Many knitters and crocheters have furry friends that they absolutely adore. However, those wonderful animals often like to make mischief with yarn. We adore them even though they interrupt our crafting with their antics. Here are some of our favorite crafters pets stories, including those from the Marly Bird team. You'll notice that although cats are infamous for enjoying yarn, most of these mischievous crafters pets are dogs.
Fun Fact: Olympian Tom Daley knits for dogs.
Marly Bird Team's Pets
We all love our furry friends here on the Marly Bird team.
Meet Marly's Precious Purl
I have a few of them but of course the one that's most likely to wreak havoc right now is puppy Purl. Puppies just can't help themselves with making mischief. (If you're part of the Marly's Minions Facebook group then you might have seen Kimberly's recent post of her super adorable puppy who decided her wooden knitting needles were obviously great chew toys. Lots of folks commiserated,) My own little Purl got into my luxury yarn stash not too long ago. And also recently chewed up my new wool rug. But I love her nonetheless. She's such a precious pup.
Kathryn's Puppy Troubles
Blog content director Kathryn likes to say, “that's why they make puppies so darn cute. It's so you'll forgive all their nonsense.” Her own puppy, Bumi, is about a year and a half old right now. For about the first year Kathryn really didn't knit or crochet much because the puppy was always pawing at her work. Now Bumi is a lot better about sitting quietly while she crafts. However, she has to keep her yarn stash and craft supplies all stashed away. She recently got a whole lot of new knitting needles to participate in BiCrafty Boot Camp and she can't ever take them out to choose a pair when Bumi is around because he gets way too excited about these exciting chew toys.
The most trouble she's experienced from crafters pets came from her previous dog, Katara. Kathryn was in the middle of a huge crochet project, Mandalas for Marinke, that featured crochet mandala contributions from over three hundred people. She had put them all in her bedroom, which was gated off, then went out for the day. She came home, and Katara was on the wrong side of the gate. The mandalas were EVERYWHERE. Figuring out which ones came from which contributor was a BIG JOB. But things came full circle because eventually Kathryn had an art exhibit of those mandalas and Katara came and provided some pet therapy to art gallery visitors. Bumi and Katara are rescue dogs from Korea; Kathryn says it's impossible not to want to give her rescues the most spoiled life possible.
Cryssi's Dog Max
My executive admin Cryssi, who you can learn more about here, has an older dog named Max who doesn't cause quite as much destruction as the younger crafters pets on the team. However, he has a certain fondness for snuggling up against yarn. He really loves to use it as a pillow. And who could resist letting him now and then when he looks this cute?!
Other Crafters Pets: Knitters and Crocheters Share Their Furry Friends
It's so fun to share our pets with our friends. Therefore, I reached out to some of my friends to find out what other crafters pets are out there. It was such a delight to “meet” them. Here they are:
Crafters Pets: Osito
Bliss This by Amber shared:
“My puppy is a Yorkie mix (we were told 3/4 yorkie, 1/4 cavalier, but who really knows). His name is Osito, which means Little Bear. He's quite good at finding my crochet earring designs and chewing them up. I've gotten better at keeping track of them, but every once in a while, I still find one hanging out of his mouth. The attached photo is actually a heart shaped coaster that I found him trying to sneak off with. It was too cute to not snap a few photos before taking it away! Now, he's 7 months old and a bit better about the earrings, but he's still a fan of yarn bits and skein wrappers!”
Crafters Pets: Sookie
Julie of ACCROchet shared:
“If you leave things lying around, Sookie *will* eat them. She has eaten/chewed through:
- Uncountable pairs of headphones
- A leather purse
- Any bag or coat that has *ever* had food in it
- 2 pairs of eyeglasses
- 1 yarn eater blanket
- The handle of an Alpha Series Furls hook.
And she knows when she's bad. For the record, I have another dog, Charlie, the incredible blue eyed pirate (a husky) and a cat, Mystère. They tend to not be quite as anxious as Sookie, the rescue, and thus eat our things a *bit* less… though Charlie will eat food left out on the counter if left unattended.”
Yes, the Marly Bird team laughed a little bit about the pup giving new meaning to a “yarn eater blanket.”
Crafters Pets: Brookie and Oila
Heidi of Snappy Tots shared that her dogs Brookie and Oila are a huge part of her business. She regularly makes crochet patterns for her dogs. Her followers look out eagerly for those new designs. For example, check out the adorable free pattern for Brookie's pet bed and learn more about this little pup at the same time.
Crafters Pets: Millie, the Dog
Pia of Stitches ‘n Scraps shares, “Millie is a rescue dog turned total pampered princess. I've made her both a dog bed and stairs, and she likes them both, but usually just ends up snuggled into my blanket on the couch (or on top of whatever project I'm working on at the moment) instead.”
Pia offers a free crochet pattern for the crochet dog stairs and crochet dog bed that she's made for Millie. Also, Millie has her own Instagram account.
Crafters Pets: Max and Rosie
As the name of her site indicates, Posh Pooch Designs, shares, “Max and Rosie are the reason I got back into writing patterns.”
Check out her free dog bed pattern created for them:
She adds: They think everything I design is for them. This time it was for them. They love to model for cookies.” Looking as cute as they do they surely win lots of treats.
Golden Lucy Crafts
Speaking of craft sites inspired by animals, Golden Lucy Crafts is named after Olena's golden retriever. Lucy takes her job as a dog model very seriously as you can see:
Check out the free crochet dog bandana pattern for the bandana in Lucy's photo.
Crafters Pets: Snicklefritz
Whitney of Pine Tree Crochet shares, “Snicklefritz always has to know what I am doing, especially if I am trying to take picture of my patterns. He is also a great meowdel.”
Millie, The Cat Behind Dora Does
Michelle of Dora Does shares, “My cat, Millie, ALWAYS gets in the way when I try to photograph my crochet, so I get her involved. She definitely loves me for it; this is us getting festive!”
Michelle adds, “She also always walks across the camera when I am making tutorials so she’s in half my YouTube videos too!!) plus she has her own story highlight on instagram.”
Crafters Pets: Ginny
Hannah of HanJan Crochet shares, “Our dog is called Ginny and she once ate an entire stocking sample I made for a commission in glitter yarn!”
Crafters Pets: Pluisje
Wilma of Wilmade shares, “her name is Pluisje, which means “little fluff” in Dutch, so her English nickname is Fluffy. People on the street usually say things like ‘awww look al that pluizebol’ which means little ball of fluff in Dutch. I can probably spin and knit a blanket with her puppy fur :-p
She steals my yarn whenever possible so I’ll wait a bit longer before she’s old enough to come up stairs with me to my yarn office.”
Crafters Pets: Charlie
Charlie was happy to be a pillow tester for Jo to the World's Paw Print Pillow Cover free crochet pattern.
Crafters Pets: Daisy
Debra of Madame Stitch says:
“This is my sweet mini-Aussiedoodle Daisy who loves to sit with me while I crochet…and drink wine!”
Crafters Pets
Fiona of Cosie Rosy says, “My two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels love eating the yarn ball bands!”
Crafters Pets: Roxy
Veronika of Blue Star Crochet says, “This is Roxy, she’s been with us for 3 weeks now and is yet to discover my yarn stash!”
Don't worry Veronika, the fun puppy yarn trouble is sure to come soon! :-p
You Might Also Like:
- 83 Free Pet Patterns to Knit and Crochet
- 96 Free Puppy and Dog Projects to Crochet and Knit
- Knitting as Occupational Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions
My puppy keeps chewing up my yarn… what do I do?
Oh goodness, puppies! They just can't help themselves, can they? Little Purl has gotten into my luxury yarn stash and even chewed up a new wool rug. … Honestly, just keep loving them and maybe try to keep the yarn stashed away until they're a bit older or better behaved. It's tough, but they're so precious!
My dog is destructive… is there any hope for my yarn stash?
Yes! While some pups, like Kathryn's previous dog Katara who unraveled a huge project… yes, a whole project!… can be a real handful, there's hope. Her current puppy Bumi is much better, though still gets excited about knitting needles. Keeping supplies tucked away is key.
Can my cat also be a yarn menace?
Absolutely! While dogs seem to be the stars of the mischief here, cats can definitely join in. Michelle mentions her cat Millie always gets in the way when she tries to photograph her crochet, and even walks across the camera during tutorials! So yes, kitties love yarn too.
Do any pets inspire actual crochet patterns?
Yes! Heidi shared that her dogs Brookie and Oila are a huge part of her business, and she makes crochet patterns specifically for them, like a free pet bed pattern. Pia has made Millie a dog bed and stairs, and Posh Pooch Designs was inspired by Max and Rosie to write patterns for them. It's so sweet!
What kinds of trouble do pets get into with yarn?
Oh, the stories! We've got puppies chewing up yarn and rugs, dogs eating headphones, purses, eyeglasses, and even hook handles… yikes! One dog, Ginny, ate an entire commission sample made of glitter yarn! And then there are the ones who just love to snuggle up on your projects or use yarn as a pillow, like Max.
