Friday 7 January 2022

All About The Mandalorian Crochet Kit




My latest book and kit is out now, with twelve characters from The Mandalorian for you to make. In the book you'll find the patterns for:

The Mandalorian himself, or Mando, with the outfit he wears at the start of series 1 (during the two series so far he gradually picks up new armour).



Grogu (Baby Yoda) in his floating pram - full disclosure, despite the photo on the front of the book, the crochet pram does not actually float!



Cara Dune.



Greef Karga
.


Moff Gideon, with the Darksaber.



Kuiil
.

IG-11.

Grogu (Baby Yoda) at a larger scale. The first Grogu is tiny, and roughly in scale with the other characters. This version is larger, about 3" tall, compared to the humans who are generally about 4" tall.



Mudhorn, which is not in scale with the other figures but is still quite large at about 6" long.



Offworld Jawa, which as well as wearing a grey rather than brown robe, has a slightly different hood compared to the Jawa pattern you'll find in Star Wars Even More Crochet.



Bo-Katan Kryze, who comes with the option to make her with or without her helmet.

Ahsoka Tano, who is obviously the older version of the character than the one seen in The Clone Wars cartoons, with two white lightsabers.

There were some interesting challenges in coming up with these designs. It seemed like Mando would be just a variation on Boba Fett, but the fact that his helmet is all silver made it much harder to define the shape in a small crochet form. I had to try quite a few variations before I was satisfied, and it must be said that this is not an easy pattern for a beginner to amigurumi. It's included as one of the patterns in the kit, which makes sense given that he's the main character in the show, but there are a lot of colour changes and fiddly elements to the pattern. The other pattern in the kit, the smaller Grogu in his pram, is a bit easier, but it was also a challenge to make such a small character and still manage to include enough details to make it work.




I was very happy with Kuill, who was one of my favourite characters. He's a bit smaller than the human characters so I worried that I wouldn't be able to include all the details I needed to make him work, but he came out just how I wanted the first time I made him. I really wasn't sure if IG-11 would work in this format at all - it's a tall, thin, spindly robot, and these are cute, slightly chubby amigurumi versions of characters - but in the end I think this version is fun, recognisable but cute.




I started work on this in the early autumn of 2020, before series 2 of The Mandalorian had been released, so I wasn't told about all the characters I'd have to make until they'd appeared in the show. I was very happy when Ahsoka and Bo-Katan appeared, they're both colourful and interesting to look at, so they make great amigurumi. I thought I had a head start on Ahsoka since I'd already made the young version we first see at the beginning of The Clone Wars, but it was surprising how many details had to be altered, and since her head piece is so complicated it took a while to work out all the changes. With Bo-Katan I thought I knew how to make her helmet, since I'd already done Mando's, but the shape and all the details are quite different, so it took a while to get it just right. I thought it would be fun to see her without her helmet too, so I'm glad I asked to include that version too.





I hope that if you get hold of this book that you enjoy making the various characters. To help you find the right colours of yarn to make the characters, I've made a list below of all the yarns I used, and the amounts needed for each figure. I've also noted at the bottom of this post any errors in the book that I've noticed; if you come across any yourself, let me know. I work hard to make sure there aren't any errors, but some always manage to slip through!


Yarn List (approximate amounts):

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 online stores such as Wool Warehouse or LoveCrafts, which might help you find equivalents closer to home.

I used mostly Hayfield Bonus DK (HBDK) and Robin DK (RDK). 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. Unfortunately, Robin yarn is no longer available, so I have included some alternatives in Stylecraft Special DK (SSDK). Stylecraft has a great range of colours but is a little lighter in weight so you might find that parts come out a little smaller when you use it.
 
The Mandalorian:
5g light grey yarn - HBDK Light Grey Mix (814).
5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
10g dark grey yarn - HBDK Slate Grey (633).
5g mid brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).
5g dark brown yarn - RDK Brown (051), alternative SSDK Dark Brown (1004).
Small amount of yellow yarn - HBDK Sunflower (978).
Small amount of beige yarn - HBDK Walnut (927).
Small amount of light beige yarn - HBDK Oatmeal (964).
Small amount of blue yarn - HBDK Denim (994).
 
Grogu in pram:
5g green yarn - HBDK Grass (825).
10g light beige yarn - HBDK Oatmeal (964).
10g light grey yarn - HBDK Light Grey Mix (814).
 
Cara Dune:
10g pale peach yarn - HBDK Biscuit (963).
10g teal yarn - HBDK Petrol (829), alternative Peacock (560).
5g dark teal yarn - HBDK Teal (691), alternative Royal Teal (558).
5g dark grey yarn - HBDK Slate Grey (633).
10g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
10g dark brown yarn - RDK Brown (051), alternative SSDK Dark Brown (1004).
Small amount of light grey yarn - HBDK Light Grey Mix (814).
 
Greef Karga:
5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
10g light brown yarn - HBDK Walnut (927).
10g mid brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).
10g dark brown yarn - RDK Brown (051), alternative SSDK Dark Brown (1004).
5g golden brown yarn - RDK Honey (129), alternative SSDK Camel (1420).
 
Moff Gideon:
20g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
5g light brown yarn - HBDK Walnut (927).
5g red yarn - HBDK Soft Red (617).
Small amount of white yarn - HBDK White (961).
Small amount of dark grey yarn - HBDK Slate Grey (633).
 
Kuiil:
5g pale peach yarn - HBDK Biscuit (963).
5g mid brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).
5g dark brown yarn - RDK Brown (051), alternative SSDK Dark Brown (1004).
5g khaki green yarn - HBDK Olive Green (634).
5g light brown yarn - HBDK Walnut (927) or Taupe (601).
Small amount of silver grey yarn - HBDK Light Grey Mix (814).
Small amount of black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
 
IG-11:
15g grey yarn - HBDK Dark Grey Mix (790).
5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
Small amount of red yarn - HBDK Signal Red (977).
 
Grogu (larger version):
10g green yarn - HBDK Grass (825).
15g light beige yarn - HBDK Oatmeal (964).
 
Mudhorn:
30g mid brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).
10g dark beige yarn - HBDK Walnut (927).
 
Offworld Jawa:
5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
15g dark grey yarn - HBDK Slate Grey (633).
Small amount of dark brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).
 
Bo-Katan Kryze:
10g pale peach yarn - HBDK Biscuit (963).
10g dark grey yarn - HBDK Slate Grey (633).
10g light grey yarn - HBDK Light Grey Mix (814).
10g russet yarn - HBDK Fox (779).
15g turquoise yarn - HBDK Turquoise (998).
5g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
10g mid brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).
5g white yarn - HBDK White (961).
 
Ahsoka Tano: 
10g russet yarn - HBDK Fox (779).
10g black yarn - HBDK Black (965).
5g mid brown yarn - HBDK Chocolate (947).
10g dark grey yarn - HBDK Slate Grey (633).
10g blue yarn - HBDK Denim (994).
10g white yarn - HBDK White (961).
5g light grey yarn - HBDK Light Grey Mix (814).
Small amount of maroon yarn - HBDK Claret (841).
 
*Errata:
On page 47 in the pattern for IG-11, round 3 should read:
Rnd 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 2 times – 8 st.

On p19 of the pattern for the Mandalorian, the text after round 22 starting "In the following 3 rounds..." should go before round 22.

On p20 of the pattern for the Mandalorian, under the 'Left Shoulder Armor' and the 'Right Shoulder Armor', the second section in brackets on row 1 should be ignored.

On p53 in the pattern for Grogu, 'Cowl Neck of Robe', row 1 should read: 
Row 1: skip ch next to hook, sc in next 25 st, ch 1, turn.