My youngest niece is obsessed with animals, and in particular tigers and large cats, so I wanted to make her a tiger sweater for her second birthday. After a bit of research (looking at lots of tiger pictures), I decided to take my inspiration from Calvin and Hobbes.

It is knit from the top down with the white belly picked up and knit afterwards. It has a circular yoke, slight short-row shaping for the fronts, a shaped hood, and, most importantly, ears and a tail.

With some slight alterations it would also work as a cat, or fox, or maybe even a penguin.

The sizes given are a measurement around the chest of the finished sweater, in 5cm increments.

The pattern is not for absolute beginners, you need to be able to work from basic instructions and charts and do a bit of independent thinking. That said, it’s not difficult, and I always do my best to help if needed.

Required skills include short rows, m1, seed stitch, temporary cast on and picking up held stitches.