Ahsoka Tano Amigurumi Pattern

My latest pattern, to make Ahsoka Tano from The Clone Wars, is now available to buy in my Etsy and Ravelry shops. The Clone Wars series has been responsible for some great serialised story-telling in the Star Wars universe, and for creating a character in Ahsoka who has become a fan favourite. She's introduced as Anakin's young padawan and is enthusiastic and honest, with a good moral compass. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, but she has great character development over the series, and goes on to appear in Star Wars Rebels as well.

Ahsoka is a Togruta, with orange skin and blue and white head parts, consisting of two pointed montrals at the top and three tails, or lekku, at the bottom. Creating this at a relatively small scale (she's only 11 cm/4.5” tall) was quite the challenge, and it took quite a few attempts to get it right. Because of the complicated structure of the head piece I've added lots of photos into the pattern to explain each stage clearly, so I hope it won't be too difficult for people to follow.

I based this pattern on her look at the start of The Clone Wars, but it would be easy to alter it slightly to look like the outfit she wears from series 3. To make her with the dress and leggings rather than top, skirt and leggings, just crochet the orange skin section in the middle in brown instead, and use two chains of russet brown/dark orange yarn to make her belt. You can also make her an extra lightsaber. Her later grey/blue costume would just need changes in colour for the different parts, and white lightsabers.

I've listed the yarn I used to make her at the end of this post: Star Wars Crochet - yarn used. I hope those of you who are fans of Ahsoka will enjoy making this mini version of her!

Fizzgig Amigurumi Pattern

After I saw The Dark Crystal for the first time as a child I totally fell in love with Kira's adorable and occasionally grumpy pet Fizzgig. Who wouldn't love that ball of fluff? And then, when the prequel series Age of Resistance was released last year, I fell in love with the whole world of Thra all over again, with its multiple Fizzgigs in different colours, including one with an eyepatch!. I've already posted about making a Fizzgig for myself (here) and the trip I took him on to see The Dark Crystal exhibition in London (here).

After that I decided to write up the pattern but I immediately encountered a problem. Fizzgig's fluffy fur is made by working the loop stitch, cutting the loops and them brushing with a wire pet brush to separate the strands. The yarn I used, which had a mix of light brown colours and a loose twist, was perfect for this, but was unfortunately not being made any more. I then had to experiment with other yarns and found that Hayfield Bonus DK and Robin DK brushed out the right way, and so I chose different shades of light brown, beige, honey and gold yarn, and used two colours alternately to give the right look. I found that Stylecraft Special DK does not brush out well, but I would recommend that anyone who wants to make a Fizzgig tests the yarn they've chosen. I've used 100% acrylic yarn, which works fine, and acrylic yarn mixed with wool or alpaca should work, as I think would 100% wool or alpaca. Cotton yarn would not brush out in the same way.

Fizzgig have four feet...

...which you can just see peeping out under their fur.

They also have long, fluffy tails.

Luckily mixing two yarns together worked, and gave a nice result. I tweaked my original pattern a bit and made it slightly taller, as well as giving Fizzgig the correct number of feet (four). I decided against trying to make a version with an open mouth, as this would probably have to be a puppet, and I was more keen to create a solid toy.

Large and small versions.

Brushing the yarn to make it fluffy takes a fair bit of work, you need to sit down with a fun TV show or podcast and just work at gradually brushing a few strands at a time. Because of that I designed a smaller version that would be quicker to make, and still be just as cute. The larger version is about 22cm/8.5" tall, the smaller one is about 16cm/6.5" tall, and the pattern includes details to make eyepatches for both sizes of Fizzgig. You can buy the pattern on Etsy or Ravelry.

Jon Snow and Ghost

While the final series of Game of Thrones was showing last year, I started working on these patterns, but various things conspired to mean that I hadn't got them finally finished and written up until now! I know series 8 got some mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it, and I thought the show as a whole was great. Jon Snow was always one of my favourite characters, and had a fascinating journey thoughout the show. I've designed him with a couple of different looks - the loose curly hair and mostly black clothes of the earlier seasons when he was in the Nightwatch, and the longer, pulled back hair and neck armour he wears in later seasons. The pattern also includes details to make a cloak with a fur collar for either version.

 

Of course, I had to make a pattern for his white direwolf companion Ghost. I thought it would also be nice to design two more versions with two-coloured coats so people can make a variety of different direwolves (or wolves - there's no difference apart from the scale with the Jon Snow figure). Wolves come in a variety of different colours - brown, black, reddish, grey or a mixture - so you can choose whatever yarn suits you best. If you can find a mottled one, that would probably give a really good effect.

Both patterns are available on Etsy (Jon Snow pattern here, Wolf and Direwolf pattern here) and you can buy them together at a reduced price here. You can also find them on my Ravelry page here.

Baby Yoda

So, who's watching the new Star Wars series, The Mandalorian? Not me unfortunately, because it's not available in the UK, but without even looking for spoilers I can't help but see images of the adorable baby Yoda that features in the show. It's not actually Yoda as a baby, but a member of his species, which doesn't have a name. The first thing I noticed when I looked at pictures of the cute little baby was that it looked a lot like my mini amigurumi of Yoda which appears in the Star Wars Crochet Kit and which is a small and very simplified version of Yoda.

So, I decided to try adapting that pattern a little to make it more like the baby in the show. If you have the Star Wars Crochet Kit then you can use these variations and make yourself your own tiny Baby Yoda. (Please note, I'm using US stitch names).

Follow the instructions to make the Head and Body as they are in the book, but use 9mm safety eyes for that big-eyed baby look.
After making the head change to dark beige yarn for the body on round 11.
When you get to round 20 don't change to green yarn and don't make the feet, just work 27 sc around.

Baby Yoda's ears are proportionally larger, so make them as follows:
Rnd 1: ch 2, work 6 sc into first ch - 6 st.
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around - 12 st.
Rnd 3: 2 sc in each of next 2 st, (hdc, dc) in next st, ch 1, (dc, hdc) in next st, ss in next st - end round here and FO.
Follow the rest of the instructions in the book to shape and attach the ears.

Start making the arms as described in the book, then after round 2 change to light beige yarn and work 6 x 2dc bobbles around. Change to dark beige yarn and work rounds 3 - 6 as in the book, miss round 7 and work round 8 as described.

To make the cowl neck collar using light beige yarn:
Ch 26.
Row 1: miss ch next to hook, sc in next 25 ch, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: sc in next 25 st, ch 1, turn.
Row 3: sc in next 25 st, FO.
Pin around the neck and top of the arms with the starting chain at the top. Overlap at the front as shown then sew in place. Fold over and secure the front with a couple of stitches.

I hope you enjoy making your own little Baby Yoda!

Little Monster Finger Puppets - free crochet pattern

Here's a little treat for Halloween that's quick and simple to crochet.

You will need:

Small amount of yarn for the body, any colour you like (I think green or purple looks good).

Small amount of red yarn for the mouth and eyes.

Small amount of black yarn for eyes.

Tapestry needle.

3.5mm crochet hook (US E hook).

Finished size: approximately 4 cm/1.5” tall.

Abbreviations:

ch = chain

st = stitch or stitches

ss = slipstitch

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

bob = bobble (see special stitch instructions)

FO = fasten off

General instructions:
This pattern is written using US crochet terms. For the UK equivalents, see abbreviations list.

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. You can find a detailed tutorial on how to do this here on my blog.

Work through both loops of stitches unless otherwise indicated.

Special stitch instructions:

3 dc bob: bobble stitch for nose. YOH (yarn over hook), insert hook into next stitch, 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.

Start with yarn for body.

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 3 st] 3 times – 15 st.

Round 4: sc in each st around - 15 st.

Round 5: sc in next 6 st, 3 dc bob in next st, sc in next 8 st – 15 st.

Round 6: sc in next 4 st, [FLO: sc in next st, 2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 2 st, 2 hdc in next st, sc in next st], sc in next 5 st – 17 st.

Round 7: sc in next 4 st, change to red yarn, [work in back loops remaining from working in front loops in previous round: hdc in next 6 st], change to body yarn, sc in next 5 st – 15 st.

Cut red yarn, leaving a length to sew the eyes. Sew 4-5 lines vertically over rounds 3 and 4 on either side of the nose. Use black yarn to sew a dot in the centre of each eye. Secure ends of yarn.

Round 8: sc in next 5 st, [FLO: sc in next st, 2 hdc in next st, hdc in next st, 2 hdc in next st, sc in next st], sc in next 5 st – 17 st.

Round 9: sc in next 5 st, [work in back loops remaining from working in front loops in previous round: hdc in next 5 st], sc in next 5 st – 15 st.

Round 10: sc in next 3 st, [arm: ss into next st, ch 7, turn, ss into next 2 ch, (ch 3, turn, ss in next 2 ch) 2 times, ss into next 4 ch, ss back into original st on round], sc in next 7 st, [arm], sc in next 3 st - 15 st.

Round 11: sc in each st around (work into the first ss used to make each arm, not the final ss) - 15 st.

Round 12: sc in each st around - 15 st.

Ss in next st, FO and weave in end of yarn.

Stick it on your finger and have some monstrous fun!

Harry Potter Crochet - yarn used

My latest book of patterns, Harry Potter Crochet, has just been released in the US! It comes as part of a kit which includes the yarn to make Harry and Dobby, and a crochet hook shaped like Harry's wand. If you want to watch me opening up the kit, check out this video on YouTube.

To help in finding the right colours of yarn to make the characters, I've made a list of all the yarns I used, and the approximate amounts needed for each figure. I live in the UK, so that's where I get all my yarn from. I use double knitting (DK) weight yarn, equivalent to 3:light weight in the US, and 8 ply in Australia/NZ - there's a yarn thickness guide on Ravelry which is very helpful. (By the way, the yarn I used is not the same as the yarn in the kit. That isn't a particular brand, and was sourced by the publisher separately.)

If you can't get hold of the yarns listed below, you can at least look at them in an online store such as Wool Warehouse or LoveCrochet, which might help you find equivalents closer to home.

I used mostly Hayfield Bonus DK (HBDK) and Stylecraft Special DK (SSDK). Hayfield is a great yarn for making amigurumi (toys worked in the round) as it's quite sturdy and doesn't get squashed by working tightly, which you have to do when you're crocheting like this. Stylecraft is a little lighter and works better for clothes (when you're not working so tightly) as it gives a little bit more drape at this very small scale. I also used it for some hair, but not Hagrid's, as it wasn't very easy to brush out.

Harry Potter

5g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

5g mid grey yarn - HBDK Silver Grey (838).

5g dark grey yarn - HBDK Dark Grey Mix (790).

5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

5g dark brown yarn - SSDK Dark Brown (1004).

Small amount of white yarn - HBDK White (961).

Small amount of maroon yarn - HBDK Claret (841).

Small amount of yellow yarn - HBDK Sunflower (978).

Hermione Granger

10g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

5g mid grey yarn - HBDK Silver Grey (838).

5g dark grey yarn - HBDK Dark Grey Mix (790).

5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

10g  light brown yarn - yarn used now unavailable, try HBDK Walnut (927) or Stylecraft Life DK Bark (2448).

Small amount of white yarn - HBDK White (961).

Small amount of maroon yarn - HBDK Claret (841).

Small amount of yellow yarn - HBDK Sunflower (978).

Ron Weasley

All the same as Harry, apart from yarn for hair:

5g russet yarn - SSDK Copper (1029).

Student robe and Scarf Pattern

10g black yarn - SSDK Black (1002).

5g maroon yarn - HBDK Claret (841).

5g yellow yarn - HBDK Sunflower (978).

Dobby

15g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

10g mid grey yarn - HBDK Silver Grey (838).

Small amount of black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

Rubeus Hagrid

15g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

10g medium brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).

10g maroon yarn - HBDK Claret (841).

10g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

25g dark brown yarn - Robin DK Brown (51).

25g light brown yarn - yarn used now unavailable, try HBDK Walnut (927) or Stylecraft Life DK Bark (2448).

Small amount of silver grey yarn (for belt buckle) - HBDK Silver Grey (838).

Small amount of beige yarn (for buttons) - HBDK Walnut (927).

Norbert The Dragon

25g green yarn - HBDK Orchard (904).

Albus Dumbledore

10g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

20g purple yarn - HBDK Velvet Plum (906).

20g magenta yarn - SSDK Plum (1061).

5g black yarn - SSDK Black (1002).

10g white yarn - HBDK White (961).

Minerva McGonagall

10g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

30g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

15g dark green yarn - SSDK Bottle (1009).

10g beige yarn - HBDK Walnut (927).

Sorting Hat

15g medium brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).

Small amount of black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

Voldemort

10g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

35g black yarn - HBDK Black (965) for body (optional 15g SSDK Black (1002) for the robe only).

Severus Snape

10g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

20g dark blue yarn - HBDK Navy (971).

10g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

Small amount of white yarn- HBDK White (961).

Ginny Weasley

5g pale peach yarn - HBDK Flesh Tone (963).

5g red yarn - HBDK Classic Red (833).

5g medium brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).

5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

10g russet yarn - SSDK Copper (1029).

Small amount of yellow yarn - HBDK Sunflower (978).

Broomstick

2g light brown yarn - yarn used now unavailable, try Robin Mink (0143) or Stylecraft Life DK Bark (2448).

Small amount of beige yarn - HBDK Walnut (927).

Small amount of grey yarn - HBDK Silver Grey (838).

Hedwig

10g white yarn - HBDK White (961).

Small amount of black yarn - HBDK Black (965).

*Edited to add errata:

Unfortunately the instructions for a 2 dc bob and a 3 dc bob (bobble stitches) were missed out of the book. Here they are:

2 dc bob: YOH (yarn over hook), insert hook into next stitch, 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, YOH, pull through all 3 loops on hook.

3 dc bob: YOH (yarn over hook), insert hook into next stitch, 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.

Fizzgig Amigurumi

When I started watching The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and knowing that I was going to the Into Thra exhibition in a few days, I just knew I had to crochet something to take along. The obvious choice was to make Fizzgig - I loved him in the original film, and members of his species (which is actually Fizzgig) obviously appeared in the new show, as I kept seeing them in promotional meterial. The only problem was that I had limited time to make him, and I was binge-watching the show in the same time. You'd think that I could make him while I was watching, wouldn't you? I mean, I normally crochet while watching TV, in fact my fingers start getting twitchy if I don't have a project on the go. However, Age of Resistance is such a visual treat that I couldn't risk missing any of it, so I had to crochet in the time I had between the episodes.

The basic technique I used to make Fizzgig was to use loop stitch which I then cut, and fluffed up the yarn using a wire pet brush. I wasn't sure when I started what direction to work in, because I didn't know which direction the fluff would go once it was brushed. I also had the problem that I only had one ball of the yarn I used, and loop stitch uses up a lot of yarn! I didn't bother to make him fluffy at the bottom to save on yarn, and I was really worried that I'd run out as I was making the tail and the feet. Luckily I had just enough, although annoyingly it seems that this colour of yarn is not being produced any more.

I've used the technique of making something furry/hairy by using loop stitch before, but only on much smaller pieces, like the beards for my dwarves, so it was hard to know how well it would work. I was also unsure of how to make the face, but it turned out that just inserting the eyes and sewing on the nose and mouth flattened the fur in that area so the face can be seen. I did think about making a version with an open mouth, or even a puppet version where I'd be able to operate the mouth, like the monster I made a while ago, but I figured that would take longer to get right, so I stuck with a Fizzgig with a closed mouth.

Strictly speaking Fizzgig have four feet, each with four toes, but being limited for time (I was sewing the feet on at 11.00pm the night before I went to the exhibition) mine only has two feet with three toes. Size-wise he ended up larger than I'd planned, nearly lifesize, when I had intended him to be much smaller (maybe large grapefruit size) so he'd be easier to fit in my bag, but that's what happens you make something so fluffy!

A few small issues aside, I'm really pleased with him, and I'm so happy with the way the texture of his fur looks. He's very tactile, and I love stroking and cuddling him. His slightly grumpy face also reminds me of my dog!