The Purly Paw Print Patchwork Blanket, designed by Lauren ‘Deadly Knitshade’ O’Farrell, is a canine comfort blanket for homeless hounds who are sent out to be fostered from Battersea Dogs Home (London’s oldest and largest animal shelter).

The idea is that every blanket Battersea received is put in a ‘doggy bag’ which goes with the dog to their foster home, and eventually to their new home when they get a new owner. It’s like a little part of the world that is just theirs, when everything else is changing.

The blanket is made up of simple ‘knit and purl’ squares in four different designs: a plain square, a teeny paw print square for miniscule mutts, a medium paw print square for canines of middle size, and a HUGE paw print square for bigger beasts. Sew them all together and you have one woolly comfort blanket for a canine in need of cuddles.

Each paw print represents one of the 1000s of dogs of all shapes and sizes that Battersea has helped to rehome.

Find out more about it on the Battersea website here

And go on a tour and find out how the pattern was created over at www.whodunnknit.com.

Errata: On this pattern the last square should be. Battersea have been sent a corrected PDF and The Guardian have been sent the update. Eek!:

Row 1. K across
Row 2. K across
Row 3. K across
Row 4. K2, p to last 2 sts, k2
Row 5 and all odd numbered rows. K across
Row 6. K2, p5, k2, p4, k2, p5, k2
Rows 8 and 10. K2, p4, k4, p2, k4, p4, k2
Row 12. K2, p2, k, p2, k2, p4, k2, p2, k, p2, k2
Row 14. K2, p, k3, p10, k3, p, k2
Row 16. K2, p, k3, p2, k6, p2, k3, p, k2
Row 18. K2, p2, k2, p, k8, p, k2, p2, k2
Row 20. K2, p5, k8, p5, k2
Row 22. K2, p4, k10, p4, k2
Row 24. K2, p3, k12, p3, k2
Row 26. K2, p2, k14, p2, k2
Row 28. K2, p3, k12, p3, k2
Row 30. K2, p4, k10, p4, k2
Row 32 and 34. K2, p to last 2 sts, k2
Rows 35 to 37. K across