The perfect crochet blanket for every dog lover

We love our dogs, don’t we?  Honestly, I think I’d do just about anything for my sweet Daisy. Have you ever crocheted anything for your pet?

I have to admit I’ve never really crocheted anything for my dogs over the years because I couldn’t wrap my head around giving something handmade to my pet. That changed this past Christmas when I made not one, but THREE blankets, one for each of the three dogs in my immediate family.

What better way to show how much you love your dog than to make a blanket they can cuddle up in? I had so much fun designing this cute snuggly blanket!

Inspiration

I actually decided to make these blankets after I started hearing about people crocheting and donating blankets to shelter dogs. These dogs have little to comfort them when they are in cages and nothing to call their own. A blanket becomes the one thing a dog can claim to help calm some of the anxiety. That got me to thinking – what if I were to design something for my own dog that would also work for a shelter dog?

My hope is that the Puppy Love Blanket can spread a little joy both in the shelters and in the homes of dog owners everywhere!

Design

I chose C2C crochet for the Puppy Love Blanket because it gave me a way to add a paw print to the design. If you’ve never done Corner to Corner (C2C) crochet, this would be the perfect project to dip your toes in the water! C2C is very repetitive and easy to learn.

C2C crochet is worked on the diagonal rather than the traditional horizontal or vertical rows. If the design has a picture, it’s worked from a graph, each square on the chart representing a block made up of a ch 3 followed by 3 dc. Increases and decreases along the edges gets the blanket to its desired size.

I finished off the blanket with a single crochet border, mostly in the main color with just one row in the contrasting color for a bit of interest. But you can do what you and your furry friend like!

Size and Customization

The Puppy Love Blanket is square. However, you can make it rectangular if you like. Plus, you can easily make it bigger or smaller, for the perfect fit for the recipient. Daisy, Raleigh and Ruby are small-ish dogs, so the size I made for them is perfect. In the pattern, I give you instructions as to how to make your blanket the perfect size.

 

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Why you should get this pattern today…

• This blanket pattern is beginner friendly, a great first project in C2C crochet.
• It makes a great gift for your favorite family dog.
• Guess what, you could make this for your favorite human, too!
• Even better, it’s a quick, inexpensive gift for a shelter dog in need.

Find it in your favorite shop!

The Yarn

I chose Hobby Lobby’s “I Love This Yarn” because it’s 100% acrylic, making it easy care and inexpensive. This yarn has a wide range of colors.

For the 3 blankets you see in this post:

• For Daisy: Main color is color #330 – yellow and the contrasting color is #30 – black.
• For Raleigh: Main color is color #10 – white and the contrasting color is #240 – linen.
• For Ruby: Main color is color #270 – fire red and the contrasting color is #10 – white.

Of course, you can choose any worsted weight yarn you like. Simply keep the needs of the dog and what he/she might do with the blanket in mind.

Other details

You’ll need a US size I-9 (5.5mm) hook and a tapestry needle for weaving in the ends. Just a word about the ends: I’m not going to sugar coat it, you’ll have a fair number of ends to weave in. But, I promise, the C2C fabric makes that easy to do.

Video tutorial for the first round of the border

How to help a dog in need

Research shelters in your area to see if any of them accept blankets. If you don’t find one in your area, a quick search online will probably yield a list of possibilities nationwide.

Donate to your local shelter or to a national shelter that has a low administrative cost footprint. I’m sure you want most if not all of your donation to actually be used for taking care of the animals.