I have finally finished making Wolfie’s Blanket. This is a blanket I decided to make and dedicate to my parents’ dog, Wolfie. He’s a pure bred German Shepherd Dog with the sweetest big brown eyes and an incurable desire to play fetch. Wolfie has a natural mark on his adorable forehead in the shape of a heart.
Note: This is NOT an in-depth pattern, nor is it a step by step written pattern, hence the title ‘recipe’ and not ‘pattern’. Writing out the color changes for all 200 rows in this blanket does not sound like a good time to me. This is a basic outline for what I did to crochet Wolfie’s Blanket with links to helpful free resources along the way. Use the motif provided in this post to work row by row through this pattern using either tapestry crochet or intarsia crochet (tapestry crochet carries the unworked yarns side to side through the entire piece and intarsia does not). Use either method, but for a reversible blanket, be sure to work over carried yarns.
The German Shepherd motif in this pattern is a crochet adapted version of Alpha Pattern #93650, the German Shepherd pixel pattern from The Bracelet Book. The Bracelet Book is a wonderful, and free, online resource that houses thousands of pixel art designs. Most designs are geared towards friendship bracelets, hence the name for the website, but many patterns can be adapted to work intarsia or tapestry crochet or color work knitting!
This pattern was very fun to make and you’ll find all the details you need to get started and finish this wonderful blanket. I intended to gift this one to my parents but, after working many hours on this project, I am selfishly going to keep (sorry mom!). This blanket would make the perfect addition to a kid’s room, a great gift for your German Shepherd loving friend, or a wonderful throw for your own living room couch.
Final blanket measurements: 46 inches wide by 84 inches in length
Getting started:
You’ll need to prepare for making this blanket just like any other large crochet project. Plan out where you’ll source your yarn, pick your colors (making sure dye lots are the same), and make sure you’ll have enough. I also like to dedicate a basket in my craft room to large projects where I will house all the materials needed like the yarn, tools and other notions.
So what materials will you need?
- Yarn – pick two colors that contrast, that way the motif will show clearly. Use the light color as the background and the dark color for the German Shepherd.
- Yarn Weight: Size 4 Medium
- Yarn Type: I used all acrylic yarn for this blanket as it was in my price range, you can choose any similar weight yarn and you’ll achieve similar measurements to my final blanket. Most important, pick a yarn that YOU want to snuggle up in, that’s soft to the touch, and that’s in your budget.
- Amount: I used around 2,800 yards of weight 4 yarn for the main blanket motif and 250 yards for weight 4 yarn for the color-contrast border
- 4 skeins Big Twist Tweed in white from Joann’s (Background)
- 4 skeins Big Twist Tweed in grey from Joann’s (German Shepherd)
- 1 skein I Love This Yarn in Tall Teal from Hobby Lobby (Border)
- Gauge: 4″x4″ = 13 Single Crochet x 16 Rows
- Crochet Hook – for the whole pattern I used the recommended 5.5mm crochet hook
- Stitch markers (optional but very helpful)
- Printer – I printed out the pixel pattern for this blanket and used a pen to check off rows as I went. You would use a tablet to keep track but I find a physical printed copy to be most helpful.
What stitch is used?
This whole pattern will use the U.S. Half Double Crochet Stitch. The color work portion will be worked using the tapestry crochet method (or Intarsia, whichever you prefer or are familiar with). If you are familiar with the techniques, skip ahead.
There is a great video on YouTube by LoveCrafts on how to tapestry crochet using the U.S. Half Double Crochet Stitch. Check that out and come back here to work the pattern.
You could work this same motif using the U.S. Single Crochet, which will have the same width as the blanket I have made, but it will be shorter.
A great resource is the video on YouTube by Knit And Crochet Ever After on how to Intarsia Crochet using the U.S. Single Crochet Stitch. Check it out and come back here to see how the pattern is worked.
The Pattern:
Foundation: Chain 133 (*tip: use stitch markers every 10 or 20 stitches when chaining so you can count the markers and not the chains when done)
Alternate Foundation: Foundation-HDC 132 times (video tutorial), row 1 complete, move to row 2
Row 1: HDC in 2nd loop from hook and each loop until the beginning (132)
Row 2-4: CH 1, turn, HDC in each ST (132)
Row 3-200: work the motif with Half Double Crochet using the Tapestry Crochet or Intarsia Crochet method
You can find the original pixel pattern on BraceletBook.com
This pattern is 132 stitches in width and 200 rows in length. It’s a beast of a project but the end result is simply incredible.
It took me around 6 months to finish this blanket (I did happen to put this one away for around 4 months though to sit alone in a box… oops!). If I had to estimate the hours is took for me to crochet this blanket, I would put the number somewhere in the 30 – 40 hours range. Was it worth the time? Yes. Will I make another one? No… Maybe.
Once you have completed the main body of the blanket, it’s time to make the border. I think a border really wraps up any crochet blanket and gives you a great sense of satisfaction. For my border, I crocheted 4 rounds of the Linen Stitch (video tutorial). The linen stitch was the perfect way to wrap up this blanket, it gives the perfect balance of texture while not being too distracting from the main pattern.
Well that’s all!
Please enjoy this photo of my pup, Shadow, sitting on Wolfie’s Blanket.
