I LOVE this dog. Debi Birkin’s animal patterns are fabulous.

Made completely in the round, including the pants.

Every single row of the dog is knit when making in the round. For the trousers, only these rows are purled:

• The first row after cast on of each leg.
• First and third row of waistband.

Mods to make in the round:

• Don’t cast off the legs, put the first one on a holder, then after going around the last time on the second leg, from the front to the back, go around back of second leg and then the front of that one, making one circle. Put a marker at the center back, the beginning of your rows.
• Decreasing for the shoulders: The center back will be in the middle of the middle long knit section, so k half that number of stitches, the decreases to the right of the center, then the end k section, then the beginning k section, and the first set of decreases.
• Second to last row of body: (k2tog) x 5, k2, (k2tog)
• Join the trouser legs together the same way as the body’s legs, going around one leg and then around the next one.
• The decreases for the trousers need to be done at the center back and front.
• After the first stripe after the stripe where the legs were joined together, start turning the work so that there will be a slit for the tail. Keep turning the work for three stripes, then go back to knitting in the round.

Other mods:

• I didn’t draw up the neck of the body tight. If I had, the head would have been all wobbly. I left the neck really loose and when I attached the head, I put a lot of stuffing at the top of the body and sewed the head onto the open circle of the neck.
• I didn’t cast off for the nose -- B&T instead.
• I didn’t cast off for the arms or tail, broke yarn and threaded through without drawing up tight.
• I couldn’t find ready-made eyes, so I made my own out of the mahogany and black yarns.
• Suspenders done in seed stitch, k,p,k, every row.
• I split the black yarn in half to make the paw separators.