Sole Salvo For Purl Soho: Dog Park Sweater
That feeling when your pup bolts into the dog-park fray, joy in its eyes and excitement at the fun ahead, it’s like casting on for Sole Salvo’s truly special and absolutely gorgeous Dog Park Sweater… This is going to be amazing!
Sized for dogs from teacup to couch-hogger, you will begin Sole’s beautiful sweater at the tail end, working flat, then join to work in the round for the chest. After dividing the chest and back for the “armholes,” you rejoin and work in the round for the yoke and collar.
All in distinctive brioche stitch, both in a rib and chevron pattern, this is the perfect knit for any dog lover who’s up for a challenge, but never fear, you won’t be alone. We have a whole series of video tutorials to help you along the way!
Challenging but worth it. The beautiful texture of the brioche stitches adds stretch and bounce to the fabric, giving the Dog Park Sweater a flexible, comfy fit, while its loftiness keeps your dog toasty warm!
Our Flax Down yarn, a lovely single ply, is the perfect complement to squishy brioche stitch. Both Fair Trade and Responsible Wool Standard Certified, Flax Down combines baby alpaca, extra fine merino, and linen for a yarn that is strong and soft, with a light tweedy haze. It’s just wonderful.
When it’s time for your dog to mix and mingle, you can rest assured that Sole Salvo’s Dog Park Sweater will be warm, cozy, and the talk of the (puppy) town… You will surely be proud of every loving stitch!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Designed for Purl Soho by Sole Salvo.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoDogParkSweater and #PurlSohoFlaxDown. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 1 (2, 2, 3, 4, 6) skein(s) of Purl Soho’s Flax Down, 43% baby alpaca, 42% extra fine merino, and 15% linen. Each skein is 219 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 160 (285, 440, 615, 865, 1170) yards required. We used the colors Rosewood Pink and Heirloom White.
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 16- or 24-inch circular needles, depending on size you are making
- A set of US 4 double pointed needles
- Stitch markers, including one unique
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- A size F (3.75 mm) crochet hook
- A Dog Park Sweater Pattern (Please Note: The Dog Park Sweater Pattern is no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.)
GAUGE
NOTE: In Brioche Stitch, each row that appears counts as 2 rows.
16 stitches and 52 rows (looks like 26 rows) = 4 inches in Brioche Stitch (see Special Instructions)
SIZES
XXS (XS, S, M, L, XL)
To fit chest circumference of approximately 12–14 (14–20, 20–26, 26-31, 31-38, 38-44) inches
- Finished Chest Circumference: 14 (20, 26, 31, 38, 44½) inches
- Finished Neck Circumference: 9 (11, 14, 17, 21, 25½)
- Finished Length from Base of Tail to Base of Neck: 9 (13¼, 15¾, 20, 23¼, 26) inches
Samples: The sweaters shown here are sizes XS in Rosewood Pink (worn by Violet) and size S in Heirloom White (worn by Roxy).
PATTERN
Please Note: The Dog Park Sweater Pattern is no longer available for purchase. For assistance, please contact us at customerservice@purlsoho.com.
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Do you have color block bias blanket pattern?
Hi Joyce,
Thanks for reaching out. You can find the pattern for the Rectangular Colorblock Bias Blanket right here. I hope this helps you find what you’re looking for!
All the best,
Lili
I wish you would do a human sweater in this pattern!
Came here to say the same
What is the difficulty level of this compared with the Botanical Yoke Dog Sweater? I’m a pretty proficient intermediate knitter and I LOVE both patterns, but seeing a variation of the word “challenging” in the description two times made me nervous. I’m knitting this for my boss’s pup so I want to do a good job. It’s gorgeous but looks less difficult than it sounds…
Hi EC,
Thanks for reaching out! This pattern is quite challenging, I would say it is great for an advanced intermediate-advanced knitter! The Botanical Yoke Dog Sweater on the other hand is much easier and more straightforward, perfect for advanced beginner-intermediate knitters. However, if you are up for a challenge we do offer a whole series of video tutorials to help you out along the way!
I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Gianna
Hi Gianna,
Thank you so much – I will go with the beautiful Botanical Yoke sweater this time, and will definitely keep honing my skills to make the Dog Park sweater before long. Thank you!!
Washable alternative for the yarn?
Hi Sachiko,
Thanks for writing in! For a machine-washable alternative for Flax Down, I would suggest using our lovely Morning! It is 75% organically grown cotton and 25% yak, and we suggest machine washing on a delicate cold cycle, and lay flat and face down to dry.
As always, I do suggest working a gauge swatch prior to beginning to ensure you are consistent with the pattern!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
OMG, it’s Violet! We are a San Francisco Griff family who knows Violet from Instagram. Hi Violet, from @merv.griffon.sf
I will probably start with the Botanical Yoke Dog Sweater for Merv, and do a matching one for myself, but this pattern is so beautiful!
Looks like flax down is no longer available? What would be a suitable substitute?
Hello!
Thank you for your question. We suggest Cashmere Merino Bloom as a great substitute for Flax Down, in terms of gauge and softness! Cashmere Merino Bloom also has 218 yards per skein, where Flax Down had 219 yards per skein, meaning you would need the same amount of skeins when substituting it for a project.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Margaret
Hi there,
I’m a pretty experienced knitter and I was wondering if you could check this pattern. In size small, I’m having a really hard time on page 6 transitioning to the “in the round” section. I’m good with the Cast on for the belly row, but between that and round 1, even with the change to a purl row language… the count and the pattern seem off. Looking for additional tutorials you have a number of great ones for bc4d and BK2tog-Yo-Bk2tog but can you do a couple for the single color purl variations? I think I’m ok on them but it would help me rule out an error on my end. I’ve been good up to this point and appreciate the attention to detail and checked the errata updates but I’m starting to lose my marbles. Thanks, A
Hi Annie,
Thanks for reaching out. I’d be happy to help clarify this pattern for you, but would you be able to let me know a bit more information about what’s going on? In particular, what exactly seems “off” about the count and the pattern when beginning the “in the round” section?
I’ll keep an eye out for your reply, and then I’ll be able to take a closer look at the pattern! I’ve actually knit this one myself, so I know just how confusing it can be at times!
And thank you for your suggestion for another brioche tutorial. I agree that it would be useful to have a tutorial about brioche stitch in the round, so I’ll pass along your comment to our design team, as a suggestion for the future.
All the best,
Lili
Is there anyway to reach Sole Salvo for help on her patterns? Is there a contact? I have several sweater patterns from Purl and the actual site but I have questions regarding charts. Thanks in advance! ❤️
Hello!
I’d recommend reaching out to [email protected] if you have any questions on any patterns we offer on our website! The designers themselves aren’t available to answer questions, but we know these patterns very well and can absolutely answer any questions you have.
All the best,
Lili
I am knitting this sweater in XS and I am at the “shape lower back” section and it says: Repeat Rows 1-6 – (0,1,-, -, – ) more times. So for XS it says to repeat 0 more times. Is that the same as a dash? Do dashes and 0 mean the same thing in this instance?
Hi Shannon,
Thanks for reaching out! The dashes mean that these particular pattern instructions don’t apply to those sizes, since the Shape Lower Back section that you’re working on is for sizes XS And S Only. So yes, both the dashes and the “0” mean that nothing needs to be done; it’s just notated differently in each case to differentiate the XS and S sizes from the others. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Cat
Hello, I am knitting an XS and it seems like the stitch count at “Back+Chest” Round 1 is incorrect. There is a decrease , yet the count on the pattern remains the same as before the decrease. Shouldn’t there be a decrease in stitch count between “Back+Chest” Round 1 and “Work Back in Brioche + Belly in Ribbing” Round 13? This leads to a discrepancy in dividing the correct number of stitches when working the chest. Please advise. Thank you.
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks for reaching out, and that’s a great observation! There’s actually a note in the pattern that addresses this:
From this point forward, count Brioche Chevron Panel (between first and second markers) as 17 (33, 49, 61, 81, 101) stitches regardless of which round of the pattern you are working. Your actual Brioche Chevron Panel stitch count will be less on some rounds.
I hope this helps clarify things!
All the best,
Lili
Hello! I’d be really grateful for your help with a query about this pattern. Specifically, I’m a bit confused about ‘Row 1’ under the ‘Begin brioche stitch’ section on page 3. The Set-up Row generates 9 stitches prior to the first marker (I think). However, in Row 1, it is suggested to knit to 1 stitch before the second marker, and then bk2tog (with this stitch involving the 1 stitch before and 1 after the marker) leaving 8 stitches remaining. The suggestion (I think) is then to YOS/bk2tog until the last stitch, which should be a p1. However, I am confused as to how there would be one stitch remaining as the 8 stitches would be used in the bk2tog stitches? I am not sure where my understanding is wrong? Thanks!
Hi AM,
Thanks for reaching out! You’re absolutely correct that there are 9 stitches before the first marker, and 9 stitches after the second marker. However, I’m concerned that you may be working the bk2tog stitch incorrectly! To work a bk2tog stitch, all you’re doing is knitting the next stitch with its paired yarn over as one stitch (a stitch and its paired yarn over is just counted as 1 stitch in brioche knitting!). This type of stitch should never be split across a marker, so it sounds like you may be actually knitting two different stitches together, rather than just working the next stitch with its paired yarn over.
I hope this helps pinpoint what’s going wrong, but if you’re still concerned, I’d recommend sending a photo of your work so far to [email protected]. That way, we can better visualize what’s happening!
All the best,
Lili
I bought this pattern and yarn several years ago to be my first encounter with brioche (silly me!). Many test swatches later, I think I’m ready. Still, I’m looking for ways to simplify. What if I forsake the beautiful chevron pattern and continue the brioche? Based on my swatches, the result will be too stretchy, whereas the chevron pattern looks to stabilize the fabric. Thoughts?
Perhaps if I practice just the chevron pattern. Can you suggest how many stitches to practice the chevron pattern?
Thanks!
Hi Cyntha,
I’m so glad to hear that you’re feeling more confident with brioche stitch now! Yes, you can definitely omit the chevron pattern and just knit plain brioche. If you want to practice the chevron pattern though, one column of it works over 15 stitches. You can cast that on, plus a few edge stitches, and that’ll work great for practice!
All the best,
Lili
Thank you Lili! I’ll definitely swatch the chevron. HUGE shout out for the numerous brioche videos and step-by-step still photos, each image with its own explanation. These are a fabulous resource! (By the time I got to making a swatch of Bc4d, I worked it perfectly the first time! This says less about me and more about the instructional qualities of the videos.)
You’re very welcome!
All the best,
Lili