söndag 26 april 2015

Manaphy amigurumi pattern


As promised, the Manaphy pattern! And yes, she is significantly simpler than Abra. The reason she has no mouth is simply because all of the mouths I tried made her look really awkward and kind of like a diva, so I resolved to simply skip it entierly. I didn't have any pink yarn or I might have crocheted one. ;)

I usually make it a policy to only use a single yarn type through the entire pattern, both for aesthetics and functionality. If i use a single type, that means it can be used with any type as long as the same type is used throughout and the hook is the appropriate size. In this case, however, I had to make an exception. The yarn I used for the main body was simply too soft not to use, but it was both too thick to achieve proper detail and only available in a very limited colour palette. Also, it was hell to sew with. Thus, I will split this pattern into two sections, one for each hook size and thus corresponding yarn thickness. 

Now, instead of crocheting the details, you can simply cut the shapes in felt and glue them on. I didn't, as I didn't have the right felt colours at home at the time, so I'm giving you the option to do the same. ;)

Yarn colours used in this pattern:

Light Blue, fluffy, 4.00 mm
Yellow, 2.00 mm
Red, 2.00 mm

also some black, for embroidering


4.00 mm/American size G/English size 8 hook

Head & Body (make 1):
1: 6 in mc
2: 6inc (12)
3: [sc, inc] x6 (18)
4: [2sc, inc] x6 (24)
5: [3sc, inc] x6 (30)
6: [4sc, inc] x6 (36)
7: [5sc, inc] x6 (42)
8: [6sc, inc] x6 (48)
9: [7sc, inc] x6 (54)
10-13: sc around
14: [7sc, dec] x6 (48)
15: [6sc, dec] x6 (42)
16: [5sc, dec] x6 (36)
17: [4sc, dec] x6 (30)
18: [3sc, dec] x6 (24)
19: [2sc, dec] x6 (18)
20: [sc, dec] x6 (12)
stuff head
21: [sc, inc] x6, front loops only (18)
22: [2sc, inc] x6 (24)
23-25: sc around
26: [2sc, dec] x6 (18)
27: [sc, dec] x6 (12)
stuff body
28: 6dec (6)
fasten off, tighten

Feet (make 2):
1: 6sc in mc
2: [sc, inc] x3 (9)
3: sc around
fasten off, leave tail

Arms (make 2):
1: 6sc in mc (6)
2: sc, inc3, 2sc, inc3, sc (10)
Important: Inc3 does not mean three increases, but an increase with the intensity 3, i.e. thrre sc in one hoop as opposed to the normal two.
3: 7sc, inc3, 2sc (12)
4: sc around
5: 8sc, inc3, 3sc (14)
6-7: sc around
8: 9sc, dec, 3sc (13)
9: 8sc, dec, 3sc (12)
10: 8sc, dec, 2sc (11)
11: 8sc, dec, sc (10)
12: 8sc, dec (9)
13: 7sc, dec (8)
sc, fasten off. Leave tail.


Antennae (make 2):
1: 6sc in mc (6)
2: 6inc (12)
3: [3sc, inc]x3 (15)
4: sc around (15)
5: [3sc, inc]x3 (12)
6: 6dec (6)
7: sc around, front loops only (6)
8-10: sc around (6)
11: inc, sc5 (7)
12-14: sc around (7)
15: inc, sc6 (8)
16-18: sc around (8)
19: inc, sc7 (9)
20-22: sc around (9)
23: dec sc7 (8)
24-26: sc around (8)
27: dec sc6 (7)
28-30: sc around (7)
31: dec, sc5 (6)
32-34: sc around (6)
35: dec, sc4 (5)
36-37: sc around (5)
fasten off. Leave tail

2.00 mm/ American size G, English size 14 hook
(You can skip this part and make these details in felt if you prefer)

Yellow spots, big (make 2)
1: 8sc in mc (8)
2: 8inc (16)
3: [sc, inc]x8 (24)
fasten off

Yellow spots, small (make 2)
1: 8sc in mc (8)
2: 8inc (16)
fasten off

Tiny yellow spot (make 1)
1: 6sc in mc
fasten off

Red jewel (make 1)
1: 4ch, turn, [2sc, inc3]x2
fasten off


Now for the assembling process. This should be fairly simple. Make sure that all the parts are properly stuffed and position them with pins to make sure that they end up right where you want them. Sewing in crocheted material can be tricky. 



Start with the blue parts. As this pattern is smaller and less complex than the Abra pattern, the order in which you do things matters less. Just make sure they're all positioned right. 

This picture just shows the parts arranged on a table. The antennae should be sewn on right at the top of the head.


Now, whether you crochet the details or not, the positioning of them is both tricky and important. Do use this picture (or maybe a picture of manaphy from the games) as a reference for the positioning. The larger yellow dots should be the innermost ones and the tiny yellow dot goes below the red jewel.

Manaphy tends to be very expressive. The way I did the eyes was simply because embroidering in crocheted cloth is hell and I didn't have any felt in the right colours. I advise you to use felt, reference pictures and your imagination here. It'll probably get you a better result than mine. ;)

måndag 6 april 2015

Abra amigurumi pattern






I was looking around the net for a decent Abra pattern the other day, Abra being among my absolute favourite Pokémon designs. Turns out, I couldn't find a single decent one. So, I decided that maybe it was time to start making my own patterns. It turned out pretty sweet, so I decided to share it to whoever wants to have it. If anyone happens to stumble upon this, I do hope you enjoy it.

This pattern is not for beginners, or at least not for people who can't follow my thought pattern, due to the multitude of parts and rather complex feet pattern. Medium to advanced skill level is recommended.

This pattern uses continuous rounds, so no closing your rounds! ;P

Personally, I'm using Miniacryl acrylic yarn and a 2 mm hook (That a B for Americans and a number 14 hook in the UK) for the little one, but as long as your yarn type and thickness is consistent, any yarn fibre or thickness should be fine, as long as you use the corresponding hook size. The hook should have approximately the same thickness as your yarn. Cotton yarn tends to be the easiest to handle, but yields a more stale, less plushy-like result.

I use plastic pellets as filling where additional weight is desired, here in the hands, feet and lower body, and regular polyester fibre fill for the rest. Stuff firmly unless otherwise instructed. The pattern itself will give most of the shape, so no need to be too meticulous in your filling methods. Just fill it firmly and evenly.

The yarn colours required for this pattern are:
Yellow
Beige/lighter yellow
Brown

The beige yarn is optional. In my prototype (that's the little one), I used the normal yellow on the entire head, and that turned out pretty well too.

For my own, alternative colour-palette, blue, really large Abra that I use for the tutorial pictures (because of the size. It makes the details clearer), I used a 6.00 mm hook and very thick acrylic yarn of colours Petrol-blue and Black. The cues for this alternate palette will be in parentheses.
Why did I use blue and black? Well... there was this new yarn I found that looked just awesome and I just got an urge to make an amigurumi of it because large 'gurumis are awesome, but the colour options were very limited, so... I just picked the best-looking ones. How much yarn did it take? Fifteen entire balls. My wallet weeps...

The regular one only took one and a half ball. ;)

Stitches used in this pattern:
Single crochet
Slip stitch
Increase
Decrease
Half double crochet
and a few custom-stitches I will have brief tutorials for as they appear.


Head (make 1, start with beige(black) yarn)
1: 8 sc in magic ring (8)
2: [sc,inc] x4 (12)
3: sc around (12) (The nose can get a little pointy. If you want it to be less so, skip this round)
4: [2 sc, inc] x4, (16)
switch to yellow(blue)
5: 7sc, inc3*, 3sc, inc, 3sc, inc3 (21)
Gonna use this inc3 a lot here. This does not mean three increases, but rather three sc in one hoop, instead of the normal two.
6: 8sc, inc3, 5sc, inc, 4sc, inc3, sc (26)
7: 9sc, inc3, 6sc, inc, 6sc, inc3, 2sc (31)
8: 10sc, inc3, 8sc, inc, 7sc, inc3, 3sc (36)
9: 11sc, inc3, 9sc, inc, 9sc, inc3, 4sc (41)
10: 12sc, inc3, 22sc, inc3, 5sc (45)
11-13: sc around (45)
14: 13sc, dec, 23sc, dec,5sc (43)
15: 25sc, dec, 16sc (42)
16: 13sc, dec, 21sc, dec, 4sc (40)
17: 13sc, dec, 9sc, dec, 9sc, dec, 3sc (37)
18: 12sc, dec, 8sc, dec, 8sc, dec, 3sc (34)
19: 4sc, dec, 5sc, dec, [8sc, dec]x2, sc (30)
20: 4sc, dec, 5sc, dec, [6sc, dec]x2, sc (26)
21: [4sc, dec]x2, [5sc, dec]x2 (22)
22: 2sc, dec, sc, dec, [2sc, dec] x2, sc, dec, 2sc, dec (16)
23: dec around (8)
24: 3dec
Fasten off. Tighten.


Ear (make 2 in yellow(black) yarn)
1: 4 sc in Magic Ring (4)
2: inc around (8)
3: [sc, inc] x4 (12)
4: [2 sc, inc] x4 (16)
5: [3 sc, inc] x4 (20)
6: [4 sc, inc] x4 (24)
7: [5 sc, inc] x4 (28)
8: [6 sc, inc] x4 (32)
9: sc around (32)
Fasten off


Body (make 1, start with yellow(blue) yarn)
1: 6 sc in magic ring (6)
2: inc around (12)
3: [sc, inc] x6 (18)
4: [2 sc, inc] x6 (24)
5: [3 sc, inc] x6 (30)
6: [4 sc, inc] x6 (36)
7-14: sc around (36)
15: [10 sc, dec] x3 (33)
16: sc, ch, turn, 20 sc
switch to brown(black), ch, turn.
17: 20sc, hdc, 11sc, hdc(33) *
18-19: sc around (33)
20: [dec, 9sc] x3 (30)
21: [dec, 8sc] x3 (27)
22: [dec, 7sc] x3 (24)
23: 15sc, turn
24: 15sc, turn
25: 3ss, 9sc, 3ss
26: hdc, 7sc, hdc, 15sc (24)
fasten off
As you may have noticed, this pattern goes back and forth a bit during rounds 16 and 17, making a bit of a stair-like section. This will not be the only time this technique is used in this pattern, just the first. It should look something like this 













And the gap is smoothed out afterwards with a half-double crochet like this 






Which should then look something like this 












Arm (make 2 in yellow yarn(start with black))
1: 6 sc in Magic ring (6)
2: inc around (12)
3: [sc, inc] x6 (18)
4: [2 sc, inc] x6 (24)
5: [7 sc, inc, 3 sc, inc] x2 (28)
6-7: sc around (28)
8: 10 sc, dec, 12 sc, dec, 2 sc (26)
9: sc around (26)
10: 9 sc, dec, 11 sc, dec, 2 sc (24)
11: sc around (24)
12: 9 sc, dec, 10 sc, dec, 1sc (22)
13: sc around (22)
14: [9 sc, dec] x2 (20)
15: sc around (20)
16: [inc, 9 sc] x2 (22)
17: sc around (22)
18: [inc, 10 sc]x2 (24)
19: sc around (24)
20: [2 sc, dec] x6 in back loops only (18)
Start stuffing. If you're using plastic pellets, fill it up to about round 13-15, then fill the rest of the hand with fibre fill. The hand should be stuffed firmly. The upper arm less so, especially around the elbow, to allow for easier movement.
(change to blue)
21: [sc, dec] x6 (12)
22: sc around in front loops only (12)
23-31: sc around (12)
fasten off


Finger (make 6 in yellow(black) yarn)
1: 4sc in magic ring (4)
2: inc, 3sc (5)
3: inc, 4sc (6)
4: inc, 5sc (7)
5: inc, 6sc (8)
6: inc, 7sc (9)
7: sc around (9)
NOTE: I made the side fingers shorter on the little one, stopping after round 6, thus making 4 short and 2 long. Making them all of the same length looks fine too. It's a matter of preference.


Shoulder pad (make 2 in brown(black) yarn)
1: 20 ch, turn, 19 sc, ch, turn (19)
2: 19 sc, ch, turn (19)
3: [5sc, dec]x2, 5sc (17)
4: 5 sc, dec, 3 sc, dec, 5 sc (15)
5: 4 sc, dec, 3 sc, dec, 4 sc (13)
6: [sc, dec]x4, sc (9)
7: 2 dec, sc, 2 dec (5)
fasten off, tighten the last row together by sewing the end tail back and forth between the stitches.


Tail (make one, start with yellow(blue) yarn)
1: 4sc in magic ring (4)
2: inc, 3sc (5)
3: sc, inc, 3sc (6)
4: 2sc, inc, 3sc (7)
5: 3sc, inc, 3sc (8)
6: 3sc, inc, 4sc (9)
7: 4sc, inc, 4sc (10)
8: 5sc, inc, 4sc (11)
9: 6sc, inc, 4sc (12)
10: 7sc, inc, 4sc (13)
11: 7sc, inc, 5sc (14)
switch to brown(black)
12: 8sc, inc, 5sc (15)
13: 9sc, inc, 5sc (16)
switch to yellow(blue)
14-15: sc, dec, 7sc, inc, 5sc (16)
16: 9sc, inc, 6sc (17)
17-18: sc, dec, 7sc, inc, 6sc (17)
19: 10sc, inc, 6sc (18)
20-21: sc, dec, 8sc, inc, 6sc (18)
22: 10sc, inc, 7sc (19)
23-24: sc, dec, 8sc, inc, 7sc (19)
25: 11sc, inc, 7sc (20)
26-27: sc, dec, 9sc, inc, 7sc (20)
28: 11sc, inc, 8sc (21)
29-30: sc, dec, 9sc, inc, 8sc (21)
31: 12sc, inc, 8sc (22)
32-33: sc, dec, 10sc, inc, 8sc (22)
34: 12sc, inc, 9sc (23)
35-36: sc, dec, 10sc, inc, 9sc (23)
37: 13sc, inc, 9sc (24)
38-39: sc, dec, 11sc, inc, 9sc (24)
Here starts another stairs-y bit. This is so that the angle of the tail won't look all messed up when it's sewn onto the body.
40: 11sc, turn
41: 18sc, turn
42: 15sc, turn
43: 12sc, turn
44: 9sc, turn
45: 6sc 
Fasten off
Yes, the tail should be twisting gently. That is intentional. It looks more alive that way. :)


Foot (make 2 in yellow(black) yarn) (Lots of visuals here. Hopefully, it'll help, rather than confuse...)
1: 5sc in magic ring (5)
2: inc, 4sc (6)
3: sc, inc, 4sc (7)
4: 2sc, inc, 4sc (8)
5: 3sc, inc, 4sc (9)
6: 4sc, inc, 4sc (10)
7: 4sc, inc, 5sc (11)
8-9: 4sc, 3ss, 4sc (11)
10a: 4sc, fasten off
repeat rounds 1 through 9.
10b: 8sc, ch3, resume where you fastened off at round 10a, 11sc, 3hdc, sc3 (28)
This bit is a bit tricky if you haven't done something similar before, so I shall provide some visuals. The toes should be joined together like this about mid-round:







and by the end of the round you should have a proper bridge, like this: 











Then you can continue on as normal. ;) (I know, the lighting in my room is a bit weird...)
WARNING: It is VERY easy to miss a stitch or two during this maneuver, so be sure to double-check your stitch count!
11-13: sc around (28)
14: 2sc, dec, 12sc, dec,10sc (26)
15: sc around (26)
16: 2sc, dec, 11sc, dec, 9sc (24)
17: sc around (24)
18: 2sc, dec, 10sc, dec, 8sc (22)
19: sc, dec, 9sc, dec, 8sc (20)
20: sc, dec, 8sc, dec, 7sc (18)
21: sc, dec, 7sc, dec, 6sc (16)
Here, we begin another stairs-y bit.
22: 3sc, ch, turn
23: 10sc, ch, turn
24: 8sc, ch, turn
25: 6sc, ch, turn
Which should look something like this:







Which is smoothed out in the following row:
26: 2sc, dec, 2sc, hdc, sc, hdc, sc, dec, sc, hdc (14)
Which should look something like this











It's a heel! ;)
Now, continue on as normal
27: 2sc, dec, 5sc, dec, 3sc (12)
28: sc, dec, 4sc, dec, 3sc (10)
29: sc, dec, 3sc, dec, 2sc (8)
30: sc, dec, 2sc, dec, sc (6)
31: sc around. 
Fasten off. Tighten.


Leg(make 2 in yellow(start with black) yarn)
(starting at the ankle. a loop-y-loop)







1: 15ch, 15sc, starting at the first ch. (15)
2: inc, 14sc (16)
3: sc, inc, 14sc (17)
4: 2sc, inc, 14sc (18)
5: 3sc, inc, 14sc (19)
6: 3sc, inc, 15sc (20)
7: 4sc, inc, 15sc (21)
8: 5sc, inc, 15sc (22)
9: 3sc, inc, 3sc, inc, 14sc (24)
10: 6sc, inc, 17sc (25)
11: 7sc, inc, 17sc (26)
12-15: sc around (26)
16: 8sc, inc3*, 16sc (28)
Inc3 again here. remember, not three incs, but rather three sc in one hoop.
Important! Round 16 ends one stitch early. Move the marker to this new spot
17: [dec, 2sc]x2, sharpcluster*, [2sc, dc]x2, 2sc, dec3*, 2sc, all in back loops only (18) (switch to blue)
First, the dec3-stitch is like the inc3 in reverse. Just pick up three hoops rather than the normal two. 
Now the so-called sharpcluster is a custom maneuver of mine. Hopefully, I can explain it properly with, again, some visuals.
Start with picking up two hoops, as if you were to make a decrease












Now, loop the yarn once around the hook, as if you were about to make a double-crochet











And keep going with the double-crochet until you're at this point here:
Now, start making another decrease. it should look like this:
Lotsa hoops. Now, bring the thread through ALL of those hoops at once.
Poof. Done. Make sure to tighten the yarn firmly. After a few single stitches, it should come together into something like this
I hope that got across well enough ;)
Now, to continue with this leg
18: [sc, dec]x6 (12)
(switch to blue)
19: sc around, front loops only (12)
20-25: sc around (12)
26: [inc, 5sc]x2 (14)
27: sc, inc, 6sc, inc, 5sc (16)
28-30: sc around (16)
31: 2sc, dec, 6sc, dec, 4sc (14)
32: 2sc, dec, 5sc, dec, 3sc (12)
33: 6dec 
fasten off.



Now, to assemble this little critter.

Here we have all of the pieces, laid down before us. Start with assembling the arms and legs. First sew the feet to the legs, like this 



 Make sure that the ankle connects right at the bend, like this, otherwise the foot will look awkward

Next, sew the fingers onto the hands, like this. Use pins to temporarily position them first, to really get the positioning right.


The way I do it, Abra gets abit of a palm, so from the side, it looks like this


Next, sew the tail to the body. It should be at about this angle, so that Abra will be leaning back a bit.


Now, I like to have all the large bits assembled first, to better get a picture of the whole, sooner. So, next you should sew the ears to the head. Using pins is STRONGLY recommended. Embroidering the eyes now is also recommended. Less bits getting in the way, that way. 

Now that all of the big bits are assembled, start from the bottom and work your way up. Less things getting in the way, that way. So, start with the legs, like this.

Now, you may notice a slight issue with the body here on the side 

 Let's zoom in
There. Big gap. Not pretty, is it? This is VERY hard to avoid. I recommend sewing this shut when sewing on either the arms or the shoulderpads.  

Either way, next comes the arms.


Like that. Again, use pins for better positioning. 
Now, I did forget to take any pics of applying the shoulder pads. Sorry about that. They should go right where arm meets body. Sew them onto the body, not the arm. Make sure they don't get too high up; leave a small gap between them and the head, else Abra will end up looking hunched and tense.

Finally, just apply the head, and your abra is done! 





So! That was my first ever crochet pattern. Hopefully, that was coherent enough to understand. If this confuses you at all, please do not hesitate to ask. I will do my best to explain it better. ;)

Next up: Manaphy

It's a simpler one, promise.