Dragonet Pattern

Have you ever wanted your own pet dragon? Well, generally they're a bit big to fit in the house, so what you need is a Dragonet, a small or young dragon. I've finally finished my latest pattern, so now you can crochet yourself a Dragonet, a fantastical friend who will hang around your home.

Small for a dragon, but pretty big for an amigurumi - they are about 17.5" long and have a wingspan of 22". Of course, if you're a Lego person, they are just the right size for a ride, as one of my pattern testers discovered:
 http://tossedcookies.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/just-another-bedtime-story/

I'm very happy, after a certain amount of experimentation, with the wings. I managed to make them fairly stiff without using any wire or anything else apart from crochet and stuffing. I also tried out different eyes - they can be made with either safety eyes (ones with a slit rather than a round pupil look best, I think) or with round beads - the red Dragonet has clear glass ones.

If you want to make your own Dragonet, the pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lucyravenscar

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 **