Baby goat sweater knit in the round
Size 8 circular needle
Bulky yarn or 2 strands worsted held together (I like to use two strands of worsted together and use up scraps from my stash since no one really cares what colours are in a baby goat sweater as long as it keeps baby warm)
This pattern has two choices for the back end:
1.Tapered back end:
CO 36
K1, P1 rib 1 ½ inches
*K1fb, work in pattern to last stitch, k1fb
Work in pattern 1 row* repeat until 46 stitches
Go to +++ and proceed
2. Straight back end (pictured):
Cast on 46 stitches
Work in k1,p1 rib
Go to +++ and proceed
+++
Work in pattern until 6 (or 8) inches long
Inc 1 at each end of every row until 58 stitches
Join to work in the round, place marker to mark center front, work in pattern until long side of garnment is 10 (or 12) inches long.
Starting at marker work 6 stitches in pattern, bind off four, work 38 stitches, bind off 4, work 6 stitches to center marker. Now work the 12 stitch section between the bound off sections (the front) back and forth in pattern until 3 inches long. Place stitches on holder and cut or break yarn. Now work the back 38 stitches back and forth until 2 ½ inches long. End on a right side row, cast on 4 stitches, pick up 12 front stitches, cast on 4 stitches and join to work in the round again. Work two full rows from the center front marker.
*Decrease in pattern first stitch after marker and last stitch before marker. Work two rows in pattern.* Repeat until 48 stitches.
K one row (turning row).
Knit in k2, p2 rib for 2 inches and bind off in a stretchy bind off.
Pick up stitches around leg hole (approx. 22, legs are optional!) and work in the round in k1, p1 rib for 10 rows, bind off in stretchy BO. Weave in ends.
If you have any questions at all just ask and I will try to answer in the comments. If you have any suggestions or improvements in how this pattern is written please let me know!
How long did you make the first section (6 or 8 inches) in the sweater that is pictured above? About how many inches wide is the back section (46 stitches) before the increases begin? Mine is 8 inches wide, which looks small, but these will be our first kids, so I don't have a good idea of how big they are when they're born.
ReplyDeleteWhen first knit it was 6 inches long in the first section, about 8 or 8 1/2 inches wide. Because of the ribbing it was really stretchy, though. After a week of use and two washings it relaxed out some and now measures 8 inches long for the first section and 11 inches across, though stretched out I can get it up to 20 inches across. The only issue I had with this was that one of my kids figured out how to get out of it because the neck was so loose. I made a tie out of single crochet (I cord would work, too) and worked it through the edge of the neck hole to close it up some and that kept him from escaping it, lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of goats do you have? I might be able to give you an idea of how well this fit depending on breed.
These will be LaMancha babies, eventually we will also have Oberhasli and Nigerian Dwarf.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the pattern.
Mine were LaMancha/Boer-cross mixes so your newborns should be similar is size to the kid here. They might be a little bigger than mine since my buck is kind of small, but the sweaters should still fit ok. Good luck with your goats! I'd like to have an Oberhasli some day. The lady I bought my goats from had one and she was just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteso cute!
ReplyDeleteI'm knitting this in the round and doing the tapered back. Do I do the increase stitches every other row or do I repeat row one with the 1 1/2 inches then do another increase? Also, what length cable did you use for your circular needles?
ReplyDeleteIncrease every other row. I used a loooong cable and just pulled the extra through because it was all I had at the time (it was the one I bought for knitting two socks at once using the magic loop), if I were to make one now I would probably use something much shorter (16" or 24") like what I use to make hats.
DeleteJust added a picture of the sweater I made with the baby goat wearing it to Ravelry, if you'd like to take a look. My user name is chelchel.
ReplyDelete