Dice Bag - Free Pattern

Since the new Dungeons & Dragons film has just been released, I thought it would be fun to share this simple dice bag pattern with you D&D players out there. I’ve had a few goes at playing over the years, but never had a chance to get really into the swing of it (I tend to stick to tabletop games). However, my daughter has been playing for years, and has built up an impressive collection of dice, so I thought I’d make her a nice, sturdy bag for them.

It’s a fairly simple design, but to give a bit of visual interest, and hopefully some extra strength, I’ve used front post stitches to make vertical ridges – you can do them at different distances apart, as you choose.

Wider spaced ridges

Narrower spaced ridges

You can make your bag in any colour you like, or use more than one colour – self-striping or multicoloured yarn is the quick and easy way to get a fun effect.

This bag will come out about 15 cm/6” tall, 10 cm/4” in diameter.

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
ss = slip stitch
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)
fpsc = front post single crochet (US), front post double crochet (UK), see special stitch instructions below.
tog = together
sc2tog = decrease by working two sc together
YOH = yarn over hook
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 (ch 2, 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.

You will need:
Approximately 40g of any colour yarn, double knitting or worsted weight.
4mm (G/6) hook.
Tapestry needle.

Special stitch instructions:

Fpsc: work sc by putting your hook from right to left around the back of the post of the next stitch on the previous round.

Sc do not have much of a post (the body of a stitch, apart from the 'v' shape of the two loops that you normally put your hook under) so it can be quite hard to do this stitch. Push your hook under the two loops as normal (Fig. 1), then back under the two loops of the next stitch from back to front (Fig. 2 shows with the green mark where to insert your hook from the back, Fig. 3 shows what it looks like when you have done this). YOH, pull yarn through, YOH, pull through both loops on hook. When you work the next stitch remember to start by putting your hook under the second set of two loops that you used previously. It is very easy to mix up which stitch you're working into, so count your stitches frequently to check you haven't made a mistake.

   Fig. 1

   Fig. 2

   Fig. 3


Linked dc (optional): to make the top of the bag where the drawstring goes a bit stronger, you can work round 38 with linked dc. To do this, work the first dc of each pair. Then insert your hook under a strand of yarn that makes up the dc (Fig. 4 shows the strand outlined in black, Fig. 5 shows the hook under the strand) and then into the next st. YOH, pull through yarn, YOH, pull through 2 loops, YOH, pull through 2 loops.

   Fig. 4

   Fig. 5

Bag:

Round 1: ch 2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around - 12 st.
Round 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 6 times - 18 st
Round 4: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 6 times - 24 st.
Round 5: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st] 6 times - 30 st.
Round 6: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 st] 6 times - 36 st.
Round 7: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 st] 6 times - 42 st.
Round 8: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 6 st] 6 times - 48 st.
Round 9: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 7 st] 6 times - 54 st.
Round 10: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 8 st] 6 times - 60 st.
Round 11: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 9 st] 6 times - 66 st.
Round 12: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 10 st] 6 times - 72 st.
-For wider spaced ridges continue here:
Round 13 - 34: (22 rounds) [fpsc, sc in next 5 st] 12 times - 72 st.
Round 35: [fpsc, sc in next 3 st, sc2tog] 12 times - 60 st.
Round 36 - 37: (2 rounds) [fpsc, sc in next 4 st] 12 times - 60 st.
-For narrower spaced ridges continue here:
Round 13 - 34: (22 rounds) [fpsc, sc in next 2 st] 24 times - 72 st.
Round 35: [fpsc, sc2tog, fpsc, sc in next 2 st] 12 times - 60 st.
Round 36 - 37: (2 rounds) [fpsc, sc in next st, fpsc, sc in next 2 st] 12 times - 60 st.
-For all bags, continue here (see above on how to do linked dc if you choose):
Round 38: ss in next st, ch 1, dc in same st, dc in next st, ch 1, skip st, [dc in next 2 st, ch 1, skip st] 19 times - 60 st.
Round 39: starting in first dc, [sc in next 2 st, sc around ch] 20 times – 60 st.
Round 40: sc in each st around - 60 st.
-Ss in next st, FO.
-Weave in ends.

Drawstring:
Chain until you have a length of about 60 cm/24”, then ss in each ch, FO.
Thread through the ch 1 spaces at the top of the bag, then sew the ends together, weaving your yarn a little way along the drawstring to make the join secure.

Fill with dice – or use for anything else you want!

Dwarf amigurumi pattern

My latest pattern, to make a selection of crochet Dwarves, is finally finished. I started working on this pattern nearly two years ago, but it kept getting put aside for other projects, and I rather lost the urge to get on with it. Then recently, when I was deciding which pattern to work on next, I looked at the one dwarf I had already made, and figured I might as well finish what I'd started and design a few more companions for him. Once I got started I really enjoyed coming up with different looks for the dwarves, and was very glad that I had chosen to work on this pattern!

I made five different dwarves, two female and three male, with all sorts of different looks and accessories. They fit with my other fantasy amigurumi characters, the slightly taller Elves and the smaller Halflings. Dwarves are another classic fantasy race, originally found in Norse and Germanic myths, that have become solidified in modern imagination from books such as The Hobbit and C. S. Lewis' stories of Narnia. They now feature in all sorts of films, books, and especially role playing games, both computer ones and table-top versions such as Dungeons and Dragons.

Dwarves are usually portrayed as being short and stocky, with impressive beards. Female dwarves do not appear so much in literature and film, and so there is no tradition of how they appear. Sometimes, as in Terry Pratchett's Discworld, they are indistinguishable from male dwarves, but games usually show them as bare faced. They don't feature except as background characters in Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, but I was interested to see that he gave them just hints of facial hair. I made my female dwarves without beards, just to show what they'd look like, and so as not to hide the different shape of their bodies, but there's no reason they couldn't have beards as well.

Most stories about dwarves tend to agree that they live underground, and are experts at mining and working metal. They are usually considered to be tough, and good at fighting, so I made my dwarves with warm, practical clothes (mostly crocheted as part of their bodies), including leather belts and wrist guards. I also included extra items that are made separately, such as a sleeveless coat, a simple cloak and a warm hat.

The pattern contains all the details to make these five characters, with different clothes, three different hairstyles (pulled back, loose, and spiky and shaved at the sides), and two sizes of beard. You can also make armour and weapons for them - there is a pattern for a helmet, with or without wings, a round shield, an axe and a war hammer.

You can buy this pattern from Etsy, Ravelry or LoveCrochet. Use all these details to make a dwarf look the way you want, by mixing and matching the different elements and accessories. If anyone makes one themselves, I'd love to see what your dwarf looks like!

Fantasy Amigurumi - Halfling

For quite a while now I've been wanting to design some patterns for various fantasy characters; peoples and creatures that appear in all sorts of folklore, books, films and games. I decided they needed to be a bit bigger than my Star Wars characters (about 3.5" tall) so they would have a bit more detail, but it's taken a bit of experimentation to come up with the right body shape.

 

I made myself a little Frodo some time ago (see him in this post) and so the first pattern I started work on was for a Halfling. This is a generic name for the 'little folk' that appear in folklore, that often keep themselves hidden and can either be helpful or mischievous towards humans. In modern fantasy stories and games these little people often live alongside other fantasy races and have a variety of names and customs. Usually they are good-natured, not too war-like, and enjoy their food and home comforts. They are often portrayed with curly hair and wearing slightly more modern clothes - waistcoats and jackets rather than tunics - than other fantasy races. I think this comes from the fact that belief in hobs, brownies and similar creatures was still around relatively recently, so they are imagined in clothes from the 17th and 18th Century rather than the more medieval costumes favoured by Elves and Dwarfs. I've noticed that Halflings in games often appear as engineer or rogue-type characters; due to their size they're not obviously great warriors but they are quick and good with their hands so those sorts of professions suit them better.

 

My Halfling pattern, available now in my Etsy shop contains all the information needed to make a male or female Halfling, about 5.5" tall, with a choice of clothing. You can make a male Halfling with or without a waistcoat, and with a separate jacket, hat or cloak.

The female Halfling comes with the option of the traditional look with a bodice and skirt, or you can go for the engineer/steampunk look and make a Halfling with spiky hair and goggles.

 

 

I'm now working on a pattern to make Elves, again with a selection of looks, and then I will probably work on a pattern for Dwarfs. After that I welcome any suggestions, though I'd like to do orcs/goblins, perhaps some classical creatures such as minotaurs and fauns, and some human warriors, maybe with a few historical ones (Roman, Viking) mixed in with the fantasy.