Most of my dog sweater designs float around in my brain for quite a while before they get test-knitted, written and published.  And honestly, I can hardly wait to get a new idea on the needles. I have five or six concrete ideas in the old queue right now — just can’t make them as fast as I can think them up.

Willie had a BIG operation on his back leg at the end of May. He had a torn ligament and luxating patella repaired, and it was quite an experience for the whole family. So when July 1 rolled around and we set off for Beverly, Mass., for a month — without the dogs — I was feeling a mite guilty. Just had to make something sweet for the little one while I was gone.

Blue Jean Baby, a little knitted jean jacket for dogs, has existed in my head for quite a while — the name, the yarn, the whole thing. While on vacation, missing the baby, I worked and reworked it till I got it done. (Never done a sleeve on a dog sweater before, and I must say I was mystified, but it happened, and it works.)

We came home to find Willie had lost two pounds. (Work that guilt, Mommy!) His new, svelte self fits perfectly in his jean jacket. And I promise never again to leave my Blue Jean Baby for so long!

The pattern is available on my Patterns for Sale page (just pass over the categories at the top of the page — it’s in white type on a white background and hard to see otherwise). It’s knit in Rowan Denim and sized to fit dogs with a chest measurement of 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16 or 17-18 inches.