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Crocheted dog toys

P

pluto1415

Member
Do these really hold up? Every toy we've given our girl has ended up shredded in less than a day. I've made a ton of braided tug toys with fleece and she plays with them for a little while, then just lays down and chews and chews until she chews through them.

I learned to crochet when I was young (8 or 9?) and even though I haven't kept up with it much, I think I could manage some of these. Are you just using cheap acrylic yarn (like Red Heart here in the US?)? Do they have fiberfill in them?
 
Hector

Hector

Well-Known Member
pluto1415 said:
Do these really hold up? Every toy we've given our girl has ended up shredded in less than a day. I've made a ton of braided tug toys with fleece and she plays with them for a little while, then just lays down and chews and chews until she chews through them.

I learned to crochet when I was young (8 or 9?) and even though I haven't kept up with it much, I think I could manage some of these. Are you just using cheap acrylic yarn (like Red Heart here in the US?)? Do they have fiberfill in them?
Click to expand...

If your dog will chew and chew until it falls apart, then no it will not hold up. My Belgian mix does that. He will play with the toy and then the squeaker gets him really excited so he will chew really hard on one spot until the whole damn thing falls apart lol. Oh and the bad part is if you don't catch him and remove the toy, he will eat the pieces he chews off. Yes I use acrylic and I double strand them. H hook would be the smallest I'd go as it is hard on the thumbs. I like to use the thicker kind. If you buy yarn often you will see that certain color are thicker than others even though they are all the same (worsted 4 ply) such as red (thick) vs orange (thin). Anyways for these new batches of toys I use 1 pound skein Caron brand. I found it is thick enough to be coupled with a thinner 4 ply. I tried to use Caron and red and it was hard to work with unless I upped the hook size which I haven't tried.

Yes they all have fiberfill and a squeaker. If you'd like I can send you a free willy, but knowing your girl she will destroy it.

These are best for dogs that will play with toys and can hold up to those that are selective with destroying, but not those who destroy everything.
 
P

pluto1415

Member
Based on what you just said, I don't think they would hold up for my girl. I appreciate the offer of sending me one, but it would probably be wasted - better that it go to a loving home :) I've got a skein of red heart and some fiberfill in my craft room somewhere from an older project. Maybe I'll pull it out this weekend and see if I can make one myself and see how it holds up.

And what you were saying about some color yarns being thicker than others holds true even down to size 80 tatting thread. I tat and the theory on the tatting forum I belong to seems to be that darker threads stay in the dye longer and are usually just a small bit thinner than the lighter counterparts. Not enough to throw off your gauge, but enough to notice.

For those that aren't familiar with tatting, it's a Victorian era method of making lace using a shuttle. Google it, and ignore the tattoos :) and you'll see some beautiful examples.
 
Penelope's Mom

Penelope's Mom

Well-Known Member
I was surprised at how well these toys hold up. Franklin used to love to play tug with them and they could withstand that. Penelope is more of a chewer, but she doesn't rip them to shreds as easily as I thought she would. I just never thought of something crocheted as being durable.
 
Hector

Hector

Well-Known Member
pluto1415 said:
Based on what you just said, I don't think they would hold up for my girl. I appreciate the offer of sending me one, but it would probably be wasted - better that it go to a loving home :) I've got a skein of red heart and some fiberfill in my craft room somewhere from an older project. Maybe I'll pull it out this weekend and see if I can make one myself and see how it holds up.

And what you were saying about some color yarns being thicker than others holds true even down to size 80 tatting thread. I tat and the theory on the tatting forum I belong to seems to be that darker threads stay in the dye longer and are usually just a small bit thinner than the lighter counterparts. Not enough to throw off your gauge, but enough to notice.

For those that aren't familiar with tatting, it's a Victorian era method of making lace using a shuttle. Google it, and ignore the tattoos :) and you'll see some beautiful examples.
Click to expand...

That reminds me of lace crochet. Is it very detailed oriented? I tried to crochet using string and all I made were earrings lol then I gave up. I always wanted to make more intricate things, couldn't find the motivation. Plus the instructions are sometimes confusing so I just call it quits. For awhile I was thinking of bead crochet, but so much work lol and I feel like I'm too stupid to keep at it (ADD kicks in).

Do you have any pictures of your work?
 
Penelope's Mom

Penelope's Mom

Well-Known Member
P got her new toys last night! She loves them already:

20140919_210251.jpg20140920_070502.jpg The first pic is when I woke her up to give her the toys. She wasn't happy. When she got up this morning, the first thing she did was grab a new toy. :) (second pic)

She said to tell you thanks, Hector. ;)
 
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