Galaxy Granny Cherry Tile Crochet Hat Free Pattern for Large Dogs

Galaxy Granny Cherry Tile Crochet Hat for Large Dogs

If you have ever looked at a granny square and thought "that looks like magic," this is the project for you. The Galaxy Granny Cherry Tile Hat is a cozy, slightly domed cap for large dogs, built from ten little 4-inch squares that each look like a cherry floating in space. It is perfect for a first-time crocheter who has learned a few basic stitches and wants a real, finished project to be proud of. The finished hat is soft and squishy in an aran wool blend, with a crisp black-and-white grid, pops of bright cherry red, and a folded white brim that frames your dog's face. It measures about 22 inches around and 8 inches tall, so it fits big heads from 20 to 24 inches. Best of all, you make the same square ten times, so by square three your hands will know exactly what to do.

Materials Needed

• Yarn: Aran weight wool blend (about 20% wool, 80% acrylic), 100 g / 170 yd per skein.
  • 1 skein black (Color A)
  • 1 skein white (Color B)
  • A small amount of bright cherry red (Color C) for the cherry motif
• Hook: 5.0 mm (US H-8) crochet hook, or whatever size gets you the gauge below.
• Stitch markers: at least 8, to mark corners and the start of rounds.
• Tapestry needle: a blunt, large-eyed needle for seaming and weaving in ends.
• Scissors: small and sharp.
• Finished size: circumference approx. 22 in (56 cm), height approx. 8 in (20 cm), including a 2 in (5 cm) folded brim. Fits heads 20–24 in (51–61 cm).

Abbreviations and Beginner Glossary

Every term below is explained as if you have never held a hook. Read this list once before you start, and keep it open while you work.

• ch – chain. Make a loop of yarn on your hook, wrap yarn over the hook, and pull it through the loop. That is one chain. Chains are the foundation you build on.
• sl st – slip stitch. Insert your hook into the stitch, wrap yarn over, and pull it through both the stitch and the loop on your hook at once. It makes an almost invisible join.
• sc – single crochet. Insert hook into stitch, pull up a loop (2 loops on hook), wrap yarn over, pull through both loops. One loop remains.
• dc – double crochet. Wrap yarn over hook first, insert into stitch, pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), wrap yarn over, pull through 2 loops, wrap yarn over, pull through last 2 loops.
• sc2tog – single crochet two together (a decrease). Insert hook into first stitch, pull up a loop, insert hook into next stitch, pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), wrap yarn over, pull through all 3 loops. Two stitches become one.
• v-st – v-stitch. Work (dc, ch 1, dc) all into the same space. It looks like the letter V.
• beg-v-st – beginning v-stitch. Work (ch 3, ch 1, dc) in the same space. The ch 3 stands in for the first dc.
• sp – space. The little gap made by a chain, which you work into instead of into a stitch.
• st / sts – stitch / stitches.
• magic ring – an adjustable loop of yarn you crochet into, then pull tight so the center has no hole.
• join with sl st – finish a round by slip stitching into the first stitch or chain of that round so the circle closes.
• fasten off – cut the yarn a few inches from the work and pull the tail through the last loop to lock it.
• right side / wrong side – the right side is the pretty front face of your work; the wrong side is the back.

Gauge

One finished granny square = 4 x 4 in (10 x 10 cm). Within the square, 4 dc = 1 in (2.5 cm) and 2 dc rows = 1 in (2.5 cm).

Gauge matters because it is how the pattern knows the hat will fit. Five squares around at 4 inches each gives a 20-inch strip, which becomes about 22 inches once the seams and brim are added. If your squares come out at 3.5 inches, the hat will be too tight; at 4.5 inches, it will slide off. To check, make one complete square exactly as written, lay it flat, and measure across the middle. If it is too small, go up one hook size; if too large, go down one. Do not skip this step, even though it feels like homework. One square is a small price for a hat that fits.

Beginner Tips Before You Start

• Make one practice square first. Work it in any scrap yarn, then measure it. Once it hits 4 inches, you are ready for the real ten.
• Use stitch markers at every corner. Pop a marker in each corner chain-2 space as you make it. When you join squares later, you will find the corners instantly.
• Do not pull your yarn tight. Beginners tend to choke the hook. Keep your loops relaxed and let the hook do the work; tight stitches make a stiff, small square.
• Count after every round. Each round of the square has a stated stitch count. Count it before moving on, because one missed stitch throws off the next round.
• Keep your squares the same size. Stack finished squares and compare them. If one is bigger, it was probably worked more loosely, so use a slightly smaller hook for the rest.
• Weave in ends as you go. Ten squares means twenty yarn tails. Thread each one onto the tapestry needle and run it through the back of the work for about an inch as soon as the square is done.

Step-by-Step Instructions

All instructions use US terms. The hat is made in four parts: the Cherry Tile Squares, the Cherry Motif accents, the Joining into Strips, and then the Crown Closure and Brim.

Part 1: Cherry Tile Granny Square (make 10)

You need 10 squares: 5 for the crown strip and 5 for the lower strip.

Round 1 (Color A, black): Make a magic ring. Ch 3 (this counts as your first dc), ch 1, then work [dc, ch 1] 7 times into the ring. Join with sl st to the top of the beginning ch-3. (8 dc, 8 ch-1 sps)

Round 2 (Color A): Sl st into the first ch-1 sp. Work a beg-v-st in that same sp, ch 1, then *v-st in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1; repeat from * around. Join with sl st to the top of the beg ch-3. (8 v-sts, 8 ch-1 sps)

Round 3 (Color B, white): Sl st into the first ch-1 sp. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc in the same sp, ch 1, then *3 dc in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1; repeat from * around. Join with sl st to the top of the beg ch-3. (24 dc, 8 ch-1 sps)

Round 4 (Color B): Sl st to the next dc. Ch 1, sc in each of the next 3 dc, *ch 2, sc in each of the next 3 dc; repeat from * around. Join with sl st to the first sc. Fasten off Color B. (24 sc, 8 ch-2 sps)

Round 5 (Color A): Join black with a sl st in any ch-2 sp. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc in the same sp, ch 1, then *3 dc in the next ch-2 sp, ch 1; repeat from * around. Join with sl st to the top of the beg ch-3. (24 dc, 8 ch-1 sps)

Round 6 (Color A, square corners): Sl st to the next dc. Ch 1, sc in each of the next 3 dc, then *[sc, ch 2, sc] in the next ch-1 sp (this makes a corner), sc in each of the next 3 dc, sc in the next ch-1 sp; repeat from * around, working 4 corners total. Join with sl st to the first sc. Fasten off. (Each side = 11 sc plus 4 corner ch-2 sps; square measures 4 x 4 in / 10 x 10 cm.)

Repeat Rounds 1–6 nine more times for a total of 10 squares.

Part 2: Cherry Motif (surface v-stitch accent)

This is worked on top of each finished square, after the squares are joined, so the red sits proudly on the surface.

With Color C (cherry red), join with a sl st at the center ch-1 sp of any v-st round on a square. Ch 3, ch 1, dc in the same sp (this is a beg-v-st), ch 1, v-st in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1, v-st in the next ch-1 sp. Fasten off, leaving a 3 in tail. Thread the tail onto the tapestry needle and draw it into a short curved stem between two cherry v-stitches. (3 v-sts per cherry cluster.) Repeat on every square so each tile carries a red cherry v-stitch cluster on its black-and-white ground.

Part 3: Joining into Strips

Arrange 5 squares in a row, right sides up, alternating their orientation so the cherry clusters sit at varied angles. With Color A, join them using sc worked through both layers: hold two squares wrong sides together, insert the hook through both edge stitches, and sc in each st across one edge, working 11 sc per side and 1 sc in each corner ch-2 sp. Join all 5 squares this way into Strip 1. Repeat for Strip 2 with the remaining 5 squares.

Part 4: Seaming into a Round Cap

Place Strip 1 and Strip 2 side by side and sc-join along their long edges to form a 5-square-wide by 2-square-tall rectangle. Then bring the two short ends together and sc-join them to form a tube. (Circumference approx. 20 in / 51 cm before the brim.)

Part 5: Crown Closure

With Color A, join yarn at any corner sp along the top edge of the tube.

Round 1: Ch 1, sc evenly around the top edge, working 1 sc in each st and 1 sc in each corner sp. Join with sl st to the first sc. (approx. 60 sc)

Round 2: Ch 1, *sc2tog over the next 2 sc; repeat from * around. Join. (30 sc)

Round 3: Ch 1, *sc2tog over the next 2 sc; repeat from * around. Join. (15 sc)

Round 4: Ch 1, sc2tog over the next 2 sc around, ending with 1 sc if needed. Join. (8 sc) Fasten off, thread the tail through the remaining 8 sts, pull tight, and weave in.

Part 6: Brim

With Color B (white), join at the bottom edge of the tube.

Round 1: Ch 1, sc evenly around the bottom edge. Join with sl st to the first sc. (approx. 60 sc)

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc around. Join. (60 sc)

Round 3: Ch 1, *sc in the next 4 sc, 2 sc in the next sc; repeat from * around. Join. (72 sc)

Rounds 4–6: Ch 1, sc in each sc around. Join. (72 sc) Fasten off. Fold the brim up 2 in (5 cm) to show the white contrast band.

Assembly and Finishing

Weave in all ends. Thread each tail onto the tapestry needle, turn the hat to the wrong side, and run the needle through the backs of several stitches in one direction, then back the other way. Trim close. Never knot your ends, because knots work loose and feel lumpy against a dog's head.

Check your seams. Run a finger along each sc join. If any gap shows, use the same yarn and a few tiny whip stitches on the inside to close it.

Block the hat. Lightly mist the hat with water until damp but not soaking. Shape it over a bowl about 8 in (20 cm) in diameter, smoothing the squares flat and coaxing the crown into a gentle dome. Let it dry completely, at least overnight. Blocking evens out the squares and helps the brim hold its fold.

Optional chin strap. If you want one, crochet a small chain of black sc about 8 in long, and stitch one end to each side seam with the tapestry needle.

Pro Tips and Variations

• Change the color story. Swap the cherry red for lime green and you have space limes; use navy instead of black for a deeper galaxy look. Keep one light and one dark color so the grid stays readable.
• Adjust the size. For a smaller dog, make 4 squares per strip instead of 5, which removes about 4 inches of circumference. For a much larger dog, add a sixth square to each strip. Keep the crown and brim rounds the same and simply work more or fewer sc around the edge.
• Substitute yarn. Any aran or worsted weight yarn works, but always swatch a square first. A smoother acrylic shows the cherry motif most crisply, while a woolly blend feels warmer and softer.
• Make the cherries pop. Work the cherry motif in a slightly thicker yarn or with a 5.5 mm hook so the red v-stitches sit raised above the black-and-white ground, like little embroidered cherries.