The Grounded Groundhog

Groundhogs are usually not very serious animals. Well this one is - how so? Find out at the end of the article!

Here's how you crochet it:

1 ball of fluffy brownish / beige wool
1 crocheting needle
a black yarn
a beige yarn

Body

Begin by tying a slip knot. Make sure not to close the knot completely and close the sling with a sling crochet. Cover the result, a ring, with 5 single crochets (SC) into the hole. When you are done, make sure to draw the loose string tight so that no hole remains. Increase the number of crochets in the next row by doubling them in each previous crochet (=10 crochets). Row three is continued with one single crochet and one doubled crochet per previous crochet in turns (=15 crochets), row four with two crochets per previous two crochets and a doubled crochet per previous crochet in turns (=20 crochets) and row five with a 3 per 3, double per one pattern (=25 crochets).

Continue with 25 crochets per round for the next 10-20 rounds. Then decrease accordingly and do not forget to stuff the ball that you create with batting. 

Head

Start by crocheting a disc. Complete the first round and second round, then slowly decrease in the next round for the snout. Continue normally for two more rounds, then sew the mouth shut. Sew on the eyes in black and the snout in beige. Sew the head onto the body.

Feet (2x)

Start by crocheting a disc. Complete the first round and second round, then slowly decrease in the next rounds until you have have two thumb-sized balls. Sew the feet onto the body.

Arms (2x)

The arms can be done more easily. You start with a simple row of 4-6 stitches, depending on the size of the body. Decrease in the following rounds until you have an edged tip. Sew both parts onto the body.

Tail

Start with a row of two stiches. Continue in rounds until you have a long, flat shape. Sew this onto the body. 

By flexing the tail and pushing it downwards in the middle, you stabilise the groundhog and it can sit up. It is thus grounded (as in sitting on the floor). 

A head of rose(s)

This blog is a zoo, but the flora deserves to have a shot, too. This week I was inspired to make a headpiece. The result is this rose, that you wrap around your head asymmetrically (notice the shorter thread on one side). Alternatively, you can wear it around your neck, where it makes a pretty "Trachtenschmuck".

Thread

The thread is basically a string of crochets. Make sure to sew the loose end into the tread so that they don't stick out.

Rose

This flower consits of three layers of continued round. You can diversify how much you want to in the design, but you need to make the bottom one the largest and so on.

Your enthusiastic crocheter,
Fran

The Freeborn, Lovelorn, Forlorn Unicorn

It's magic time!!!! May I present the one and only unicorn?

Horse-shaped animals are actually really difficult to do. For starters, you have 7 pieces that you need to sew together. Moreover, the mane and tail have to be woven into the these pieces. And last but not least, you will have to make sure that all is well-proportioned. Huh.... Let's break it down.

The body is oval-shaped and quite easy to finish in comparison. The legs are simply made of a ring of 5 crochets until they are long enough. The head is oval-shaped, as well, only much smaller. It is the neck that poses that challenge!

For the neck, you will need to start with a fairly long row of crochets and then slowly decrease until you have a form looking like this:

 

By sewing it together at opposite ends, you create a tube - the neck! If necessary, you can get the neck into form with additional strings that you pull through it and knot at either side. 

The finishing touches consits of the attachment of the mane and tail and the design of the snout. For that, you pull ca. 5-8 strings through the rear and neck and knot them together. Then, fizz out the strings by pulling a needle through them. By being "fizzy", the strings widen and thus a dissolution of the knots are prevented. The snout can simply be stitched on and the eyes glued on.

Fell the magic yet? The Freeborn, Lovelorn, Forlorn Unicorn certainly does....

Guinea Pig

What you need:

1 ball of effect yarn (the "fluffy" kind), preferrably in beige or light brown
1 ball of beige wool
2 plastic eyes
a black thread for the snout
1 crocheting needle

The guinea pig is probably one of the easiest stuffed animals you will crochet. Why? All you need to do is produce an oval-shaped body, the ears and feet and that's it basically. Here's how you do it:

Body
Start by crocheting a disc (as shown in previous tutorials) and increase round by round until you arrive at a satisfying size. Then continue to crochet without increasing or decreasing until you have a satisfying length, as well. Then decrease and make sure to stuff the animal with batting before you close off the body.

Ears
Crochet a row of 4 stitches with the beige wool. Then decrease by taking two stitches together. Repeat that in round 3. Sew the ears onto the body.

Feet
Start by crocheting a tiny disc. Increase in round two and immediately decrease in round three, so that you get a voluminous effect. Sew the feet onto the body.

Face
Stitch on a snout by using the black or alternatively brown thread (depending on the shade and thickness of the wool). Glue on the plastic eyes.

Say hello to your little guniea piggy!

Niles the Purple Hippopotamus

What you need:

1 ball of purple wool
2 plastic eyes (can be replaced by buttons or stitched on)
1 crocheting needle (size 3)


Body
Start by crocheting a flat disc (see previous tutorials), but this time with a twist. Instead of starting with a sling, you crochet a small row of slip stitches. Crochet the first row normally, then put several stitches in the last one. By doing this, you turn the row "around" and you can now crochet in continuous rows. Repet the same at the other end, until you have an oval concave shape. Voilà, this way, you will have a more "square" shape for your hippo!

Legs
Start with a sling and 5 single crochets in it. Continue in rounds until the legs are long enough.

Tail
Crochet a row of four stitches and reduce until you end up with one. Don't sew up the remaining thread, but fuzz it out with a needle. That way, you will have the "typical" hippo tail.

Head
This is the trickiest part. Crochet a first round into the body. Then, in the susequent rounds, you will need to increase on one side and stick to the pattern on the other. Following that, you will need to decrease again to form the snout. Continue for a couple of rounds. Then, crochet a triple crochet - 2x single crochet - triples crochet pattern on the top snout. Attach this to the lower part and add teeth if you are so inclined ;-)

Ears
This is easy. You will need a slip stitch and then you can put a couple of single crochets in it. Press together on the lower side and attach to the head.

Olli, the travelling Owl, finally has his own Facebook page

Check it out and "like" here:

Olli the Owl

Late Autumn Addendum: Halloween Monsters

I know, I know.... Halloween took place two months ago.... My excuse? I was very busy in my new job, learning everything that there is to learn which left me with scarcely the energy to take care of other things.

None the less, I did finally get around to photgraphing my season-specific works and here they are, folks:

From left to right I may present the Mummy, the Witch and the Wardrobe... ahem... the Ghost.

While I created the Ghost and the Witch with my usual techniques of going in circles, I decided on another approach for the Mummy. For it, I crocheted a very long string (ca. 2 meters) with simple hooks. Then, I took a small bundle of white wool and wrapped the string around it in rows in order to give it that mummified look. The arms and legs were essentially done with the same technique, but I supported the stability with additional stitches from another white wool string. So it was basically a sequence of wrapping - sewing - wrapping - sewing. Once everything was tight, I sewed on the remaining loose end and created the face with black wool.

My tip when doing a ghost: attach a loop to the head, so that you can put it up everywhere in the house or scare others with it while flinging it around. Worked at least for me ;-)

Cheers,
your devoted Crocheter Fran