Salacious Crumb - free pattern

My book, Star Wars Crochet, has just been republished in the US, and so should be available on Amazon and in other book and craft stores. When it was first released, earlier this year, it was also stocked on UK Amazon, so hopefully you'll be able to find it there soon as well.

The book includes the pattern for Jabba the Hutt, but there wasn't room to fit in his little pal, Salacious Crumb, so here it is for free! Salacious Crumb is a mischievous and annoying character, something between a monkey and a lizard, who is essentially Jabba's court jester. This crochet version is pretty small, only 2" tall when sitting, and is made all in one piece, with minimal sewing to complete him.

You will need:
Approx 5g beige yarn, double knitting weight.
Small amounts of black and russet brown yarn.
Stuffing.
Tapestry needle.
3.5mm hook (US E hook).

Abbreviations:

ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
ss = slip stitch
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)
bob = bobble (see special stitch instructions)
tog = together
sc2tog = decrease by working two sc together
FO = fasten off

Note on yarn:

Double knitting (DK) yarn is standard in the UK, but in other parts of the world, such as the US, worsted weight is more commonly used. Worsted weight is a little thicker than DK but can easily be substituted and the pattern will still be in proportion, although you may find it necessary to use a hook one size larger.

Special stitch instructions:

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.

Salacious Crumb is made in one piece in rounds from the top of the head down. 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 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.

Work through both loops of stitches unless otherwise indicated.

Pattern Instructions:

Start using beige yarn.
Round 1: Ch 2, work 6 sc into 1^st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] 3 times – 9 st.
Round 3: 2 sc in next st, [ear: ss into next st, ch 5, miss ch next to hook, ss into next 2 ch, sc into next 2 ch, ss back into original st], sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st, [ear], 2 sc in next st, sc in next st - 12 st.
Round 4: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st] 3 times – 15 st.
Round 5: Sc in next 7 st, change to black yarn 3dc bob in next st, change to beige yarn sc in next 7 st - 15 st.
Round 6: 2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st, 2dc bob in next st, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 st, 2 sc in next st, 2dc bob in next st, sc in next 3 st - 18 st.
Round 7: Sc2tog 9 times – 9 st.
Round 8: Sc in each st around - 9 st.
Round 9: Sc in next 3 st, [arm: ss into next st, ch 10, 3dc bob into 3rd ch from hook, ss into next 7 ch, ss back into original st], sc in next 3 st, [arm], sc in next st - 9 st.
Round 10: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 3 times – 12 st.
Round 11: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st] 3 times – 15 st.
Round 12: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 st] 3 times – 18 st.
Round 13: Sc in next 4 st, [tail: ss into next st, ch 15, miss ch next to hook, ss into next 14 ch, ss back into original st], sc in next 13 st - 18 st.
Round 14: Sc2tog, sc in next 4 st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, [leg: ss into next st, ch 11, miss ch next to hook, sc into next 2 ch, miss next ch, ss into next 7 ch, ss back into original st], sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, [leg], sc in next st - 15 st.

Stuff head and body. Push the bobbles on the face outwards and embroider eyes and mouth using black yarn.

Round 15: [Sc2tog, sc in next 3 st] 3 times – 12 st.
Round 16: Sc2tog 6 times – 6 st.

FO, leaving length of yarn. Sew up hole at bottom then take the yarn through the body to the head and sew a couple of stitches into base of ears to keep them closer to head.

To make the fluffy parts you will sew loops of yarn on the top of the head and around the neck. Thread a length of russet brown yarn onto your needle and take the yarn through the crocheted part, leaving a short length of yarn sticking out. Sew a stitch in the same place. Sew a loop next to this, then sew a stitch in the same place to secure it. Make 3-4 loops on the top of the head and 5-6 loops around the neck, leaving a gap at the front. Cut each loop and trim to length. Take the point of the needle through each strand to separate it and create a fluffy effect.

 

 

 

Jabba's Palace

I have just completed my latest Star Wars characters in crochet form; Jabba the Hutt, Salacious Crumb and Slave Leia; and the patterns are now available in my Etsy shop.

I've been meaning to design more Star Wars crochet patterns for a while now, although I always have a very long list of different patterns I want to create. However, last autumn I decided to start working on some new Star Wars characters. I had quite a few requests for Jabba the Hutt, so he seemed the obvious place to begin. He presented a different challenge to most of the other characters - generally I'm trying to simplify a fairly detailed character so that they're cute but still recognisable. Jabba is already quite a simple shape without much detail, and it's hard to consider him cute in any way! I also had to think about what size he should be; the other figures are not in an exact scale with one another, but Yoda is smaller than the human characters and Chewbacca is larger than all of them. I didn't want to make him too big, but he had to be bigger than the others.

In the end I was very happy with the way he came out - he's a simple shape, but the colour change in his face gives a bit of detail, and giving him a proper expression with the eyelids and facial features keep his character. That said, I definitely find him oddly cute in this miniaturised form!

As I was making Jabba it seemed obvious to consider what other characters from Jabba's Palace it would be fun to make patterns for. I decided that Jabba needed his annoying little pet, Salacious Crumb. However, he's pretty small, and I wasn't sure I would be able to give him enough detail. As he's a sort of lizard/monkey I used similar techniques to those I used to make my Mini Monkeys and that approach seemed to work. He seemed too simple a pattern to sell on his own, so I included him with Jabba.

Leia in the slave bikini costume seemed another obvious choice from the Jabba's Palace sequence - I know my husband kept asking when I was going to make her! The original Princess Leia figure I made was quite small, shorter than all the other human characters, and I found it hard to fit in the details of the bikini costume, so I made her a bit taller (the same as Luke). I also decided to change the way I made her hair, and make it as a separate piece of crochet rather than as part of the head.

 

I spent a while deciding how to make her bikini. Looking at the original, the top consists of a metal framework with grey/green leather underneath. I couldn't get the detail in the small amount of stitches I had to work with, so I just tried to show the metal part. The metal is described as brass, but it looks more like bronze to me - I tried to use a yarn that was brass-coloured, but it seemed too pale against the skin, so I settled on a darker bronze-coloured yarn, which I think works.

I was unsure as to whether the skimpy look of Slave Leia would work in a cute mini version, but I think she's turned out looking quite sassy, and ready to strangle Jabba if he causes any trouble!

The changes I made to the Slave Leia figure made me go back to the original Princess Leia figure in her white dress and tweak that pattern so that it was the same height and had hair made in the same way. If you bought the original Princess Leia pattern and you would like the updated version of that as shown here (Slave Leia is a different, separate pattern), just contact me on Etsy and let me know.

I'm now working on a Lando Calrissian pattern, then I 've got to decide which other characters I'd like to do; let me know any suggestions in the comments!

***Latest news July 2014***

The Jabba and original Princess Leia patterns are no longer available for sale, as they are going to be included in a new Star Wars crochet book, due to be published Spring 2015. Keep an eye out in the future as I may release Salacious Crumb as a free pattern.