Crochet Project: Big Dog Blankets

Since I had plenty of time (and yarn), the furry members of my family also ended up receiving crocheted holiday gifts this year.

The three big dogs all got blankets/mats. I have made many of these before for the dogs of family and friends, but I have never bothered to write out a specific pattern, because it's just a matter of choosing what length and width you want/need for your dog and working in a solid stitch until the correct size is achieved. I use a big size 9.0mm M/N hook, hdc stitches, and work with a double strand of worsted-weight yarn to make the mat a bit thicker for more cushy (usually a neutral color like black, tan or gray paired with a bolder color or variegated yarn).

The mat for my Dad's dog, Sable, was made of off-white paired with blue, purple, red, orange, and gold yarns of various brands. We have heard that Sable likes to try to curl up and fit her big self on the small mat I made for my Mom's little dog a few years ago, so hopefully now she will be more comfortable napping on this mat which is just her size. My boy Jack tried it out before we gave it to Sable. ;-)

I wasn't sure if my Sis and BIL's dog, Talon, would use a blanket, but I wasn't sure what else to crochet for him (he probably wouldn't wear a sweater or a bow tie). So, I dug out all the variegated yarns in browns, rusts, tans and greens in my stash and paired them with off white and a dark sage green for his blanket. Jack had to test out this blanket too.

Jack actually already has a colorful resting mat, that I made for him before I even knew my next guide dog would be his adorable chocolatey self. However, I decided he could use another one that was made specifically to fit inside his kennel. He rarely goes into the crate, but when he does need to spend a few minutes in there for whatever reason, he can now rest more comfortably with a better-fitting mat in the bottom. And since this one is for the kennel I decided to crochet the mat a little over twice as wide, then fold it in half and sew all the edges together, so it would be double-thick. Like the others, Jack's mat is made of many different colors - neutral colors (gray, tan, off-white, brown, black, etc.) paired with brighter colors (gold, green, blue, purple, red, etc.) of various yarn brands.