Bullseye Pet Mat
by Kim Werker I recently went with a friend to rural Utah to spend a few days volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest no-kill animal shelter in the U.S. It's about the most inspiring place I've ever been, and we left needing to do whatever we can to help reach their goal of No More Homeless Pets. Learn more about our campaign to raise handcrafted donations to animal shelters at www.kimwerker.com/animals. This square mat can be made to pretty much any size - for cats, puppies, large dogs - with any yarn or yarns. Donate it to your local shelter if they're taking donations, or to Best Friends, or keep it for your pet. I designed this project as a stash buster, using two yarns held together throughout, swapping one yarn out at a time for relatively subtle colour changes. You can adapt the pattern for use with other yarn weights, but I recommend making it bulky just for the cushiony factor.
Finished Size
About 19.5" (49.5cm) square.
Gauge
About 8 stitches and 5 rows in 4" (10cm) in ehdc. Gauge is not very important in this pattern.
Materials
· Red Heart Super Saver (364yds/333m per 7oz/190g); one skein each in the following colours: 0319 Cherry Red (A), 0530 Orchid (B), 0774 Light Raspberry (C), 0778 Light Fuchsia (D), 0776 Dark Orchid (E) - or any worsted weight yarns held doubled, or any superbulky yarns held singly. ·10mm/size L hook ·Removable stitch marker This pattern by Kim Werker is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Contact Kim if you're confused about how you can use it or to request permission for uses not covered by this license-kim@kimwerker.com
Stitch Guide
Ehdc: Extended half double crochet. Yarn over, insert hook in next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and draw through first loop on hook, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook (see http://crochetme.com/blogs/kim werker/archive/2010/11/17/how-to-make-extendedcrochet-stitches.aspx for more on extended crochet stitches). Edc: Extended double crochet. Yarn over, insert hook in next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and draw through first loop on hook, [yarn over and draw through 2 loops] twice.
Pattern
(Inspired by Kerala Stitch motif in The Harmony Guides: Crochet Stitch Motifs, edited by Erika Knight, which I revised. A lot.) With A and B held together, ch 6. (Note: some people find the centre doesn't lay flat; fiddle with the number of ch until you're happy, and consider blocking the mat when you're done.) Rnd 1: Ch 2, 8 ehdc (see Stitch Guide) into ring, place marker in last st to indicate end of round - 8sts. Rnd 2: 2 ehdc in each st around - 16 sts. Rnd 3: \*Ehdc in next st, 2 ehdc in next st; rep from \* 3 more times, switching from B to C in last st -24sts. Rnd 4: With A and C held together, \*ehdc in next 2 sts, 2 ehdc in next st; rep from \* 3 more times -32sts. Rnd 5: \*Ehdc in next 3 sts, 2 ehdc in next st; rep from \* 3 more times, switching from A to D in last st, sl st in first ehdc to join - 40 sts. Rnd 6: With C and D held together, ch 3 (counts as first edc [see Stitch Guide]), edc in same st as join, ehdc in each of next 9 sts, [2 edc in next st, ehdc in each of next 9 sts] 3 times switching from C to E in last st, sl st in space between ch-3 and first edc to join. Rnd 7: With D and E held together, ch 3 (counts as first edc), edc in same space as join, [edc in next edc, ehdc in each of next 9 sts, edc in next edc, 2 edc in space between 2 edc of last round] 3 times, edc in next edc, ehdc in each of next 9 sts, edc in same st as beg ch-3, sl st in space between ch-3 and first edc to join. Rnd 8: Ch 3 (counts as first edc), 3 edc in same space as join, [ehdc to next corner, 4 edc in space between 2 corner edc] 3 times, edc in next edc, ehdc to end of rnd placing last ehdc in same st as beg ch-3 and switching from D to A, sl st in sp between ch-3 and first edc to join. Note: After this point you can make the mat any size you like. Fasten off at the end of any round, or keep going for a larger mat. Rnd 9: With A and E held together, ch 3, edc in same space as join, 4 edc in space between next 2 edc, 2 edc in space between next 2 edc, [ehdc to next corner, 2 edc in space between next 2 edc, 4 edc in space between next 2 edc, 2 edc in space between next 2 edc] 3 times, ehdc to end of rnd placing last ehdc in same st as beg ch-3, sl st in top of ch-3 to join. Rnds 10-13: With A and E held together, ch 2 (does not count as st), ehdc in same st as join, ehdc to corner 4-edc cluster, 2 ehdc in space between first 2 edc, 4 ehdc in space between next 2 edc, 2 ehdc in space between next 2 edc, [ehdc to next corner 4-edc cluster, 2 ehdc in space between next 2 edc, 4 ehdc in space between next 2 edc, 2 ehdc in space between next 2 edc] 3 times, ehdc to end of rnd, sl st in first edc to join. Fasten off and weave in loose ends. Block if necessary or desired.
Crafting for Shelter Animals
Homeless pets break my heart, and I wish I could take them all in. But there's work we can all do to support the people and organizations who work so hard to find all pets a home. I donated the mat pictured here to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, where the amazing staff care for 1,7o0 animals. If you'd like to donate pat mats, blankets or toys for cats, dogs or rabbits, please send them to: Chandra Forsythe In Kind Donations Best Friends Animal Society 5001 Angel Canyon Rd Kanab, UT 84741 USA Your local shelter or SPCA may be in need of handcrafted donations. Check with them before bringing blankets over, to make sure you'll be helping instead of hindering.
Tips
· Make sure pet mats and blankets don't have significant lace or granny-square holes, so paws don't get stuck. · All mats and blankets should be machine washable and durably made. · Amigurumi is great for cat toys. · Sizes can range from 18" to 30" across. Don't forget the big sizes - big dogs need cuddly warmth, too.
Tell Your Story
I included a note with my donation, telling my story of adopting our shelter dog. Include your story when you donate, and share it on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.! Tag your posts #ForTheAnimals so people can follow along!
