Adventure Time with Finn and Jake

I recently started watching Adventure Time on Cartoon Network UK with my boys (I only just found out we could get it on our subscription). It's a great show, suitable for kids (maybe not very young ones) and adults - the humour's fun and weird but not mean. It's set in a colourful, fantastical post-apocalyptic world with Finn, a 12/13 year old boy (the only human we know of) and Jake the dog, who is capable of stretching or shrinking to almost any size or shape. They have all sorts of adventures - Finn is pretty handy with a sword - and sing cute little songs.

I joined in with an Adventure Time swap on Craftster and made Finn and Jake for my partner (I think I'll have to remake them for my boys!).

Part of the reason I like the show is the design of the characters, and they have great shapes to crochet. Here are the originals to compare:

Finn is about 13" tall and has a backpack that opens and closes with a small button.

Jake is about 8" tall, roughly in proportion to Finn in his normal shape and size, where he still has quite long arms.

Since they both have such thin legs, it's hard to make them stand up, so I took them outside to pose them a bit. Finn's off on an adventure and Jake's hanging around in a tree.

I hope you like them, and if you haven't watched Adventure Time, give it a go!

All the Totoros!

I love the Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro, and the Totoros themselves, adorable monsters with features reminiscent of rabbits and cats, that come in three different sizes and colours. A giant grey one about twice the height of a person, a blue one about the size of a cat and a small white one about half that size. If you haven't seen the film, I urge you to give it a try, it's totally delightful.

A few years back I made a blue and a white Totoro, and wrote up the patterns on my livejournal (White Totoro , Blue Totoro ). Since then I've been wanting to make a grey one, and to perfect the original two patterns. In the end I did that, and also adapted the pattern for the white Totoro to make a small blue one to go with the grey one, and a tiny white one to complete the set.

This might be easier to explain in photos!

Here's the large grey Totoro, which is about 9" tall, with the small blue Totoro (4.25" tall) and the tiny white one (1.75"). To be honest, the two smaller ones aren't quite to scale with the grey one, but it would have been too difficult to make a white one small enough without changing the type of yarn, which I didn't want to do.

These are the updated blue and white Totoros. The blue one is about 8" tall and the white one is 4.25" tall. When I started remaking them I changed them quite a bit - I obviously crochet a lot tighter now that I did when I made them originally. The grey Totoro and this blue one have a similar pattern, the grey one is a bit taller but the ears are shorter.
The white Totoro and the small blue one are the same pattern, just with extra elements (tummy, arms) for the blue one.

Here you can see the two different sizes of blue and white Totoros, I'm happy that I got the scale pretty much right for both sets.

I also made a little leaf for the grey Totoro, to help keep off the rain.

You can download the patterns free from Ravelry:

 Grey Totoro

Blue Totoro

White and Small Blue Totoro

Tiny White Totoro (the leaf pattern can be found with the Grey Totoro)

You can also download the patterns from Craftster 

Little Folk

There is lots of folklore regarding the 'little folk', and they have many names - elves, fairies, sprites, imps, brownies and hobgoblins. They are often described as being mischievous creatures, although sometimes they like to help humans, even doing chores around the house for them. Dobby the house elf, from Harry Potter, seems to be inspired by these stories, as they often state that the creatures become insulted if given clothes and will then leave. In fact, in Sussex (where I live) there is folklore regarding 'Dobbs' or 'Master Dobbs', a house fairy who would help with the housework.

Dobby

As I mentioned in a previous post I made a toy Dobby for my son. I have been working on the pattern, and with a few variations, have made several other creatures.

Fire Imp

Fire Imps are attracted to bonfires and campfires, and are very partial to snacks cooked on them such as sausages. If you have an open fire in your house they may sneak in and sleep by the embers at night. He is made with mohair brushed to make hair and has fingers and toes.

Brownie

This Brownie is a happy little fellow who likes eating cakes and dancing, a bit like a Hobbit or Halfling. He is has curly hair and a separate waistcoat and scarf.

Autumn Tree Sprite

This little nature Sprite lives in the trees and likes to stay hidden. His colouring helps him to stay secret when the trees are losing their leaves, then he finds a nice big pile of of them and hibernates through the winter. He has hair made from eyelash yarn and a scarf to keep him warm.

Forest Fairy

This little forest-dwelling fairy is well camouflaged among the trees with her pale green skin and mossy hair. She has antlers and wears a dress made of leaves. Her long hair is made of lots of different yarns.

  
The pattern is now available in my Etsy shop, and contains all the information to make the different Little Folk described above, with details on how to make the different kinds of hair and their clothing. All the variations can then be used to design your own creature made the way you want.

Mother and Child Spirits

I made a set of Mother and Child Earth Spirits about two years ago, and they've always been one of my favourite creations. I've also had quite a few requests for me to write up their pattern, and now I've finally got it finished, and available in my shop.

One of the problems with making these is getting hold of nice mohair yarns that are the right thickness. The yarn I originally used, Patons Spirit, is no longer being produced, although I've still got a small stash of it. It is also thicker than most of the other plain mohair yarns I have, many of which I picked up from charity shops without labels. I bought some Luxury Mohair by King Cole, which has lovely colours but is comparatively thin, and when I tested my pattern using this yarn, the Water Spirits ended up quite a bit smaller than the Earth Spirits I made using the Patons yarn. In the end though, despite the size difference, I was happy with both yarns and the creatures I made with them.

I think that what I like most about these creatures is the way they seem to interact when you put them together. It feels like the mother is looking after her child, or even listening to him telling her what he's been up to!

Fierce Little Dragon

One of the first crochet patterns I wrote was for a dragon - my 'fierce but friendly really dragon'. I love dragons, and it's hard to find nice toys of them, so that was a real incentive to make one myself. Lots of people liked it and asked for the pattern, so eventually I wrote up my notes and put them on Craftster and Livejournal. The notes were quite rough, and though many people had no problem following them, some asked if I could write the pattern up properly. And, finally, I got round to it!

I had to make a dragon to check the pattern, and while I was doing that I tweaked a few bits - I used to crochet a lot more loosely, and I found some parts came up too small - and I used different stitches on the wings to make them much stiffer.

I won't post the pattern here as it's seven pages long, but it is available as a free download from Ravelry: Fierce Little Dragon free pattern

Edited to add: this pattern has now been translated into Spanish by Ana, over at her blog.

Edited to add 2: this pattern has now kindly been translated into French by FilACroche on Ravelry. You can download it here

Chubby Gnomes

I was thinking of something to make for Easter that was egg-shaped, when I realised that Gnomes, with their pointy hats, were perfect. I wanted them to be chubby and simple, so I started with one with a classic red hat and a little beard.

I was really happy with the way he turned out, and I decided that he needed a little girl friend. I couldn't give her a beard (she's not a dwarf!) so she's got cute little pigtails.

I made another to check the pattern and changed the colours for a bit of variety.

I think Gnomes like gardens so they seem appropriate for spring when everything starts growing so madly. These little Gnomes are only 3.5" tall and fit nicely in your hand.

They'd look cute on a windowsill next to some plants, or maybe they'd like to go travelling? And they have another, more modern, talent. My 10 year-old son discovered that they're the perfect shape for break-dancing!

The pattern is now available in my Etsy shop.

....And The Pussycat

Here's the pattern to make a tiny little cat - only 1.5" tall - that's the perfect pet for my mini amigurumi Witch. Make in the traditional black, or use and colours you like for a different type of cat.

See the previous post for general instructions and abbreviations for the pattern, and details on how to make a mini owl.

Witch's Cat

You will need:
Small amount of black yarn.
1 Pair of 7.5mm green safety eyes, or green yarn to embroider them.
Small amount of stuffing.
3.5mm (E) hook.

Special stitch instructions:
3 dc pop: popcorn stitch for ears. Work 3 dc into 1 st, take hook out leaving loop, put hook through 1st dc & pull loop through.

Start at top of head:
Round 1: Ch2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around – 12 st.
Round 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, 3 dc pop in next st, 2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 2 times - 18 st.
Round 4 - 7: (4 rounds) Sc in each st around – 18 st.

Fit eyes between rounds 5 and 6, treating the start of the round as the back of the cat.

Round 8: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 6 times – 12 st.
Round 9: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 6 times – 18 st.
Round 10 - 13: (4 rounds) Sc in each st around – 18 st.
Round 14: Sc in each st around until you get to the middle back, [tail: ss in next st, ch 10, ss into 2nd ch from hook, ss in next 8 ch, ss back into original st], sc in each st to the end of the round – 18 st.
Round 15: Sc in each st around (work into the first ss of the tail, not the second) – 18 st.
Round 16: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 6 times – 12 st.
Round 17: [Sc2tog] 6 times – 6 st.

FO, leaving a length of yarn. Embroider eyes if you haven't used safety eyes. Stuff and use length yarn to sew up hole at bottom, pulling it tight up through the body to ensure that the cat will sit on a flat surface.

The Owl.....

After I'd designed my Witch and Wizard amigurumis, I felt that they could both do with little pets, or familiars. So I made the witch a little black cat (pattern in the next post) and made a mini snowy owl for the wizard. Of course, when I started taking photos of them, I realised that I'd made the Owl and the Pussycat!

These guys are pretty small, only about 1.5" tall, so that they match with their owners. Even if you don't have a witch or wizard to make them for, they'd still be cute little mini pets. Maybe I'll take my tiny Hedwig to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

General instructions for both patterns:

Work in rounds unless otherwise stated and do not join rounds unless told to. Use a stitch marker to mark the start of a round - a small piece of different coloured yarn placed under the stitch at the start of the round will do. To start a round, you can use the magic ring method, but I prefer (ch2, work 6 sc into 1st ch). If you work the 6 sc over the tail of yarn as well you can use that to pull the hole tight.

Work through both loops of stitches unless otherwise indicated.

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
ss = slipstitch

sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)

dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)
tog = together
sc2tog = decrease by working two sc together

FLO = work in front loop only

FO = fasten off

Wizard's Owl

I have made a snowy owl here but you could use different colours to make a different type of owl.

You will need:
Small amount of white yarn.

Small amount of black yarn for beak.

1 Pair of 7.5mm amber safety eyes.

Small amount of stuffing.

3.5mm (E) hook.

Start at top of head:

Round 1: Ch2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 st.

Round 2: 2 sc in each st around – 12 st.

Round 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 6 times - 18 st.
Round 4 - 7: (4 rounds) Sc in each st around – 18 st.

Fit eyes between rounds 5 and 6, treating the start of the round as the front of the owl.

Round 8: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 6 times – 12 st.
Round 9: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 6 times – 18 st.
Round 10 - 13: (4 rounds) Sc in each st around – 18 st.

Find the stitch in the last round that is exactly in the middle of the back of the owl. Count back 5 stitches along the round (not including the middle stitch) and mark this stitch.

Round 14: Sc in each st around until you get to the marked stitch, [FLO sc in next st, hdc in next 2 st, dc in next 5 st, hdc in next 2 st, sc in next st], working through both loops again sc in each st to the end of the round – 18 st.

Round 15: Sc in each st around (work into the back loops of the st in the previous round that were in FLO) – 18 st.

Round 16: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 6 times – 12 st.

Round 17: [Sc2tog] 6 times – 6 st.

FO, leaving a length of yarn. Using black yarn sew a beak. Stuff and use length yarn to sew up hole at bottom, pulling it tight up through the body to ensure that the owl will sit on a flat surface.

Two Spirits and One Pattern

Getting my Star Wars patterns sorted finally allowed me to get on with all the other things I had been meaning to make. One of them was from a request I had quite some time ago to make a Water Spirit, with no particular directions on what it should look like. I decided to give it the feel of some kind of water-loving mammal, such as an otter or a seal, so it has a long, streamlined head and two tail-like flippers. I wanted to use lots of different watery colours so I chose three different mohair-type yarns, two of which were multicoloured, to give a nice mix. I was really pleased with the way it turned out, and luckily, so was the patient recipient.

I also got a request to do a pattern for another type of Spirit I have made. Using the same basic pattern but with different details I have made a Rock Spirit, a Hedgerow Spirit and a Dream Spirit. These are great little creatures to use interesting yarns on - they have bodies made with a mohair-type yarn - which you can customise to be the sort of Spirit you want with different features and any colours you like.

I wrote up the pattern, and to test it I made a Moon Spirit. This little creature gazes up at the full moon, absorbing its gentle rays, and then reflects them back in the darkest nights to guide other animals.

The pattern for the Small Spirit, with details of how to make the different variations, is now for sale in my Etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/listing/45355995/pattern-for-small-spirit-amigurumi.

Dream Spirit

Here is my latest creature.




She is a Dream Spirit, she herds the dreams that float through the air to make sure that each dream gets to the right dreamer. Not just for humans, either. Animals and, who knows, maybe even plants dream, and she has to make sure that dreams do not go astray.

I made her using one my favourite yarns, an alpaca mix. She's a simple shape (using the same basic pattern as my Rock Spirit) that I enjoyed embellishing with various scraps of fuzzy yarns to make her 'whiskers' and then I gave her curved horns/ears. I got a kind of witchy/shaman vibe from her when she was finished and then I could see what she was.

Here's her relative, the Rock Spirit: