Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Knit Minion Cuddly Toy (Lovey)



Minion Lovey

Size 6 Double-pointed knitting needles
Size 8 Double-pointed needles
Size 8 circular needle (I used 16” length)
Yarn needle
About 1 ounce bright yellow yarn
About 3 ounces denim blue yarn
Small amounts of white and black yarn
Small black button or sew-on gemstone
Polyfill

The needle size / gauge aren’t all that important. I wanted a tight knit for the head, so the stuffing wouldn’t show, and a looser knit for the body, to make it more cuddly.  I think the body could have been done with size 9 or 10 needles too.

Start with eye (or eyes… you can make your minion either way): (It’s easier to sew the eye on while you’re still working on the head, but your needles will be busy later...so make the eye first.)
With white yarn and size 6 double-pointed needles, cast on 5 stitches, leaving about 6” of yarn at your starting  point.
Round 1: Being careful not to twist your cast-on stitches, join and knit each stitch (5 stitches)
Round 2:  Increase in each stitch (10 stitches)
Round 3: Change to gray yarn. Increase in first stitch, knit next stitch. Continue around, increasing every other stitch. (15 stitches).
Bind off in purl, leaving 9” or so to sew on. Use starting yarn to tighten up hole in center. Sew a small black button or sew-on gemstone to center of eye.

Head:
With yellow yarn and size 6 double-pointed needles, cast on 8 stitches.
Round 1: Being careful not to twist your cast-on stitches, join and knit each stitch (8 stitches)
Round 2:  Increase in each stitch (16 stitches)
Round 3:  Increase in first stitch, knit next stitch. Continue around, increasing every other stitch. (24 stitches).
Round 4: *Increase in first stitch, knit 2 stitches* repeat around (32 stitches)
Round 5: *Increase in first stitch, knit 3 stitches* repeat around (40 stitches)
(It’s easier to take your beginning thread and tighten up the hole in the middle before your tube gets too long… you might want to tighten it up around this point.)
Round 6: *Increase in first stitch, knit 4 stitches* repeat around (48 stitches)
Round 7: *Increase in first stitch, knit 5 stitches* repeat around (56 stitches)
Round 6: *Increase in first stitch, knit 6 stitches* repeat around (64 stitches)
Work 6 rows even in yellow
Work 2 rows in black
Work 10 rows even in yellow.
(After you do 4 or 5 of those rows, sew on the eye on the black band, so that the eye covers where you changed color. When you get to the end of the 10 rows, you can embroider on the mouth.).
Decrease row: *Knit 6, K2 together* repeat around
Knit one row even
Repeat decrease row


Using  the size 8 circular needle, attach blue yarn and pick up 48 stitches (you’re leaving your yellow stitches on the size 6 needles, but pulling up a blue stitch from each of the yellow stitches).  Put point guards on the ends of the needle so you don’t drop any blue stitches. You’ll finish up the yellow before you work on the blue “skirt”.
Continue to work decreases on the head – by knitting 3 stitches, then knitting two together, until you have about 20 stitches left. Fill head with polyfill. Keep on decreasing until you have 8 stitches. Cut yarn, leaving about 5”. Thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight. Tie off and weave in.
Transfer blue stitches to double-pointed needles if your circular needle is too long to work with them.  Figure out the center front of your work (centered under the eye). Count off six stitches to one side of that and place a marker. Place 3 more markers, each after 12 stitches.
Cuddly “skirt”
Each round: Knit around, increasing after each marker.
 I did my increases by picking up a stitch. I think it might look nicer if the increases were done by a yarn-over. I’ll try that on my next lovey.
Just keep on knitting until the lovey is the desired length. I had a 3.5 ounce skein of yarn and I kept going until I was close to running out of yarn. The “skirt” on my lovey is about 8” long.
GRU logo:
With black yarn and size 6 needles, cast on 8 stitches. Work in stockingnet stitch until you have a square. Cast off, leaving enough yarn to sew on.
Using the chart below and white yarn, embroider the GRU G. Sew logo onto front of lovey.

Using 2 or 3 strands of black yarn, pull a loop through at the center of the top of the head. Pull the other end of the yarn through and pull to tighten to make a top-knot of hair.  If you like a minion with spikey hair, you could tie a single strand of yarn at a few locations at the top of the head.












Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Another fun hat... a Cabbage Patch Doll with curly ponytails



About six weeks ago, I learned a new trick... I made a hat where the ties were a long curl. They were made by making a long chain, and then doing 3 sc in each chain. I've been having fun with that ever since.



I made up a few scrap yarn hats in knit, and then put the curls at the top of the hat. That got me thinking... what if I made a one of my Cabbage Patch doll hats, and did these curls for the ponytails? Once the idea came to me, I just couldn't wait to try! I have a few special orders I should be working on, but I just had to try...






I didn't really use a "pattern". I have the Hat Sizing Chart below saved to my tablet... so I just start crocheting a basic circle where you add one more stitch between increases on each round. When my circle matched the measurement in the chart, I stopped increasing. When the length matched the measurement in the chart, I was done. This hat was made with worsted weight yarn and a size I hook, so it worked up quickly and is more stretchy than something with a smaller hook. Once you know the basics, you can make these in any size and color!




Round 1 was 8 hdc in a magic circle.
Round 2 - 2 hdc in each stitch
Round 3 - **2 hdc in first stitch, hdc in next stitch** repeat around
Round 4 **2 hdc in first stich, hdc in next 2 stitches** repeat around
Keep going, adding 1 more stitch between increases, until you reach the right circle size, according to the chart below. Then you switch to working even on the rows.

Hat Sizing Chart

When you are within one inch of finishing the hat, switch to SC and work the front half of the hat in loop stitch.

For the curls, join the yarn at the side of the hat around the fourth row from the top. Chain 20, and work back toward the hat, doing 2 sc in each chain. When you get to the hat, slip stitch to secure the curl, then repeat the process twice (chain 20, work 2 sc in each chain, slip stitch to hat). Repeat on other side of the hat. Tie curls together bit a bit of ribbon.