I couldn’t resist creating this sweater for my guinea pig… not that he really needs one! A couple of months ago, I was a bit bored and wanted something to do with this blue yarn that I have. So I decided to knit a sweater for my guinea pig, Nicholas. I can’t recall that I’ve seen sweaters made for small animals, but doesn’t he just look too cute!? He’s one of my babies, and why shouldn’t he have a little sweater, too?
Supplies:
200 yds. sock yarn (I used 100% Merino Superwash Sassy Stripes)
Size 3 16 in. circulars
Pattern:
Cast on 88 sts.
k2, p2, rib for 2 in.
Separate sts. for front (40 sts.) and back (48 sts.).
Back:
Row 1: k2, p2 inc. (kfb) every 3rd st.
(62 sts. total)
Row 2: p6, k2 (wrong side) to end of row.
Row 3: (right side) k6, p2 to end of row.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 for 1.5 in.
Place sts. on waste yarn
Front:
Pick up other 40 sts.
Row 1: k2, p2 inc. (kfb) every 3rd st.
(52 sts. total)
Row 2: p6, k2 (wrong side) to end of row.
Row 3: (right side) k6, p2 to end of row.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 for 1.5 in.
Place sts. on waste yarn
Pick up back stitches and knit in round k6, p2 for 5 in.
Bind off all sts.
Weave in ends and turn down neck.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Very cute!! I love to knit and I have a pet guinea pig!!! I have always wanted to knit him a sweater! He is an Abyssian breed of piggie, so I’m not sure how he would like it!!!
April 13th, 2008 at 5:15 am
Do you have a pattern for your guinea pig coat………..I haven’t knitted for years but a friend of mine joked that she’d love a coat for her guinea pig. I’d like to knit her one but can’t find a pattern.
Please help if you can.
Thanks
Suzi
May 25th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Rebecca and suzi, I decided to post the pattern for the guinea pig sweater on the site. Check out the updated post, and enjoy! Thanks for visiting!
July 18th, 2008 at 9:23 am
This is the cutest thing! Thanks for sharing the pattern! I’ll be making one for my piggy too.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:11 am
That is very cute. Looks good on guinea, too.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
OMG! What a cute guinea pig sweater!! I might make my piggie one. Only thing is, I can’t imagine hime letting me put it on him!!
November 15th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Oh my God, this is freakin’ hilarious. Just had to come to your site to see if this was for real (saw your profile pic on Ravelry…heheh)!! Fun Fun…
February 21st, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Soooooooooooo cute. Iwill so try to make one for Albert, My guinea pig. Thanks for sharing this cute idea with me.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I am glad you like it, a lot of people seem to think Nic is the hot stuff here…lol
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:35 am
That lil piggie is ready to hit the town! Sooo cute he is
March 25th, 2009 at 8:39 am
So adorable. I have 2 piggies and they are getting sweaters!
April 9th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Hi there…
I’ve been asked by my daughter-in-law to knit for her guinea pig this pattern you’ve created . Unfortunately, I’m not what you would call an ‘advanced knitter’ & so I’m afraid I need a little more detailed instructions (guidance) to be able to accomplish her request.
So, if you could help me with just a couple things…
-When starting the sweater, are you beginning at the top (neck) or the bottom (hindquarters)?
-Is the initial ribbing to be knitted in a round (stitches joined) and then for the back & front…knitted straight back & forth?
-When picking up the back stitches…do you also pick up the front?
-And I’m not sure how you managed knitting such a small diametre pattern on circulars…I’m thinking I’m missing something… Right now I’m attempting it on 4 needles.
Soooo appreciate your time on this.
Thanks…
Elaine
April 13th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
the sweater is knit in the round for almost the whole thing. Also it is knit from the neck down. where the arms are you will need to knit back and forth to form the holes for the arms. you should already have your front stitches on the needles so you do not need to pick up the front. Yes, you can do this on four needles, three needles, magic loop, or a really small circular such as a Hiya Hiya 9 inch circular. I can’t remember what I used to be honest, I usually use two circulars until I recently started using the magic loop. Hope this helps. I know the pattern isn’t the best, but again, I am not a professional pattern writer.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Thanks, Jen…
I clearly can see now how you’ve done it. It’s a great pattern actually…certainly a lot less complicated than a number of ‘sweaters for pets’ patterns that I came across in my searching. And at this point, when it comes to knitting, I don’t do all that well yet with ‘complicated’.
Again…appreciate your time…
E.
ps: I still can’t believe I’m knitting a sweater for a guinea pig…
April 25th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I love the guinea pig sweater. I used to breed and show cavies years ago and none of them ever had sweaters though. So cute!!!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Just a couple of questions. Is that a US size 3 or a 3mm needle. Also, is that a worsted weight yarn. Thanks
August 14th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Is it 5 inches *after* joining the front and back or do I stop when I’ve done 5 inches total? I’m knitting the pattern for a friend’s daughter’s guinea pig
August 14th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
It is 5 inches after it is finished. You can make it longer if you wish. This also fits a Tea Cup Chi. If you want it to fit a bigger pig, rabbit, or very small dog you can try using larger needles and some DK, worsted weight, or even chunky yarn and follow the same pattern.
August 14th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
it is a US size 3 needle. I used a sock yarn, fingering weight
September 13th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I love that sweater soo much!! He is ready to go for winter.:) Makes me want to take kniting lessons. Thank you for the idea!!
September 19th, 2009 at 2:24 am
hi there,
hey i love this sweater its so cute and i have like a short hired guinea pig nd this would be great on her and im not like a pro or advanced knitter so umm does it say how to knit it on the web site any were ?
well thanks for your time and i wuold be glad if u respond thanks
October 18th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
OMG HOW CUTE I HAVE TO MAKE ONE FOR MY PIGGY BARNEY
THANKS HEAPS!!
October 24th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
hey i have a guinea pig named Edward, and I would love to take him out in winter. i think he’s Abyssinian, cuz he has alot of hair lol but i dont know how to knot cuz im 12. any suggestions??
November 17th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
i wish i had a pattern for crochet i want to make sweaters for my guinea pigs in rescue but i only know how to crochet. is there anyone out there willing to help make sweaters for my guinea pig rescue? i have 20 piggies in rescue all sizes and types. or can you get me a crochet pattern? i live in california thanks
November 19th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Wow!, this is really cute!
i currently have 5 guineas and am hoping to get a few more.
i do not knit but would love one of these little sweaters for my shorthair do you know of anywhere i could buy one?
or if you would be ever so kind i could give you a small payment for you to make me one?
thankyou for taking your time reading this!
Lydia Anne McKay x
December 27th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Wow he is soooooo sweet!! I have two guinea pigs but I dont know how they would respond! You should make them for a living they are really good! Do you only have one ginea pig? Mine are called Lilly and Ella and I got them on Boxing day 2008 so they are just over a year old!
The pattern for the sweater is really good!
I would like to make some for my guinea pigs but i don’t know how to do it! Oh well!
Thanks
Eli xx
January 31st, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Oh, my pigs are NOT going to thank you. I’m making Halloween costumes!!
May 15th, 2010 at 4:01 am
Thanks for putting this pattern online. I run an animal rescue group called Second Chance here in Western Australia that takes in small animals only (except for the odd cat and dog). Anyway a lot of the bunnies, piggies and even ratties come to us in such bad shape, usually with hair loss or complete baldness that i struggle to keep them warm in winter. Am so happy to have found your pattern and am certainly going to be busy making the animals some winter pyjamas. X
June 6th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
I’m glad you all like this sweater! It was a spur of the moment kind of idea and it sounds like you have some great practical uses.
@Kelly: If you need sweaters for rescue animals really fast, you could always cut some holes in a wool sock and whip stitch the edges to keep them from fraying.
September 21st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
That’s adorable! And also may serve a practical purpose for some guinea pigs. Hairless guinea pigs can get cold in the winter, so sweaters are recommended for them. Also, I might have to make one of these for a piggy of mine who has a nervous habit of chewing the fur off of his belly.
December 6th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
So cute! He needs a little Peruvian hat to complete the ensemble!
April 12th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
This is the cutest thing ever! I have 10 guinea pigs (1 coronet, 1 abisynian, and 9 peruvian) so totally will be making this. Thanks!
June 10th, 2011 at 1:37 am
My guinea pigs are really feeling the cold this year. I’m going to start knitting.
Jenny
July 28th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Hi there. Your pattern is the only one I could find on Ravelry for piggie sweaters. I am making it for a friend, so I don’t have a piggie to try it on to check the sizing. I did find a number of errors in your pattern and have added the fixes to my notes on my ravelry project page (echoesinthyme)…hope you don’t mind. Thanks for sharing your idea, it really is cute.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Hi,
I came across your Nicholas Sweater pattern on Ravelry.com and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I tried to make a crochet version of the sweater. Unfortunately, I do not know how to knit. I would love to make my guinea pig a sweater.
Thanks,
Donesia
October 20th, 2011 at 9:50 am
Sorry, we haven’t been keeping up on the blog for the past several weeks! But sure, we’d love to see how your crochet version comes out!!
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Hey- I have no idea how to knit- but I was wondering if I can purchase a guinea pig sweater from you. My guinea pig has a stomach infection and has lost a lot of weight- and now his fur is falling out in chunks =(…The vet said keep him warm- so I decided to google guinea pig sweater and came across this…please let me know if possible. I need a sweater for him asap…Thanks!
December 19th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your weblog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I’m hoping you write again very soon!
January 25th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
sorry it took me a while to get back with you. I didn’t see your post request till just now
If you are still in need of that sweater I will try to knit one up for you really quickly. I really hope your piggy gets better soon. If you have changed your mind you can do what we did in rescue. We used socks and cut the foot part off and cut little holes for the arms. I had a foster that had the same thing happen. It turns out that she had mites and also a thyroid problem that caused seizures (rolling on the ground). I hope you get his problems figured out ASAP.
February 8th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Hi, I found this pattern on Ravelry whilst looking for a guinea pig pattern for my geriatric piggie whose fur is thinning, and thought it looked so cute on your giunea pig!!! ^^ Anyhoo, I was kind of wondering, how on earth do you get it on the creatures?
As I don’t hae much experience knitting in the round, would it be possible for me to just knit the pattern on straight needles and turn it into a sort of cardigan…? I hae no idea if that would work, but it would make things a lot easier for me and possibly me guinea pig 
Thanks for posting such a cute pattern!
Fern xx
February 10th, 2012 at 9:23 am
Yes, you could do this on straight needles but you would have to do the math there depending on where you wanted the seem to be and also if you wanted one seem versus two seems. My piggies have always been super calm and also have been very patient when it came to handling. I only had him wear it to vet appointments or any outings in the cold weather. When he was younger he came to knit with us at the yarn shop.
February 12th, 2012 at 4:40 am
thank you so much for making this sweater. My sister has a guinea-pig and i wanted to make somthing for her for when she comes back from skiing and this was perfect!
the problem was that her guinea-pig is the size of a loo role so this was quite big for him but the good thing is that I have a dwarf Rabbit and he fits perfectly in it!
thank you
poppy
XOXOX