Calling all knitters!

Dear knitters and dog lovers,

My name is Valya and I am the creator of Lucky Fox Knits on Etsy. I design knitting patterns for small dogs to keep these cold sensitive creatures warm in the winter! I am currently doing a Kickstarter project to raise funds for the design of 4 unique new knitting patterns. This small pattern set is called the "Party Animal Series" and it features hats that small dogs can wear at yearly reoccurring events such as birthday parties, weddings, holiday parties--and more! Check out the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goodblender/knitting-pattern-series-for-mini-dachshunds?ref=f0peb5



These knitting patterns came out of a real need. After living in a super cold climate for a number of years, I was forced to start knitting sweaters and hats for my two miniature dachshunds just so my dogs could venture outside in the winter months! I soon discovered that other dog owners had a similar problem--and that my knitting patterns were a potential solution! My designs evolved over time, as I began to realize that I could have some fun with the knitting patterns--as long as the designs continued to serve their intended function.



Backers will be the first to receive these new patterns, and they will be getting them at a discount of 27-45% off! In the future, each of the patterns will individually sell for $5.50 on Etsy and Ravelry.



*Please note that the objective of this project is to provide PDF (digitally downloadable) KNITTING PATTERNS to backers, not physical items.



Thank you for checking out my new design project. :) I can't wait to start working on these hats!

This is a great idea.  What wonderful hats.

I wanted to share one of the designs I composed earlier this year--in the spring. This hat has a super light pom-pom that bounces from side to side as my puppy runs, but it magically stays out of the way of her eyes! The design is completely seamless, and the ribbing at the neck and edge of the face opening make this hat super comfy for small dogs to wear. In this photo, Jezebel is looking at a piece of popcorn with her name on it! ;) I'm thinking of loosely basing one of the new designs on this hat because there are several things I really love about this "Santa Hat."

Absolutely adorable!

Valya, you should also offer notecards with your dog drawings on them. Your scetches are adorable!

Lee Missouri wrote:Valya, you should also offer notecards with your dog drawings on them. Your scetches are adorable!

That's a great idea for a stretch goal.

I love those drawings.

Who doesn't love a hand knitted bow tie? Haha! What I like most about this pattern is that it is adaptable to dogs of all different sizes, and that it is super comfortable for dogs to wear. The yarn is soft, and the knitted fabric has just enough elasticity to be super comfy around the neck. My mini dachshund Jezebel acted like she didn't even know she was wearing it while she modeled for this photo. The new bow tie I plan on designing in the upcoming "Party Animal Series" will have a classic fold-down collar around the neckband, taking puppy cuteness to the next level! My goal with a design like this is allow dogs to feel totally uninhibited while looking their best at a special event such as a wedding or family reunion.

Thank you so much for the complements, and the suggestion to do a stretch goal with cards featuring my illustrations. That idea led me to the thought that I could do a humorous dachshund comic strip as a stretch goal for my kickstarter project. What do you think of this idea? :)

Beautiful,  
I was in Ashland yesterday and noticed many people wearing breathing protection (serious forest fires in Oregon).  
The dogs on the other hand were left to endure with what protection we are born with.  
Getting a dog to understand and use a mask could be challenging but your post has moved me to write and say you may be able to convince some of our friends to engage the knit.        
I know this is a tall order and not likely just had to say it
I really love  the red one.

The smoke is really bad in Oregon right now, and I know the air quality is pretty terrible. It's a great idea to create a muzzle for a dog that would work as a respirator. A project such as this would take a good deal of planing and testing. I wonder if a dog would need to be trained to even willingly keep it on. It would be worth finding out. Thank you for the suggestion, I will investigate this idea further.

i was being fictitious, but if you are game and the dogs want to play. . . good things may come from this.

I didn't back the Kickstarter, as my dog is a Beauceron, but I wandered over to your Etsy shop page and found a very cute headband pattern to buy!

Your patterns are sooo cute!

Okay, I really got to know, are knitting sweaters for benches and fruit really a thing that people are doing?

I followed Julia's link to your etsy page, as I didn't know until then that you did more than doggy hats.... And then I ran across your listing for "banana sweater" patterns (https://www.etsy.com/listing/530187338/knitting-pattern-banana-sweater-fruit?ref=shop_home_active_5). The description reads:

This knitting pattern was inspired by the sweater craze. I am referring of course, to the movement of putting sweaters on everything from apples to park benches. I wanted to contribute to this hilarious and outrageous knitting movement, and so I have designed a sweater for a banana! LOL! The button strap is functional, (not just for looks) and it opens and closes with ease. This pattern has intuitive instructions that are easy to follow. This pattern makes a hilarious table setting decoration for parties and picnics.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to find more about this "sweater crazy." All I kept finding was links to your...banana..sweaters...

I think it started with yarn bombing, which I think is art/political/graffiti, then it sort of went sideways and ended up with sweaters for coffee cups, glasses, bananas, etc. I think.
(there's an instagram called "people knit the strangest things", or maybe it's knit/crochet. most amusing)

I don't have a tiny dog, but those are some great looking fashionable pups!

I took a look at your shop, your people caps are just beautiful. Good luck on your fundraiser!

Haha! So you came across the banana sweater! :) That is too funny! To this day, this silly pattern holds the record for the most likes any one of my patterns has ever received! Yes, it is a real movement called "Yarn Bombing," and it is a type of art known as "Knitted Graffiti." One of the first images I saw was of an apple sweater, and it charmed me and inspired me to do something similar.



Later I saw that people were yarn bombing all kinds of things, from cars and bicycles, to trees and lamp posts! It seemed so fun that I could not resist contributing a small pattern to this hilarious movement. It happened one day that I had some yarn left over from a project I had just finished, and was just about to take a break and eat a banana. I saw the banana on the table next to the yarn and got an idea to design a sweater. :)  

I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the posts on this thread. It is so sweet to read all of your comments! Since my patterns are sold electronically, I don't usually get to hear back from knitters/people who see my work. That is why it is extra special for me to connect with the sweet people here on permies.com! Thank you all! :)

On that cheerful note, I would like to share a photo of an absurd little pattern I recently designed for the extra short legs of my dog Jezebel. I call these little sleeves "Wrist Warmers" but I suppose they could be considered leg warmers as well! ;)

Not a knitter, but next spring will have plenty of raw fleeces, clean and free of vm. Staple should be minimum of 3". Finnsheep and a few Finn/Polypay cross fleeces. White, brown, black, piebald or variegated and badger in various permutations. Micron anywhere from low 20's to 36+.  These are from my flock.

I love those drawings.

I once knitted a sweater for Toetie, my doggie. But she doesn't like to wear it. I think she also won't like a hat. Maybe a hat with holes for her ears; hearing (and smelling) is very important for her, because she has very bad eyesight. (Sorry, can't find the photo of Toetie with sweater).


I knitted a cover for mt favourite chair. This is a special knitting chair, without arm-rests!

What a lovely chair! I love that it doesn't have arm rests, this is brilliant! :)

There are still four days left to go--and my Kickstarter project is 497% funded! I'm so excited to start working on these new knitting patterns, I can hardly wait! Already, I'm looking at yarn options and sketching out the designs in more detail. It takes a lot of thought to create something that will be both beautiful and comfortable. In the picture below you can see my dog Max wearing a blue hat with a pom-pom that I designed earlier this year. The hat he has on is entirely seamless and light as air. If you haven't done so already, go ahead and check out my Kickstarter campaign before it ends. :) You can find the link below my signature at the bottom of this post.

Made it! My Kickstarter project is fully funded--so it is definitely going to happen! Yay! There are only a few hours left--but there is still time to join in the knitting fun! I couldn't wait to get started designing these new small dog hat patterns, so I spent some time working on the cupcake design that will crown the "birthday hat" pattern. Let me know what you guys/girls think. Also, if you are a knitter and have a beloved small pup in your life that is sensitive to the winter cold, check out my Kickstater rewards before time runs out. You can find a link to my Kickstarter campaign below my signature. :)  

Oh my goodness, those cupcakes are too cute!!! Now I want to knit one for my kids' pretend cookset!

Hi Valya. You ask for our opinions, so I think you can take some 'negative feedback' too.
In my opinion this goes too far in a direction that can't be called 'permaculture'. Knitting, making useful things such as clothes (including sweaters for dogs in a cold region), using materials which don't harm nature, that's part of a permaculture lifestyle. But making 'birthday hats' for dogs ... Sorry, but I don't think so ...

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Hi Valya. You ask for our opinions, so I think you can take some 'negative feedback' too.
In my opinion this goes too far in a direction that can't be called 'permaculture'. Knitting, making useful things such as clothes (including sweaters for dogs in a cold region), using materials which don't harm nature, that's part of a permaculture lifestyle. But making 'birthday hats' for dogs ... Sorry, but I don't think so ...

we don't always have to be serious

I think others were interested in what else she was designing....

Fun is a very important part of permaculture.  I love this cake and can see it adorning the top of a hat.  Although you might get some requests to make a kids hat with it on too.


One of the great things about knitting patterns is that we can make it out of any yarn we choose, so long as the gage is the same.  I would love to see a tasty treat knitted from some homespun yarn.

A cupcake hat doesn't just have to be used on a birthday--it can be used any day, or at other festive occasions like the birthday parties of family and friends.

Also, I wonder if it could be made detachable, so one could switch out different adornments on their hats.

The cupcake also doesn't look like it takes too much yarn, so scraps of yarn could be used that aren't used for other things (don't we all have small balls of yarn left over from other projects that we just haven't gotten around to using?).

Also, with something like the cupcake hat, if the cupcake were detachable, then it could also be a wonderful toy for a child. It's HARD to find cloth toys suitible for babies that aren't made from polyester. This could be made with wool or cotton and be baby friendly. If the frosting were made detachable, it could a be great toy for preschoolers and older. I LOVED my fisher price cupcake set as a child--I could change out the frostings that went on top of the cupcake, and I played with those for years. Now I worry about having my kids play with them because of the effects of plastic upon our health. But, I could knit a cupcake out of scraps of wool yarn, and they could play in the same way if I attached a bit of velcro to the cake and frosting so they could stick together.

One could also use the cupcake as a table decoration for birthday parties and baby showers. There's tons of fun--and even useful--uses for a little cupcake!

So cute! I'm glad I saw this Kickstarter and your Etsy page. Now I need a dachshund! And if I get the dog I guess iI will also have to learn to knit . . .

Thank you all for your amazing comments! You are such sweet and wonderful people--you touch my heart, and I appreciate every single one of you! My Kickstarter finished today, and it was a wonderful success. It's just amazing. Got to go get some patterns made! Haha! Happy knitting to all! :)

Oh my, I love allt he super cute hats you came up with!  

Sooo creative!

Sandy