1DogWoof’s Zoodiacs Blanket

Here you can read all about the time I made 1DogWoof’s Zoodiacs Blanket. It was really fun!

Year Round Project 2019: 1DogWoof’s Zoodiacs Blanket

So, something exciting was born early 2019: the idea to start a new tradition. A large project that would take a year to finish …

One day I came across a very cool corner to corner crochet blanket design, called the Zoodiacs C2C Crochet Afghan, by 1DogWoof.

A lot of planning and calculating went into finding the right amount of yarn in colours matching 1DogWoof’s design. A table, a cappuccino, a notebook and a nearby yarn store. Lots of anticipated joy. That’s how it started, my first Year Round Project, or YRP.

1DogWoof’s Zoodiacs Blanket Design

Never before had I attempted such a huge crochet project, but as soon as I saw this stunning afghan design, I was sold. I just knew I had to make it.

The bold colours, the fun animals, the fact that there were 12 -because of the Chinese Zodiac- individual c2c squares that would later be joined together, were all promising ingredients to easily turn this into a very entertaining year-long project …

Every Month a New Animal

As mentioned before, this big blanket, or afghan, consists of 12 individual squares, each containing their own animal. All animals are part of the Chinese Zodiac. ChiWei, from 1DogWoof, is the person behind this design and the one with the accompanying story. Personally, I liked the fact that I could make one animal per month, to turn this into a YRP. I started in the same order the blanket is posted on ChiWei’s website, thus first came the tiger. Incidently, the Tiger is also ‘my’ Zodiac Animal. I actually made this one twice, because the first square turned out a bit too tight compared to the squares that followed. Apparently, my tension changed after the first square.

January – The Tiger

Right, so, the first month of 2019 was the month I dedicated to my own Zodiac Animal … the Tiger. I used similar colours as in the original design: bright orange and blue, paired with black and white. As you may know, with corner to corner crochet you start in one corner and work your way towards the opposite corner. It took a bit of figuring out how to place the different skeins of yarn and how to carry some of the strands in order to minimize the amount of ends to weave in. But as said before I made the tiger twice, which meant I had some time to practice and perfect my c2c crochet skills.

The first, smaller square is destined to become a pillow, someday, I think, maybe … but I have way too many other projects waiting on me, so perhaps the smaller square is just gonna be a tiny blanket my oldest daughter (2,5 years old) can play with.

February – The Bunny

If you are new to c2c crochet, like I was before starting this project, there are tons of tutorials out there. ChiWei, the Zoodiac Afghan’s designer, has made an entire page with c2c tutorials. So, you can just dive in, like I did, with first the tiger and now this cute bunny. Colours used are white, purple, a little bit of pink and black for the nose and eyes and lime green for the background. Making this one made me happy, ’cause I like lime green. It felt like a fresh colour combo for the slow start of spring.

March – The Dragon

When I started this year-round project, I quickly (re)discovered yarn loves to get all tangled up, which is something I’m not a fan of. Luckily, I am not alone in that and because ChiWei was there before me, she provides a nice solution on her website in the form of a DIY bobbin holder. By now you may have discovered I am a fan of ChiWei’s work!

The dragon’s colours are fiery red, yellow and orange, with black details and a light grey backgrond to provide a little ‘break’ from the brighter background colours.

April – The Snake

And then it was spring time, yay! We had a lot of good days, weatherwise, so it was a cheerful month. Also cheerful, was April’s Zoodiac Animal: the snake, which ChiWei managed to make very cute. A cute snake? Yup! Colours used are hot pink, green, lime green, red, yellow and black. I’m positive my daughter will like this one, because apparently she likes pink (and I never pushed her on that!).

May – The Horse

Month five sets the stage for a blonde haired horse. Or maybe it’s not really blonde, but more a bright yellow. The background for May’s zodiac animal is baby blue, to bring some balance and contrast with last month’s hot pink. The other colours used are beige, brown and black. Meanwhile back at the ranch, I had begun crocheting plain white borders around the other finished squares. By this time pregnancy month 5 also drew to a close. More than halfway done (not with the blanket, but with waiting for baby no. 2 to arrive)!

June – The Sheep

Ok, so who doesn’t like sheep? I do! Especially when they’re fluffy. Oh and of course … wool, yarn, all the pretty spun threads. Anywho, June’s animal is, as you may have guessed, a sheep. The animal’s colours aren’t very bright, but the fiery orange background makes up for that fact. And now that I’m writing this, I’m thinking I should have used fluffy yarn for the sheep. That would have added some extra flavour! Maybe next time … Colours used are orange, light grey, white, pink and black.

Part 2 of 1DogWoof’s Zoodiacs Blanket

Half way done with 1DogWoof’s Zoodiacs Blanket, yay! That means, six squares done and six to go.

July – The Monkey

Let’s stop monkeying around, with Hump Day behind us and working on the 7th animal, we’re halfway done. Yippee! It’s time for some mellow colours: beige, brown, pink and black with a cream white background. Sometimes going a bit softer (colourwise) is really great too. Especially because this monkey square is surrounded by really bright and happy colours. Voilà, one cheeky monkey is done.

August – The Rooster

So, the Chinese Zodiac has 12 different animals, one per Chinese year. Right? The rooster happens to be the zodiac animal of the year 2017, which is the year my eldest daughter was born. Perhaps my big girl (then almost 2 years old!) would have liked it better if I had incorporated a little pink into ‘her’ animal, but … oh, well … I can’t always be making pink things, am I right!? By the way, baby number two is due next month, and 2019 is the year of the pig. (The pig is scheduled for October, by the way). Wow, this is getting a bit complicated, isn’t it?! Moving on to the colours: orange, red, white and black, with a slightly darker green background.

September- The Dog

This one looks like one of my daughter’s stuffed animals. It’s a dog, obviously. Fun yellow background, with a cute puppy with brown ears, a playful blue spot around its eye and a little blue tip on its tail. Also some red for the dog’s collar. Its head and body  are cream white and its got a pink nose and black eyes. I had to hurry a bit for this one, because September was the month my second daughter was born and I had other things on my mind!

October – The Pig

Talking about my second daughter, as written before, 2019 was the year of the pig. So, I crocheted this little piggy especially for my (second) baby girl. And a little bit for my husband, who also happened to have been born in a pig-year. Although I guess he would probably prefer a bit darker colours for ‘his’ animal. Perhaps, at some point, maybe, I will make a couple of pillows to go with this giant blanket. So we can all have our own little pillow to go with our family snuggles underneath this afghan (as long as they’re still young enough to want to snuggle, that is). Back to the square: in between all the feedings and diaper changes and (my own) naps I managed to do some stitching. Only two months to go now. Colours are lime green, hot and pale pink, with white and black details.

November – The Rat (or Mouse, maybe)

The second to last month, or simply put, November, belongs to the rat. Or maybe mouse. With its blue background, pale pink details, and dark grey, light grey and black colours this one really suits the month November. It’s just a weird month. Or well, it was, untill my first baby was born. Now it’s the month in which I became a mother. Of course that’s got nothing to do with rats or mice, but hey, what else am I gonna write, right?

December – The Ox

Last but not least … it’s the cow’s turn! A little bit of Christmas spirit is going on in this one, because of the red background — and also because this is the last one before I could finish stitching all the white borders and sewing the whole thing together, which seems like a Christmas present to me! Besides the red background, other colours used are beige, brown, pale pink, black and light grey.

Photos of My 1DogWoof’s Zoodiacs Blanket