which is needed for those used to making human-shaped sweaters. Salvo even provides mods to accommodate the differences in plumbing between male and female dogs.

But the true genius is the ribbing. Half of the construction is K2, P2, which means this simple sweater will fit a wide variety of body types. From affenpinscher to Yorkie, you can knit on with confidence.

Mavis was less in love with it during her first fitting.

(For those who are into sports-related dog sweaters—even though it was not my intention to deck Mavis out in Syracuse, Chicago Bears, or Florida Gators gear, this combo would work for fans of those teams. The saturated hues of Atlas could get you close to nearly any franchise you love.)

You know what they say: there is no bad weather, only improper clothing. Now we’re all ready for what’s to come.

Now through Monday, get free shipping on any order over $75 at our store. You can even pick up some Atlas, in case your own pooch is chilly.