Teen crochets a bone for her dog—with a scent so enticing it becomes an instant favorite
Aku the dog loves socks more than anything, so seventeen-year-old Pihla came up with the idea of crocheting him a toy and stuffing it with worn socks. The sock bone is the best thing ever, says the Australian Labradoodle, and he hardly carries anything else in his mouth anymore.
Where did you get the idea to crochet a bone for Aku?
I was sitting in Finnish class and happened to have a hook and some yarn with me because I was planning to crochet a pair of earrings for my mom for Mother’s Day. I wanted to make something for Aku too—something that would be nice for him to hold in his mouth and that might also last for a while. When I started, I didn’t know whether it would turn into a tube, a ball, or a bone; I just started crocheting.
Why did you decide to stuff the bone with strips cut from socks?
Whenever any one of our family members comes home, Aku feels the need to grab something to hold in his mouth. More often than not, it’s a sock. He sleeps in my room, and in the mornings, as soon as he sees I’m awake, he’ll fetch a sock then, too. I guess a sock is a nice, soft bundle that fits in his mouth and smells like a person. Aku has a huge bag and basket full of toys, but he’s usually less interested in them than in socks. He loves sitting on the living-room rug with a sock in his mouth.
You know your pet best. If you suspect your dog might tear the toy apart and swallow yarn or sock pieces, choose a different kind of toy.
Where did you get the socks for the toy?
We had a project going—sorting the family’s socks—so there was a giant bag full of single socks from the whole family. I grabbed a few of my own that had holes or were missing their match, and I think a couple of my little brother’s dirty socks, too. When I sat down at the kitchen table to cut them up, my parents gave me some curious looks, wondering what on earth I was doing.
How long did it take you to make the toy?
I started during the school day, and it was finished that evening.
How did Aku react when you gave him the sock bone?
He watched me closely while I was finishing crocheting and stuffing the bone with sock strips. Once he got the bone, he did a quality check—shook it like crazy—and then lay down to nurse it. In other words, Aku accepted it happily and with determination.
Has the bone remained Aku’s favorite—and intact?
Yes! You rarely find this bone in the toy basket. Most of the time Aku is carrying it around, or he has fallen asleep with it beside him. It’s his calming toy. Aku uses different toys for different things. He knows exactly which ones are meant for ripping apart. Plus, the bone is crocheted so tightly that it’s really sturdy. When we play with it, I toss it in the air and Aku catches it.
Why do you think Aku loves the sock bone so much?
It dawned on me while I was making it: the toy must be perfect for Aku because, in addition to smelling like socks, it also smells like my hands. I think he can pick it out from all the other toys by scent alone. And it’s just the right size for his mouth—not a huge stuffed animal, for example.
I was thrilled that I managed to make something Aku really loves. I’m a perfectionist, but for this I didn’t follow any pattern, and the bone is far from perfect and definitely not white anymore. But Aku doesn’t care how many stitches it has or whether there are mistakes; he’s just like, “Ha-ha—look what I’ve got!”
How Pihla crocheted the sock bone (pattern is approximate)
“I used a 2.5 mm hook and a fine cotton yarn.
1. I began with a flat circle: 6 sc into a magic ring.
2. I continued by working 2 sc in each st all the way around. I worked it fairly tight, so the surface turned out a bit uneven and “bonelike.”
3. When the diameter seemed right, I stopped increasing and crocheted a couple of rounds with 1 sc in each st. The piece started to form into a cup shape.
4. Then I began decreasing: 1 sc, skip next st, 1 sc, and so on.
5. For the straight section of the bone, I alternated rounds of 1 sc in each st with rounds of 2 sc in each st. If it felt like it started to widen too much, I skipped a st here and there.
6. To start shaping the second end of the bone, I increased as follows: 1 sc, 2 sc in next st, 1 sc, and so on.
7. Again, I crocheted a couple of rounds without increasing or decreasing.
8. At the very end, I decreased by skipping every other st. I left a small opening for stuffing.
9. I then stuffed the bone with the sock strips, using the hook to push them in place.
10. I crocheted the opening closed, and the sock bone was ready to give to Aku.”
