Sunday 7 February 2010

Cork and Crochet: Knights

One of the ideas I tried out for the bazaar was to use corks and crochet 'skins' for them. It's a fun way to recycle old corks and makes cute little guys. Here is the first of the patterns: feel free to make these for your own personal use, or to raise money for good causes.




You will need:
Small amounts of grey and bright coloured yarn (red, green, blue or yellow) yarn.
Small piece of felt and length of yarn, both different colours to the main body of the knight.
A cork, approx 1.75" (4.5cm) long.

Black permanent marker pen (Sharpie).
4 mm (F) hook.

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
ss = slip stitch
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
BLO = back loop only
FLO = front loop only
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.

Start using grey yarn:
Round 1: Ch2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 sc.
Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around - 12 sc.
Round 3: [2 sc in next sc, sc in next 3 sc] 3 times – 15 sc.
Round 4 - 5: (2 rounds) Sc in each sc around - 15 sc.
Ch1, turn.
Row 1: Sc in next 10 sc, ch1, turn - 10 sc.
Row 2: Sc in next 10 sc, ch5.
Round 6: Sc into 1st sc of row 2, sc in next 9 sc, 5 sc over ch5 - 15 sc.
Sc in next 2 sc, change to bright coloured yarn and mark as start of round.
Round 7 - 11: (5 rounds) Sc in each sc around - 15 sc.
Change to grey yarn.
Round 12: Sc in each sc around - 15 sc.

Ss in next sc, FO and weave in end.

Cut felt into small shield shape and use contrasting yarn to sew onto body with a cross shape.

Use black yarn to sew a little mouth on the beard.
 Fit over cork and carefully draw face in the gap.





** Check out this Princess pattern on Tarkheena Crafts to go with the knights: http://tarkheenacrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/crochet-pattern-princess-fleurette-of.html **



49 comments:

cleo said...

THanks for sharing!!! These are fantastic... how great are you for this idea ... recycle, educate (middle ages), hand craft AS WELL as a very valid excuse for opening a bottle of wine mid week!! BRAVO!!

Anonymous said...

lol, these guys are so cute!
you could make them for a chess game
I'd love to see what the kings and knights would look like

LucyRavenscar said...

Thank you! I'd definitely like to give a chess set a go, but you could also use these as pieces for a game like Ludo.

Anonymous said...

Merveilleuse idée!!!!!!! bravo! je vais en fabriquer pour mes petits gamins.... Merci....

Winterprism said...

These are soooo cute.. I found the link at Ravelry which directed me to Crafster where I followed a link to your blog.. Anyways. I was thinking that since corks float, maybe a person could do these with cotton yarn and use them as bath toys?? I don't know if it would work but it would be fun to find out!!! : ) Thanks so much for sharing, I am now following your blog, as well..

LucyRavenscar said...

Thank you! Good idea to make bath toys - let me know if you give it a go and if it works!

Kids craft ideas said...

Great tutorial! i will make it, thanks for sharing.

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks! It's coming up to Christmas Bazaar time again, so I'll have to make some more myself.

Unknown said...

They are so cute!!! I love them! It's a great idea! I'll try to do something like that.

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks! I'd love to see photos if you do make them.

RedTedArt said...

Wow! These are the cutest little knights EVER! I am SO making a set this Christmas. Thank you!

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks! Have fun making your army!

Olga said...

Thank you very very much for sharing your great idea. I made my own version of your cork creatures and I have called them Ganchicorchos. The are a perfect present. All people love them. If you want to see my Ganchicorchos, they are in my blog: http://teje-mundos.blogspot.com
They are also in Ravelry (I am Oladola)

Olly said...

Bellissimi!!!

Beautiful!!!
...and I have a lot of corks! (he! he! ;o) )
...the hardest part, for me, will be to venture with a crochet hook! : D

LucyRavenscar said...

Thank you! They're nice and simple to make, so just give them a try.

Olly said...

...yess!
I'll try!!!
(also cause I think it's the simplest thing I can do of this blog :D )

ciao!

Piouch said...

Thank you for this pattern. You can see a little guy on my blog. Bye.

LucyRavenscar said...

Piouch, thanks for showing me your knight. I don't think he's going to fight that cute dragon though, I think they're going to be friends!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, your patterns are lovely.

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks! I've just made another army of them for this year's Christmas bazaar, they work up so quickly!

Fine Craft Guild said...

That is TOO COOL! Love your pattern. Thank you.

marmarel said...

Very nice! I was thinking about corks en what to do with them. This is a great idea!

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks! I've ended up with lots of corks - one day I'll have to do a chess set, I've got some champagne corks that would be good for the King, Queen and Rook.

Es un Mundo Amigurumi said...

Hello!!!! I´ve just finish my first knight cork...
Thanks for the great idea!!!

LucyRavenscar said...

Thank you!

Stephanie said...

This pattern is so cute and easy. Thanks so much for posting. I've already made three little knights (as well as a priness and dragon). The kids love them!
I think I might even try making a nativity set next. Thanks again.

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks Stephanie! I'd love to see your knights, princess and dragon. Someone else adapted the pattens to make a nativity set, you might like to have a look: http://bbqcrochets.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/cork-nativity.html

Krealene said...

Hello Lucy, I am not sure if I sent you a huge thank you for this pattern...I made lots of them and I named ''mine'' Knight Korki who is fighting against cancer....in Holland is the organisation KiKa (Kids Cancerfree) so the K of Korki fits my corks ;-)..my daughter made lots of them for the bday of my grandson, if possible I can send you some snaps but to which address I have to sort out...
From Holland with love,
Marlene
also: http://krealene.blogspot.com CraftingAgainstCancer

LucyRavenscar said...

That's lovely Marlene, I'm so glad the knights are doing good work! You can contact me on Etsy, Facebook or Ravelry, where you should be able to show me photos.
http://www.lucyravenscar.etsy.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LucyRavenscar-Crochet-Creatures/136334913081192
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/lucy-ravenscar

Lizette said...

Hi Lucy
I find your cork-knights amazingly cute! I'm going to make some. Now I wonder: am I right that you never use the part: BLO = back loop only and
FLO = front loop only?? I cant find these terms in the written pattern and now I wonder if that is right (because you mentioned these terms in the abbreviations).
Thanks for answering,
greetings from Holland

LucyRavenscar said...

Yes, you're right, you don't need to work in front or back loops only in this pattern. I think I originally put all the cork patterns together and the gnome pattern uses front and back loops to make the beard.

Lizette said...

Thanks for your reaction!

Jill said...

Just seen these on pinterest and repinned, think they are fab! I'm going to make some for my little boy.

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks! They make great toys for a little one, make a few and you can take them with you when you go out to keep your little boy occupied.

Unknown said...

I have never crocheted from a pattern, could you please explain the shorthand used. Thanks.

LucyRavenscar said...

There is a list of abbreviations above the pattern, is that what you mean? Otherwise, I would advise just trying the pattern, they usually make more sense when you're working through them. Then just ask if you have any particular questions.

Sarah said...

Thank you for this. They are very cute. I made one for my son, you can see it here: http://madeoutofthings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/knights-and-castles.html

Think I'll be trying out some of your other patterns. Thank you very much. :o)

LucyRavenscar said...

Thanks, I'm glad your son liked it! It's getting hard to find bottle of wine with actual corks these days, they're all screw top, but I've ended up with bags of corks donated by friends and family who collect them.

TarkheenaCrafts said...

Love these! I've got a little nuts with them the last few days, actually. :)
In fact, I created a princess pattern based on the knight. (Every knight needs a princess to protect, right?) I was wondering if you would mind if I published the directions for the princess on my own blog at tarkheenacrafts.blogspot.com? You would be given full credit as the pattern inspiration, and I'd indicate the same conditions (personal use or fundraising for a good cause.) You can see a photo of the princesses at https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-flmBGh-3yRY/U0gcaq3aYDI/AAAAAAAAmqo/8q9q3_1fF5Q/w856-h642-no/IMG_20140411_094600.jpg

LucyRavenscar said...

I love your princesses! Please feel free to post the pattern as you described, and let me know when you have and I'll link to it.

TarkheenaCrafts said...

Thanks! I've created the princess tutorial, which may be viewed here: http://tarkheenacrafts.blogspot.com/2014/04/crochet-pattern-princess-fleurette-of.html

VéroO said...

Très mignon et plein d'imagination ! Very nice, I love it !

VéroO.

LucyRavenscar said...

Thank you!

Moon Sister said...

And you can give them toothpick swords or spears... :)

Creative Chaos Art said...

Thank you for the pattern! You can see my version here: http://creativechaosart.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/the-knights-and-dragon-crochet-toy.html
Helen x

LucyRavenscar said...

I love your knights and the dragon, and the way you packaged them is brilliant too! Good job on adapting both patterns to fit your needs (and the corks!)

These days most wine seems to be in screw top bottles, so I wonder how long we'll be able to find corks to make things with?

Unknown said...

How cute! I was searching for a quick pattern for a knight - this is perfect! Thank you :-)

Anonymous said...

So super cute and fast to make! My son requested a "whole army" of your knights for his castle, so I just whipped up a dozen overnight in his choice of colors. He had lots of fun choosing yarn and felt.

Deanna said...

These look adorable! I was wondering what weight yarn you use?