If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll probably know that I have a passion for making fun little crochet snoods for my dog Ollie. It’s one of my favourite things to make and making crochet dog snoods is the reason why I started making amigurumi.
I started making these crochet dog snoods 3 years ago during a particularly cold winter. Ollie has giant floppy ears, and we wanted something to help keep his ears warm in -18ºC weather. We also figured it would help to keep his ears out of his food.
For the first crochet dog snood I made him, I followed a free pattern that helped me create this square shaped snood. It was cute, but I didn’t like how there was so much excess fabric towards the back of the hood. The pattern also only indicated 3 different sizes, so the snood did not fit properly on him and slid off a lot.
After that, I started experimenting with different shapes of crochet dog snoods. I wanted to see if I could figure out a shape that would fit Ollie’s head better. I tried making it more tube-like, but I didn’t like how they fit on him and the tubes always seemed to pull his ears back a bit too much.
So after years of experimenting, I finally figured out a formula to create snoods that fit properly on him!
If you are new to crochet, watch my Crochet for Beginners on my YouTube Channel before starting this project!
**Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional costs to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. You can read a little more about that here!
Disclaimers
Now, before I get into the method, I just want to lay out a few disclaimers. I cannot guarantee that this method will create a snood that will fit your dog. All breeds of dogs are different, so it’s hard for me to just say that this is going to work for all breeds. I have, however, made snoods for different breeds of dogs before, and those snoods did fit them properly. If you do plan to make a snood, make sure to fit it onto your dog as you are working on it to see if it’s fitting properly.
Please practice common sense when putting a snood onto your dog. Make sure to train them to wear a snood with positive reinforcement and take your time. It’s a new and potentially scary thing for your dog, so be patient and go slow. We spent some time training Ollie to wear snoods when he was a puppy, so he actually associates dog snoods with treats, positive attention, and warmth.
Supervise your dog when they have their snood on. Snoods trap heat to keep your dog warm. So if you’re planning to put these snoods on during the Summer, make sure to not leave them on for too long. Using material like cotton also helps (but I’ll talk more about materials below).
Terms and Conditions
Please do not reproduce, sell or claim the method/post shown here as your own. If you wish to share this pattern/method, you may share the link to this blog post or to my YouTube video. Please do not copy and post the pattern onto your site.
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Anyway, with that out of the way, let’s get into making a dog snood!
Choosing your Materials
Type of Yarn
When choosing what type of yarn to use to create dog snoods, there are a lot of things to consider. Personally, I like to use Acrylic yarn when making dog snoods and here’s why:
- Cheap – You don’t really need to use fancy yarn for your dog.
- Stretchy – Working with acrylic yarn is a bit more forgiving and will give you more wiggle room with measurement deviations.
- Washable – Dogs are dirty lol.
You can also use Cotton-Acrylic blend yarn. It’s not as stretchy, so your measurements will need to be spot on, but it creates a more breathable snood that can be cooler for your dog to wear.
Weight of Yarn
Snoods are best made with Heavy Worsted or Worsted weight yarn. Heavy Worsted is, in my opinion, the best route to go because it allows you to work up a snood fairly quickly. It’s also not so bulky that the shape starts to look weird.
Hook Size
The hook you use will depend on the material and weight of yarn you choose to use. For acrylic yarn, I like to size the hook up a bit more than usual because I find that tension can be a little bit tighter when working with stretchier yarns. You’ll want to use a hook that allows you to crochet loosely, but not so loose that there are gaping holes in your work.
Materials I’m Using
For the snood in this tutorial, I am using:
- Loops and Threads Impeccable Yarn, a heavy worsted weight yarn that is widely available for purchase at Michael’s.
- 5mm Crochet Hook
- Darning Needle
TERMINOLOGY
st(s): stitch(es)
ch: chain
sl st: slip stitch
sc: single crochet
dec: invisible decrease- single crochet two stitches together through the front loops only
BLO: crochet only in the back loops (loop away from you) of each stitch
(…) x #: repeat anything in the parenthesis however many times the number indicates
[#]: total number of stitches for that row
#sc/inc: one sc/inc in the following # stitches
Measurements to Take
Before we get into the tutorial, you will need to take a couple measurements to ensure that the snood will fit nicely onto your dog’s head.
With a tape measure, measure the following:
A) The length of your dog’s neck.
B) The circumference of your dog’s neck.
C) The length of your dog’s nape, or the back of your dog’s head.
D) The circumference of your dog’s face. It’s very important to get this measurement right.
Make sure to write down the measurements as I will be referring back to these numbers later on.
Collar
To make the collar, start by making a chain that measures to be the length of your dog’s neck (Measurement A, we’ll be calling the number of chains you make “A“), add one more chain to it as you will be skipping the first chain and working into the 2nd chain from your hook. Adding one more chain allows you to maintain the length of your chain.
Row 1 Ch A+1, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in the rest of the chains, turn [A]
From this point on, you will be working into the back loops of each stitch.
Continue working into the back loops of each stitch and turning at the end of each row until your collar is 2 or 3 inches shorter than the length of your dog’s neck circumference (Measurement B, we’ll call the number of rows B), making sure you end on an even row.
Row 2-Bsc in all sts, turn [A]
The reason why you stop at 2 or 3 inches shorter than your dog’s neck circumference is because this piece is quite stretchy and you’ll want to make sure it isn’t too loose. Wrap the collar piece around your dog to make sure you’re on the right track for sizing.
Once your collar is long enough, line the two edges of the strip and slip stitch through both pieces, making sure to go through both loops of your stitch and the corresponding chain on the other side.
Starting the Hood
1 Ch 1, pick up one sc into the edge of each row, turn [B]
2 sc in all sts [B]
From this point on, whenever you are working on the right side of the project, you will need to decrease each row by 2 stitches. The right side is the outside of the hood, or in this case, all odd numbered rows are worked into the right side.
To figure out your pattern, you will have to do a little bit of math.
Take the number of stitches you have and divide it by 2 to get the amount of stitches you have on half of the hood. Then, subtract 2 from that number to get the number of stitches you have to work before decreasing/after decreasing.
To use Ollie’s snood as an example, I have 40 stitches to start.
40 ÷ 2 = 20
20 – 2 = 18
So row 3 of my pattern will be: 18sc, (dec) x 2, 18sc
For row 4 and all wrong side rows, you will make one sc into each stitch.
So for the next decrease row (row 5), my pattern will be 17sc, (dec) x 2, 17sc. See math below:
38 ÷ 2 = 19
19 – 2 = 17
Continue working decrease rows when working on the right side of the hood until the back of the hood measures to be the same length as nape of your dog (or Measurement C)
Ollie’s nape measures to be roughly 4 inches long.
Before proceeding to the next step, make sure to put the snood onto your dog to make sure it’s not too small or too large.
Rounding out the top of the Hood
To start rounding out the top of the hood, you will need to start decreasing each right side row by 4 sts instead of 2. To figure out your pattern for that, the math is the same as before, but instead of subtracting 2, you’ll be subtracting 4.
Using Ollie’s snood as an example, by the time I got to this part, I had 28 sts in total.
28 ÷ 2 = 14
14 – 4 = 10
So the pattern for the next decrease row on Ollie’s snood is: 10sc, (dec) x 4, 10 sc
Continue decreasing the right side rows by 4 sts until the front opening of the hood measures to be half the circumference of your dog’s face.
Before sewing the top of the hood together, try the snood on your dog one more time to make sure it isn’t too tight or too loose. Here’s what the measurements should look like at this point:
Sewing the Top
To close up the top of the hood, fasten off and thread your yarn tail onto a darning needle. Line both sides of the hood together and whip stitch through both sides. Thread the tail into the wrong side of the hood and weave the tails in.
Creating Basic Shapes
If you would like to customize your snood, you can crochet some basic shapes to sew onto the snood. If you are new to amigurumi, watch this video first before proceeding with this part!
I freehand most of the extra bits that I sew on to my dog’s snood, so I do not have a written pattern for them. It’s also extremely difficult to create different sizing for all the different parts for different breeds/sizes of dogs. So instead, I’ve just included these two basic shapes that you can play around with.
Pointed Ears (or you can make these into dinosaur spikes!)
1 6sc in magic circle [6]
2sc in all sts [6]
3 (inc) x 6 [12]
4 sc in all sts [12]
5 (sc, inc) x 6 [18]
6-7 sc in all sts [18]
Rounded Ears
1 6sc in magic circle [6]
2(inc) x 6 [12]
3 (sc, inc) x 6 [18]
4-7 sc in all sts [18]
As you can see, the ears are worked in the exact same way, just with the non-increase rounds sandwiched into the pattern at different spots. You can experiment with increasing more to get bigger shapes, or extending the sides down more by working more non-increase rounds.
Please leave me a comment down below (or contactme) if you have any questions about this pattern. I would also love to see your creation so don’t forget to tag me (@olliehollycrochet) on Instagram or use the #olliehollycrochet! Follow me on Instagram to get updates on new patterns and to see what I’m up to on a daily.
Please let me know in the comments what you would like to see next!
If you find any mistakes in the pattern, please contact me and let me know! I do my best to catch my mistakes when I edit my patterns but I sometimes miss the little things.
You may sell products made from this pattern in small quantities but please clearly credit the design to me, Abby Sy of Ollie + Holly and provide a link to my blogwww.OllieHolly.com. Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you for being respectful and for your understanding!