Designing pictures in textured knitting is challenging.
Horizontal purl stitch rows pop out against the stockinette background (as they
do in welting), but vertical purl stitch columns recede (as they do in
ribbing). What looks good on a chart may translate as a different image when
knitted.
The design for this dachshund cloth was test-knitted and
revised several times. I wanted my dachshund’s body, feet, and tail to be in
scale with each other, and I wanted a wagging tail with at least an indication
of ears. The dachshund’s face was challenging since one stitch difference on
nose or ears can make the design look like a mouse or a bunny! You can see two
versions of the face on the gold and brown dachshunds in the photo. The chart
is for a face more like the gold dachshund.
The samples are knitted in cotton worsted-weight (standard
weight 4) yarn on size 6 needles (4.0 mm) needles. Gauge is not too important
but you want your stitches to be dense so that the design shows clearly. For
the samples, my gauge was 5.5 st/in and 8.5 rows/in (22 stitches and 34 rows in
4 inches). At that gauge my cloths were about 10 ½” wide and about 5 ¼” tall.
You might want to go up to size 7 needles if your worsted
cotton is more like an aran-weight. Or you might want to make a smaller cloth
in dk-weight cotton on smaller needles. Have fun with your dachshunds!
Dachshund Cloth in Textured Knitting - Free Pattern Download on Ravelry.com
To keep your dachshunds looking frisky,
be sure to treat kitchen cottons for color fastness and block them to shape!
the Dachshund Cloths I knitted for my son and daughter-in-law are on their way as a late holiday gift. Since Max, another mini-doxie, joined their family, it looks like I have another Dachshund Cloth to knit!
