The brown one was version 1.0. I went a little bigger with the green one (although it's a thinner yarn, so it doesn't look bigger), and then the blue one, and then a pink one where I added some rows; I was finally happy with the pink one, so here's the pattern. These work up really fast! I used Tulip Slick fabric paint for the eyes and mouth so I wouldn't have to embroider the face!
Pattern:
I used worsted weight yarn and a 4.5 mm hook. It takes about 2/10 of an ounce for the body, so you can use up some small scraps. For the blue guy, I couldn't find the right shade of orange for his gills, so I took a ball of variegated that had yellow and orange in it, and cut my gill pieces from that.
Round 1: 5 sc in MR (5)
I worked over my starting yarn tail so I didn't have to weave it in later
Round 2: Inc in each stitch (10)
Rounds 3-5: sc in each stitch (10)
If you are going to embroider your face, it is easier to do it now. Eyes are over round 3, mouth over round 4.
Round 6 - add arms: sc x 4, (ch 3, starting in 2nd ch, sl st 2), sc x 2, (ch 3, starting in 2nd ch, sl st 2), sc x 4. (10 stitches + 2 arms)
Round 7-8: sc in each stitch (on round 7, push rhe arm to the right side so you can work behind it).
Round 9: repeat round 6
Round 10: sc in each stitch (10)
Now we go to working in rows to shape the tapered tail.
Row 11: sl st x 3, sc x 4, ch 1, turn (for the next row, we're only working in the 4 sc)
Row 12: dec x 2, ch 1, turn (2)
Row 13: dec (1)
Fiinish off and weave in your yarn end.
Cut 9 pieces of yarn in the gill color. I wrapped the yarn around two fingers to get a good length for working with.
Loop one piece of yarn through each side of the head at rows 2, 3 & 4.
Loop the tail gils at the bottom center, then at each side of row 12.
Separate the strands of yarn and trim to the desired length.
If you are using fabric paint for the face, apply and set aside (up high if you have kids who want to play with their axolotl) until paint dries.
