Luke Skywalker times three

Luke Skywalker must take after his mother with the number of costume changes he has in his three films! While his pal Han rocks the classic trousers, shirt and waistcoat through most of the films, Luke is always wearing something different. I've always thought it would be nice to improve my Luke amigurumi pattern by adding a variety of outfits and now I've done it. As well as giving a bit more detail to his Tatooine 'farm boy' look from the original Star Wars film I've come up with versions of Luke in his X-Wing pilot uniform, including the helmet, and in his black Jedi clothes from Return of the Jedi, along with a tiny lightsaber.

This new version of the pattern is now available in my Etsy shop, and I'm happy to send it for free to anyone who bought the original Luke Skywalker pattern in the past. Just contact me on Etsy with all the details of that order (order number, full name and date of order).

Wee Mousies in Inside Crochet!

The latest copy of Inside Crochet has just come out (issue 35) and my pattern to make a pair of cute little mice is in it!

These Wee Mousies are only 9cm tall so they're perfect to make for little presents or stocking fillers. They'll fit perfectly in a pocket and it would be sweet to make them a little bed out of a box, and crochet a tiny blanket for them. Their clothes are crocheted as part of their bodies, but you could easily make them little accessories - my prototype has no clothes but he does have a scarf.

If you like to crochet you should check out Inside Crochet, it's always full of gorgeous patterns; clothes that I'm dying to make but will probably never get the time - there's a Ruby Sweater this month that has an amazing texture - and smaller projects that I really want to try. The Milly, Molly, Mandy scarf on the front cover looks delicious and there are some beautful, understated scatter cushions that I fancy giving a go. There are also some great inspirational articles and a 'how to' section that's useful if you're new to crochet.

Admiral Ackbar amigurumi

Well, here's the latest of my mini Star Wars amigurumis, Admiral Ackbar. He's a Mon Calamari who leads the Rebel Alliance fleet in Return of the Jedi, and is famous for shouting, 'It's a trap!' when he realises they've been lured in by the Emperor. The Mon Calamari come from a watery planet and I just love their design, with their big, bulbous heads, fish-like eyes and finny hands.

As my Ackbar is pretty small, only 4" tall, I simplified him quite a bit to match with all the other mini Star Wars amis I've made. Even so, I'm pleased with some of the detail I managed to get into his clothes, and I think I might try working on some of my earlier designs to see if I can add a bit more detail to them. Luke, in particular, would benefit from some alternatives outfits, I think.

The pattern to make Admiral Ackbar is now available from my Etsy shop, and you can also buy  all 14 Star Wars patterns I've made to date, or pick and choose selections of two, three or six patterns.

Dalek Amigurumi Pattern - Free!

I'm a long time fan of Doctor Who - I started watching Jon Pertwee in the 1970s when I was very little, and I've loved it ever since, old series and new. The Daleks are a brilliant creation, scary and iconic, and I just had to crochet them. I made three a few years back, two for swaps and one for a present, but I never made any for myself. With the new season of Doctor Who just starting (and with the first episode featuring a selection of different types of Daleks) I knew I had to make them again.

I tweaked my original pattern a bit and came up with a design I'm really happy with. It's quite fiddly to make, but it has most of the essential details. I've made a classic grey and black Dalek from the 1970s and a bronze and gold one from the new series. However fearsome the real Daleks are, when they're reduced to 7 inches tall and made of yarn, they're suddenly much more cute and cuddly, and fun to play with. One of mine found a wig I'd made for something else and decided he'd look good in it. I can't decide if he looks like Boris Johnson or if it's one of Captain Kirk's!

The pattern is free - make as many Daleks as you like for yourself, friends or family, but please don't sell them. You can download the PDF from Craftster or Ravelry

Utini! It's a new Jawa pattern!

I've just finished my latest Star Wars pattern: Jawas, those cheeky little scavengers. They're only 3.5" tall but they're already causing trouble - they've stolen R2-D2 and now they're attempting to sell him back to me!

They're quite a simple design, though it wasn't easy come up with the right kind of eyes. They should be a glowing orange or yellow colour, but my skills don't extend to electronics so I stuck to orange safety eyes. I did think about using sequins, or some other shiny material, but I wanted them to match my other Star Wars amigurumis. To make the slightly transparent eyes show up a bit better I painted the backs with a pale colour enamel paint (I think acrylic might be safer with children, but I used what I had, and my children are too big to chew things now!). In real life they are a bright orange, but it's hard to capture that in a photo.

The pattern to make the Jawas is now available in my shop

Mini Crochet Creatures - Tiny Two-tone Turtle

These tiny turtles are great to use up scraps of yarn, and can easily be made as keychains. Using two colours and spike stitch makes a really pretty design on the shell. Why not make lots of them! For general instructions and abbreviations, please check this earlier post

Tiny Two-tone Turtle



You will need:
Small amounts of yarn: two colours for the shell (C1 and C2) and light brown for the body.
Black yarn for eyes and mouth.
Small amount of stuffing.
Small split ring approx 1" (2cm) diameter.
3.5mm (E) hook.

Special stitch instructions:

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

Spike stitch (spike st): instead of working the sc into the top of the stitch in the previous round, work it right over that stitch and into the stitch from the round before.

Start using C1.

Round 1: Ch 2, work 6 sc into 1^st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around - 12 st.
Change to C2.
Round 3: [2 sc in next st, spike st over next st] 6 times – 18 st.
Round 4: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 st] 3 times – 21 st.
Change to C1.
Round 5: [Sc in next 2 st, spike st over next st] 7 times - 21 st.
Change to light brown yarn.
Round 6: Work in BLO for whole round: Sc in next 2 st, (*tail: ss in next st, ch 2, ss in 2nd ch from hook, ss back into original st), sc in next 2 st, 3 dc pop in next st, sc in next 3 st, 3 dc pop in next st, sc in next 2 st, [head: 3 dc in each of next 2 st, take hook out leaving loop, put hook through 1st dc & pull loop through], sc in next 2 st, 3 dc pop in next st, sc in next 3 st, 3 dc pop in next st - 20 st.
Round 7: Sc in each st around - 20 st.
Round 8: [Sc2tog] 10 times – 10 st.
Round 9: [Sc2tog] 5 times – 5 st. FO, leaving a length of yarn.

(*To make tail with split ring attached: ss in next st, ch 3, put split ring onto hook, ss over split ring in 2nd ch from hook and pull split ring over the end of the hook. Ss into next ch, ss back into original st.) Continue with round 6.

Use black yarn to sew eyes and a tiny mouth on the turtle's head, stuff and use length of brown yarn to sew up hole at bottom.

Mini Crochet Creatures - Baby Octopuses

Using any colour of yarn you like, make these cute baby octopuses. Choose between one with long wiggly legs, or one with short stubby little legs. For general instructions and abbreviations, please check the previous post.

Baby Octopuses

You will need:
Small amount of yarn, any colour you like.
Small safety eyes, buttons, or yarn for eyes.
Small amount of stuffing.
3.5mm (E) hook.

Special stitch instructions:
6 dc pop: popcorn stitch for short legs. Work 6 dc into 1 st, take hook out leaving loop, put hook through 1st dc & pull loop through.

Round 1: Ch 2, work 6 sc into 1^st 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: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 6 times – 24 st.
Round 5 - 8: (4 rounds) Sc in each st around - 24 st.
Round 9: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 8 times – 16 st.

To make an octopus with long legs, follow the rest of the instructions for rounds 10 to 13 here:

Round 10: Work in FLO for whole round [Ss into next st, ch 9, miss ch next to hook, sc into next 8 ch, ss back into original st, sc into next st] 8 times - 16 st.

Fit eyes now if using safety eyes, and start to stuff.

Round 11: Sc in each of the back loops left from the previous round - 16 st.
Round 12: [Sc2tog, sc in next 2 sc] 4 times – 12 sc.
Round 13: [Sc2tog] 6 times – 6 sc. FO, leaving a length of yarn.

To make an octopus with short legs, follow the rest of the instructions for rounds 10 to 12 here:

Round 10: [6 dc pop in next st, sc in next st] 8 times - 16 st.

Fit eyes now if using safety eyes, and start to stuff.

Round 11: [Sc2tog, sc in next 2 st] 4 times – 12 st.

Round 12: [Sc2tog] 6 times – 6 st. FO, leaving a length of yarn.

Both variations: Finish stuffing. If you aren't using safety eyes, sew on or embroider eyes now. Use length of yarn to sew up hole at bottom.

Mini Crochet Creatures - Wee Sheepie

Happy Easter! I've just written up a few patterns to make some tiny little crochet animals - a little sheep, a tiny turtle, and two versions of a baby octopus. Below are a list of abbreviations and some general instructions that will help with all the patterns, and then the pattern to make a Wee Sheepie. I'll put the patterns for the other animals in the following posts.

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)
hdc = half double crochet (US), half treble crochet (UK)
BLO = back loop only
FLO = front loop only
tog = together
sc2tog = decrease by working two sc together
FO = fasten off

General instructions:
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 1^st 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.

 

Wee Sheepie

You will need:

Small amount of cream yarn.

Small amount of black yarn.

Small amount of stuffing.

3.5mm (E) hook.

Special stitch instructions:

4 dc pop: popcorn stitch for ears and legs. Work 4 dc into 1 st, take hook out leaving loop, put hook through 1st dc & pull loop through.

Start using black yarn.

Round 1: Ch 2, work 6 sc into 1^st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 3 times – 9 st.

Round 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 3 times – 12 st.

Round 4: Sc in each st around - 12 st.

Round 5: Sc in next 4 st, 4 dc pop in next st, sc in next 3 st, 4 dc pop in next st, sc in next 3 st – 12 st.

Round 6: [Sc2tog, sc in next 2 st] 3 times – 9 st.

Change to cream yarn.

Round 7: 2 sc in each st around - 18 st.

Round 8: Sc in each st around - 18 st.

Change to black yarn.

Round 9: 4 dc pop in next st, (change to cream yarn) sc in next 2 st, (black) 4 dc pop in next st, (cream) sc in next 14 st – 18 st.

Round 10 - 11: (2 rounds) Sc in each st around - 18 st.

Round 12: Sc in next st, (black) 4 dc pop in next st, (cream) sc in next 2 st, (black) 4 dc pop in next st, (cream) sc in next 13 st – 18 st.

Round 13: Sc in each st around - 18 st.

Round 14: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 6 times – 12 st.

Round 15: [Sc2tog] 6 times – 6 st.

FO, leaving lengths of black and cream yarn.

Embroider the eyes making patches using cream yarn with a dot of black yarn on top. Stuff and use length of cream yarn to sew up hole at bottom.

A Tower of Tooterphants!

Tooterphants are friendly little creatures, similar in shape to elephants, if not in size. However, they have wide trumpet-shaped trunks that they use to make tooting noises to communicate with one another. They also use their trunks, or tooters, to suck up their food - should you want to attract one, leave a trail of interesting treats such as raisins and they may follow it. They live in groups, and enjoy acrobatic games where they climb on top of each other to form a tower of Tooterphants - luckily their rounded shape makes them bouncy, so they don't mind when they fall down.

These cute creatures are based on patterns I'd made in the past - several years ago I made an Eater of Socks for a swap, based on the description of a creature that appears briefly in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather. Given that it eats odd socks, I gave it a wide trunk/snout to suck them up, and made its legs striped like socks to act as camouflage. Then, a few years later, I made a Sky Elephant, using the previous pattern as a base, but making it bigger. The Sky Elephant was made from blue and white variegated yarn and had fluffly cloud-like ears.

So, I went back and revisited these patterns. I had some nice self-striping yarn that I wanted to try out (King Cole Splash DK), and I thought these would be the perfect patterns to use to show off all the colours nicely. I made a few minor changes, but I liked the patterns pretty much as they were. They have a nice compact shape and sweet faces, and I think they would make good toys for young children because they have a lot of bits to grab hold of. The pattern, which has all the details to make both sizes, is now available in my Etsy shop.

Little Eggie Amigurumi Pattern

Perfect for Easter - make a cute little Eggie friend. He's about the same size as a hen's egg - use light brown or white yarn if you want him to look like one, or bright yarn if you want him to look like a decorated Easter egg.

Materials:
Small amount of yarn, any colour you like. Thickness is not too important - I used double knitting (dk) but a bit thicker would be fine too.
Black yarn to embroider the mouth.
One pair 6mm safety eyes.
3.5mm hook (US E hook).
Stuffing.
Tapestry needle.

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)
ss = slip stitch
tog = together
sc2tog = decrease by working two sc together
FO = fasten off

Special stitch instructions:
3 dc bob: bobble stitch for hands and feet. YOH (yarn over hook), insert hook into second ch from hook, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, *YOH, insert hook into same stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, repeat once from*, YOH, pull through all 4 loops on hook.

Little Eggie is made in rounds. Do not join rounds, 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.

Round 1: Ch 2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around - 12 st.
Round 3: [2sc in next st, sc in next 3 st] 3 times – 15 st.
Round 4: [2sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 5 times – 20 st.
Round 5 – 6: (2 rounds) Sc in each st around – 20 st.
Round 7: [2sc in next st, sc in next 3 st] 5 times – 25 st.
Round 8 – 10: (3 rounds) Sc in each st around – 25 st.
Round 11: Sc in next 6 st, [make arm: ss into next st, ch 7, 3 dc bob into 2nd ch from hook, ss into next 5 ch, ss back into original st], sc in next 11 st, [make arm as before], sc in next 6 st - 25 st.
Round 12: Sc in each st around – 25 st (you sc into the first ss used to make each arm).

Fit eyes between rounds 9 and 10.

Round 13 – 15: (3 rounds) Sc in each st around – 25 st.
Round 16: [Sc2tog, sc in next 3 st] 5 times – 20 st.
Round 17: Sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, [make leg using the same method as the arm], sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, [make leg], sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 st – 15 st.

Stuff Eggie and embroider mouth.

Round 18: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 5 times – 10 st.
Round 19: [Sc2tog] 5 times – 5 sc. FO.

Complete stuffing and sew up hole neatly.

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.

Free Pattern: Tiny Rabbit Amigurumi

Here's a simple little pattern to crochet a tiny rabbit, about 2" long. You crochet the ears and the feet as you go along, so the only sewing is for the features and the tail.

Tiny Rabbit Amigurumi

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
FO = fasten off

General instructions:

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.

You will need:

Small amount of light brown yarn.
Small amount of white yarn.

Black yarn for features.

Small amount of stuffing.
3.5mm (E) hook.

Special stitch instructions:
4 dc pop: popcorn stitch for legs. Work 4 dc into 1 st, take hook out leaving loop, put hook through 1st dc & pull loop through.

Body:
Start at nose using light brown yarn.
Round 1: Ch2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 2 times – 8 st.
Round 3: Sc in each st around - 8 st.
Round 4: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 4 times – 12 st.
Round 5: Sc in next 4 st, [ear: ss in next st, ch 6, sc into 2nd ch from hook, dc in next 3 ch, sc in next ch, ss back into original st], sc in next 2 st, [ear: as before], sc in next 4 st – 12 st.
Round 6: Sc in each st around (work into the first ss of the ears, not the second) - 12 st.
Round 7: Sc in next 4 st, [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 3 times, sc in next 2 st – 15 st.
Round 8: Sc in next 4 st, [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 3 times, sc in next 2 st – 18 st.
Round 9: 4 dc pop in next st, sc in next st, 4 dc pop in next st, sc in next 15 st – 18 st.
Round 10 - 11: (2 rounds) Sc in each st around - 18 st.
Round 12: Sc in next 17 st, 4 dc pop in next st – 18 st.
Round 13: Sc in next 4 st, 4 dc pop in next st, sc in next 13 st – 18 st.
Round 14: Sc in each st around - 18 st.
Round 15: [Sc2tog, sc in next st] 6 times – 12 st.

Round 16: [Sc2tog] 6 times – 6 st.

FO, leaving a length of yarn.

Use black yarn to sew eyes, nose and mouth, stuff and use length of light brown yarn to sew up hole at bottom.

Tail:

Using white yarn.

Ch 3, work 6 dc into 1st ch, join to first dc with ss. FO leaving a length of yarn and sew to bottom. Use the length of white yarn to sew front teeth if you wish.

Star Wars Mini Amigurumi

Well, I've finally done it! I've designed all my Star Wars amigurumi to my satisfaction, written up the patterns, photographed them, put the patterns together and put them all on Etsy!

I've been working on these little Star Wars guys on and off for a couple of years. Partly inspired by my and my children's love of Star Wars, and the way Star Wars Lego looks so cute, I realised that I wanted to crochet mini versions of all my favourite characters. It's taken so long because of wanting to keep them stylistically similar even though the characters are very varied. I also wanted them to be different sizes, so that Leia is taller than R2-D2, and Vader is taller than Han, for example, but not perfectly proportionally, or Chewie ends up being too tall. As it is, Yoda is 2.5" tall and Chewbacca is 4.5" tall, with the rest fitting in between them.

I made Yoda first, he's pretty simple and easily identifiable, then Leia (my favourite character, the one I identify with) whose iconic hairstyle is perfectly suited to be reproduced in crochet. Neither of these two had legs, Yoda with his robe and Leia her dress, so when it came to most of the other characters I wasn't sure how to make them. I knew I wanted them to have big feet, and to stand up easily, and so I made them without separate legs, but simply defined them with yarn afterwards, a solution which I'm really happy with.

Some of them took longer than others to perfect. I wasn't sure if C-3PO would work, but I was happy with him straight away. Vader, on the other hand, I just couldn't get right. His head, his face mask, how much detail to give him. Since his costume is almost entirely black it's very hard to define any details. I made him several times with a flat triangular mask and it wasn't until I made it more three-dimensional that I was satisfied.

The Ewok was tough, too. I made him in a completely different way with his hood as part of his head, which I thought I liked, but when I came to write the pattern up it just seemed too unnecessarily complicated. since I'd just been making my crocheted cork knights I realised I could use a similar technique to make a simple separate hood, which I much preferred.

Apart from fine-tuning his height, I liked my Chewbacca, which I made with an alpaca mix yarn then brushed, but I realised that finding that particular type of yarn might be difficult. So I also made him using a normal smooth acrylic yarn that had various different browns in it and which brushed up just as nicely with a wire pet brush.

Anyway, I'm very happy with the finished patterns. If they prove to be popular I'll have to work on some more characters - I think I'll do Boba Fett and Obi Wan next. If you want to see more photos, check out my Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/96575205@N00/), and if you'd like to buy any of the patterns just go to my Etsy shop (http://www.lucyravenscar.etsy.com/).