knits, notes, etc.

Kitty Couture™ is the name that I, cheekily, gave to a set of sweaters I am designing and knitting for my friend, Deb's cat, a sphinx named Piglet. This first sweater, which I have named Blush, is pale pink with twisted ribbing details for the collar and front and a 2-layer ruffled bustle for an extremely cute and feminine look. I found myself pleasantly surprised by how adorable the sweater turned out—Instead of a girlish tutu, it looks almost like Victorian-period costume.

Although I've had a general idea of how I wanted this sweater to look for at least a few months, I really did not know where to begin. It was a good thing that when I finally committed myself to casting-on for it, I could refer to Hilary's Felis Felix mandarin cat sweater and this generic chihuahua sweater for guidance with shaping and construction. I don't have any pets, and before Hilary had finished her cat sweater, I realized that I didn't really know how a cat or dog sweater should look or fit. Thanks so much for your help!

After much delay.... Once I have pictures of Deb's cat wearing it, I'll add them to this pattern. Please let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!

Finished Size The neck measures 9.5" (24 cm) around, at the top of the collar. The chest measures 7" (17.75 cm) at the widest point. The back measures about 8.5;" (21.5 cm) long, without ruffles.
Yarn Cascade 220 #4192, 1 skein.
Needles US6 (4 mm) and US4 (3.5 mm).
Notions Removable stitch markers, tapestry needle, stitch holders or waste yarn.
Gauge 20 sts and 28 rows = 4" (10 cm) with US4 needles.

Pattern Description

This cat sweater has three main parts: back, front, and bustle (as shown in the schematic). The back panel begins at the collar with twisted ribbing. Then, it is knit in stockinette stitch with increases and decreases to shape the armholes for the cat's forelegs. The back panel ends with a few more rows of twisted ribbing.

The front panel is knit entirely in twisted ribbing, beginning at the neck, and shaped with increases at each side to the width of the cat's chest. Then, it is knit even in the ribbing pattern to match the length of the back panel.

The bustle consists of two panels that are knit grafted separately to the bottom of the back panel. They are grafted a few rows apart, giving a 2-layer ruffled look the back of the sweater.

Notes

Sizing To make this sweater, you really only need 3 measurements: Neck (around), chest (or width between cat's forelegs), and length.
Twisted Ribbing Using the twisted ribbing for the collar, front, and bottom edges created a very elastic and concealing stitch that was exactly what I needed because I wasn't quite sure how much ease to put into this sweater.

Stitch Guide

Twisted Ribbing

(RS) For an odd number of sts: *k tbl, p1, repeat from * to last st, k tbl.
(WS) For all sts: k all p sts worked in previous row, p tbl all sts worked tbl in previous row.

M1 increases in ribbing

For this pattern, all M1 increases in the twisted ribbing are done as M1L. This creates a stitch identical to knitting through the back loop (k tbl). On the wrong-side of the work, all M1L increased stitches should be worked with purl through-back-loop (p tbl).

Schematic

Instructions

Back

Collar
With smaller ndls, CO 47 sts or an odd number of stitches equivalent to cat's neck size.
Setup Row (WS): p1, *p1tbl, k1; repeat from * to last two stitches, p1 tbl, p1.
Row 1 (RS): k1, M1L, follow Twisted Ribbing pattern to last st, M1L, k1. (49 sts)
Row 2 (WS): p1, follow Twisted Ribbing pattern to last st, p1.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 twice more. (53 sts)

Shoulder and Armholes
Change to larger needles. Work in stockinette until piece measures 1.5 inches from the bottom of the collar, ending with a WS row.
Next Row (RS): k1, k2tog, k to last 3 sts, ssk, k1. (51 sts)
Next Row (WS): p to end.
Repeat last two rows once more. (49 sts)
Knit 4 rows in st st, ending with a WS row.
Next Row (RS): k1, M1L, k to last st, M1R. (51 sts)
Next Row (WS): p to end.
Repeat last two rows once more. (53 sts)

Body
Place a removable marker at each end to indicate the bottom of the armholes, where you will seam the front panel. Knit even in st st until piece measures 7" (17.5 cm) from cast-on edge. Change to smaller needles and knit in Twisted Ribbing for .5". Bind off all sts.

Front

Using larger ndls, CO 3 sts.
Setup Row (WS): p1, k1, p1.
Row 1 (RS): k1, M1L, p1, M1L, k1. (5 sts)
Row 2 (WS): p1, follow Twisted Ribbing Pattern to last st, p1.
Row 3 (RS): k1, M1L, follow Twisted Ribbing pattern to last st, M1L, k1. (7 sts)
Row 4 (WS): as Row 2.
Repeat the last two rows 14 more times (35 sts), or the width of your cat's chest, ending with a WS row. Place removable markers at each end of the row to indicate where the front panel will match to bottom of the armholes on the back panel.
Continue in Twisted Ribbing pattern until the front matches the length of the back, up to the bottom back ribbing.
Change to smaller needles and continue in Twisted Ribbing to match bottom back ribbing.
BO all sts.

Bustle

Make 2 ruffled panels as follows:

Ruffle
Using larger ndls, CO 100 sts. (Or, the number of sts equal to twice the st count of the bottom of your back panel.)
Row 1 (WS) sl 1, p to end.
Row 2 (RS) sl 1, k to end.
Repeat Rows 1-2 until piece measures 1" from cast-on edge, ending with a WS row.
Dec Row (RS) sl 1, *k2tog, repeat from * to last st, k1. (51 sts)
Next Row (WS) sl 1, p to end.
Place all sts on a holder or on waste yarn. Leave a tail long enough for grafting all the stitches to the back.

Finishing

Seam front and back panels
Seam the front and back panels together, using the schematic and stitch markers as a guide for placement.

Add bustle
Graft the ruffles to the bottom of the back panel. The first one should be on the row just above the bottom ribbing. The second panel should be at least 5 rows above that.

Weave in all loose ends. Block lightly and try it on kitty.