Hello everyone! My latest design is a cat sweater, the first ever for me. Let me tell you, this was a pattern of necessity. Or so our cat, Lizzie Beth, would have you believe. (That is the little darling in the picture. Isn’t she precious?) Our summers are humid and sweltering and just up our kitty’s ally. She lays on the porch and soaks up the warmth, but in the winter she’s a blanket hog. And snow is an absolute “No” for her. I couldn’t help but pity her and lend my skill for her comfort. Thus emerged the Retro Striped Cat Sweater.

There are so many designs for pet clothing out there; I had no idea what I really wanted for my design. I decided to style it after a vintage sweater that is kind of a clothing legend in our family since it dates back to the 80’s, at least — simple with bold stripes. The sweater is crocheted top down, where the collar is first worked in ridged rows before joining. The armholes are relatively simple with the striping starting halfway through along the back.

One special stitch I used in this pattern for a brief period is the Foundation Single Crochet. Are you familiar with it? If not, don’t worry, we have a post here that shows you how it’s done. Check out How to Crochet: Foundation Single Crochet (Fsc).

The Retro Striped Cat Sweater should fit your average cat, or even very small dog breeds. The collar provides an opening of 10 inches, unstretched, and slips over the head easily. The armholes are roomy as well and should make the sweater that much easier to put on.

So what do you think of Lizzie’s sweater? Do you have a fur baby in need of some homemade goodness from you? Don’t forget to leave me your thoughts in the comments below!

Skill Level:

Finished Size: Fits average sized cats, or very small dogs (Neck opening: 10 inches unstretched)

Materials: Light weight yarn (approximately 100 yards of white, and 15 yards each of purple, light purple, pink, light pink) Crochet hooks E(3.50mm) and D(3.25mm)

Gauge:
5 sc = 1″
6 rows = 1″
Gauge Swatch: 1″w x 1″h (2.5 cm x 2.5 cm) ch 6.
Row 1: sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across: 5 sc
Row 2 – 6: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across: 5 sc
Finish off.

Color Pattern
Start stripes at Round 22 and end after Round 37.
Work 4 rows of each color:
Purple,
Light purple,
Pink,
Light pink,
Then repeat once.

Special Stitches: Foundation Single Crochet (Fsc)
See here for How to Crochet Fsc (Foundation Single Crochet)

Need help understanding the abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart.

Crochet Pattern: Retro Striped Cat Sweater

Collar
Row 1: with D hook and white yarn, ch 5, sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across: 4 sc
Row 2 – 54: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across: 4 sc
Match ends and sl st together. Do not finish off.

Body
Round 1: with E hook, turn, ch 1, sc along the side of each Row, sl st in first sc joining to beginning of round: 54 sc
Round 2 – 3: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc around, sl st in first sc: 54 sc
Round 4: ch 1, turn, * 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 8 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc: 60 sc
Round 5: ch 1, turn, * 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 9 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc: 66 sc
Round 6: ch 1, turn, * 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 10 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc: 72 sc
Round 7: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc around, sl st in first sc: 72 sc
Round 8: ch 1, turn, * 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 11 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc: 78 sc
Round 9: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc around, sl st in first sc: 78 sc
Round 10: ch 1, turn, * 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 12 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc: 84 sc
Round 11 – 16: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc around, sl st in first sc: 84 sc

Armholes
Round 17 (chest): ch 1, turn, sc in next 12 sc, leave remaining sts unworked: 12 sc
Round 18 – 30: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc around: 12 sc
Finish off.
Round 17 (back): join yarn in 24th sc, sc in next 49 sc, leave remaining sts unworked: 50 sc
Round 18 – 30 (start stripes at Round 22): ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across: 50 sc

Body Continued
Round 31: ch 11, sl st in first sc of Round 31 (chest), sl st across next 12 sc, ch 1, turn, sc over sl sts, across ch-11, and around, 11 fsc, sl st in first sc: 84 sc
Round 32 – 57: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc around, sl st in first sc: 84 sc
Finish off.

I hope you have enjoyed this pattern! Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 4th, 2024 at 2:37 PM by Amy Yarbrough and is filed under Free Crochet Patterns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.