April Dog
April Dog is our fourth pattern in the 2024: A Year of Dogs series. This large square features a wrinkly pug.
April is also my Designaversary month! Check out the details at Ashlee’s 4th Designaversary!
Crochet Colorwork
April Dog, like all the squares in this series, can be done using your choice of colorwork technique: Interlocking crochet or overlay mosaic crochet.
You’ll receive the fully written pattern and charts for both techniques. The mosaic crochet option uses an adjusted chart that is solid in the solid areas (so you don’t see any of the interlocking mesh dots when you use the mosaic technique).
Monthly Series
There will be twelve dog squares in 2024: A Year of Dogs.
If you know you’re going to want all 12 dog squares you should grab the eBook because it will save you 40% versus buying each square individually. The eBook will be updated monthly with a new dog square.
January Trial
If you’re not ready to commit to the full eBook of all 12 dog squares, why not just try January Dog first?
If you later decide you DO want the eBook, the cost of January Dog will be deducted from your purchase of the eBook!
Available on Ravelry only, no code needed, cannot be combined with other offers.
Subscribe to my newsletter to receive discount codes and be the first to know about new designs!
You’ll also have access to my Doctor Who blanket pattern!
Wrong Side of April Dog
The ‘right side’ of the dog squares needs to look like a dog, but the ‘wrong side’ is usually just wrong.
With interlocking crochet the colors look switched but the lines are also changed. The long straight vertical border lines along the sides, for example, become dashed lines going horizontally.
I don’t do any special stitches with my mosaic crochet squares, so the wrong side is just stripes. The little flaps on the back have a slight tilt that creates an illusion of the image on the front.
Size Difference Between Techniques
This month there’s quite a disparity between the finished sizes of my crocheted squares. The tan yarn I’ve used in my mosaic crochet sample is a bit thick and stiff (Red Heart Super Saver) so when crocheting I naturally loosened up and accidentally created a much larger square.
The interlocking crochet version is the same size as my other interlocking crochet squares.
When it comes time to join my squares into a blanket I’m pretty sure this yarn will get less stiff and things will fit together just fine.
Color Choices
It’s very important with my realistic designs to make sure the darker color in the deisign is also your darker color when you crochet it.
Anything with eyes is going to look wrong if you switch the light and dark colors.
This doesn’t mean you have to use realistic colors though! It’s up to you if you want a tan-colored pug or a purple-colored pug!
Maja’s cat is the fluffiest! I love it when she poses her crochet squares with this pretty kitty!
Contrast
All of my colorwork designs do require high contrast between the two colors you’re using. Black and white are high contrast colors, but so are light purple and dark purple.
It gets tricky when you have a medium pink and a medium green, for example. Some people don’t mind it when the image is visible but the contrast is lower, whereas others think that’s a complete no-no!
Take a photo of your yarn side by side and then adjust the photo to be grayscale. Can you still tell which color is darker?
If you’re using a variegated yarn or a self-striping yarn you’ll also need to make sure there’s enough contrast between ALL the colors in the vareigated compared to your other yarn. Rapidly changing colors, even with high contrast, can make the details on these designs disappear.
Also, shadows and shading won’t work well if the dark color isn’t dark or there’s not enough contrast between your two colors.
Joining Squares
With interlocking crochet, it’s relatively easy to join the squares. With overlay mosaic crochet you have to deal with the cut ends first.
Head back to this section on the Year of Dogs Landing Page to read more.
Photos
I am slightly amused that so many of my testers have gone for a neutral color palette this year. But it makes sense – these are realistic looking dogs!
Thank you to Anonymous Squirrel, CrochetCarob, CynCityCrochet, Eva, Linda Bakker, Maja Serec, Margaret Maillet, and ScorpiosHook for testing 2024: A Year of Dogs.
Colorful interlocking crochet sample of April Dog by ScorpiosHook.
Overlay mosaic crochet sample of April Dog by Eva.
Overlay mosaic crochet sample of April Dog by CrochetCarob.
Interlocking crochet sample of April Dog by Maja Serec with optional border added.
Interlocking crochet sample of April Dog by an Anonymous Squirrel.
Overlay mosaic crochet sample of April Dog by Linda Bakker.
Overlay mosaic crochet sample of April Dog by Margaret Maillet.
Interlocking crochet sample of April Dog by CynCityCrochet.
Are you crocheting one of my designs? I’d love to see it. Tag me on social media or join one of my groups!
The first Facebook icon takes you to my public page, the second Facebook icon goes to my private group.
I’ve been using pastel colors for my interlocking crochet squares. I just had to use ‘buff’ for my mosaic version of this pug – it’s his color!
Important Details for April Dog
Each design comes with the fully written pattern and charts for two colorwork techniques: interlocking crochet and overlay mosaic crochet.
Click here to go to my tutorials for these crochet techniques.
Interlocking Crochet
Each dog square has a chart size of 81 x 81. This means they begin with 40 windows in the foundation row and will finish to about 20″ square.
Interlocking crochet / LFM crochet file includes:
- line-by-line written pattern (view key)
- instructions on reading a chart (view)
- a one-page chart (good for viewing on a screen)
- a four-page chart (better for printing)
Interlocking Crochet Details
- Chart is 81 x 81
- Gauge: 8 (dc, ch) x 8 rows = 4”
- 20″ x 20″ / 51cm x 51cm
- 4.5 mm hook (US7)
- Worsted weight yarn (490 – 565 yards total)
- Main color (MC) (dark lines) – 250 yards plus 75 for optional border
- Accent color (AC) (background) – 240 yards
My interlocking crochet sample of March Dog. Black used as MC.
Overlay Mosaic Crochet
The mosaic crochet version of each dog square uses an adjusted chart. This means I’ve removed the interlocking mesh dots and unneccessary border lines. Read more about the differences at https://ashleeslint.com/tutorials/interlocking-and-mosaic-crochet/.
Click here to learn more about the options for dealing with the cut ends at the end of each row when doing overlay mosaic crochet.
Overlay Mosaic Crochet file includes:
- line-by-line written pattern (view key)
- instructions for optional envelope border (view)
- instructions on reading a chart (view)
- a one-page chart marked with X’s (good for viewing on a screen)
- a four-page chart marked with X’s (better for printing)
Bottom-Up Mosaic Crochet Details
- Chart is 77 x 77
- Gauge: 14 sc blo stitches x 15 rows = 4”
- 22″ x 20″ / 56cm x 52cm
- 5 mm hook (H-8)
- Worsted weight yarn (600 – 850 yards)
- Main color (dark lines) – 275 yards
- Contrasting color (background) – 325 yards
- Optional envelope border – 250 yards
My overlay mosaic crochet sample of March Dog. Black used as MC.
