Difficulty: 3/5 (Moderate)
Tonight's update will be for a nicely sized Vileplume doll. This doll might look tough, but all the pieces are very basic shapes; the difficulty is entirely in the assembly. Before we go any further, I'd like to address a small mistake I made when making the prototype doll you see above. I accidentally sewed the petals a little too high on one side; I didn't realize this until the doll was finished. As a result, the yellow ring at the center of the doll was too big, and looked a little awkward when it was sewed to the final piece. Yours should fit properly given the instructions below, but feel free to contact me to make a correction if they don't. As always, you can also send me questions and comments at 2DCuttlefish@gmail.com.
Materials
-Yarn (in addition to the quantities below, you will also need a small amount of black yarn for detail embroidery)
- For regular Vileplume: (A) 1/2 6-oz skein in dark blue, (B) small amount of gold, (C) 1/2 6-oz skein in pink, and (D) small amount of yellow.
- For shiny Vileplume: (A)1/2 6-oz skein in dark green, (B) small amount of gold, (C) 1/2 6-oz skein in light yellow, and (D) small amount of brown.
-4.5
mm (size 7) crochet hook
-Fiberfill
– I recommend a nice, soft variety that's good for stuffed animals
-Tapestry
needle
-Pins
-Scraps
of
felt, loose fabric, etc. in red and white (orange and white for the shiny alternate-color version) to make the eyes and petal details, respectively.
You can also make them using needle felting, if you know how –
that's the way I did it for the example doll shown in the photos.
-Scraps
of yarn for round markers
Gauge:
Gauge is not important for this work. With the given yarn and hook
size, the finished doll will stand about 8 inches (20.32 cm) in
height; adjust yarn and/or hook size if a bigger or smaller doll is
desired. Just make sure your stitches are of a consistent size and
tightness.
Notation
(US crochet)
ch:
chain
st:
stitch
sc:
single crochet
hdc:
half-double crochet
slst:
slip stitch
inc:
increase stitch (perform 2 sc in the next stitch of the work)
dec:
decrease stitch (insert hook into next stitch, yarn over and pull
through the stitch. Insert hook into next stitch, yarn over and pull
through first loop. Yarn over again, pull through all 3 loops on
hook.)
*Note:
You do not need to use the same brand or colors of yarn I used, but
you should try and pick a 100% acrylic yarn for this doll. Acrylic
yarn is generally best for amigurumi dolls as it holds the stiff
weave required to maintain the structure of the doll. This is
especially true for large dolls like this one, whose weight may cause
non-acrylic yarns to sag and lose shape over time.
Body
Round 1: With A, 8 sc in starter circle (8)
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around. (16)
Round 3: *sc in next st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (24)
Round 4: *sc in next 2 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (32)
Round 5: *sc in next 3 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (40)
Round 6: *sc in next 4 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (48)
Round 7: *sc in next 5 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (56)
Round 8: *sc in next 6 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (64)
Round 9: *sc in next 7 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (72)
Rounds 10-22: sc in each st around. (72)
Round 23: * sc in next 7 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (64)
Rounds 24-25: sc in each st around. (64)
Round 26: *sc in next 6 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (56)
Rounds 27-28: sc in each st around. (56) Switch to B at the end of Round 28. This is a good time to start stuffing; continue to do so until you finish the piece.
Round 29: *sc in next 5 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (48)
Round 30: *sc in next 4 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (40)
Round 31: *sc in next 3 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (32)
Round 32: *sc in next 2 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (24)
Round 33: *sc in next st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (16)
Round 34: dec in each st around until closed.
Finish off, leaving trail.
Petals (Make 5)
Round 1: With C, 8 sc in starter circle (8)
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around. (16)
Round 3: *sc in next st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around.
Round 4: *sc in next 2 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around.
Round 5: *sc in next 3 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around.
Round 6: *sc in next 4 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around.
Round 7: *sc in next 5 st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around.
Rounds 8-12: sc in each st around.
Round 13: *sc in next 5 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around.
Round 14: sc in each st around.
Round 15: *sc in next 4 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around.
Round 16: sc in each st around.
Round 17: *sc in next 3 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around.
Rounds 18-19 sc in each st around.
Round 20: *sc in next 2 st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around.
Round 21: *sc in next st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around.
Finish off, leaving a long trail. Do not stuff yet. Flatten the petal and use a yarn needle and the trail to whipstitch along the crease around the edge of the petal; this will create the edge of the petal and help it hold a flattened shape.
Lightly stuff the completed petal. Be careful to distribute the stuffing evenly.
Arms (Make 2)
Round 1: With A, 6 sc in starter circle. (6)
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around. (12)
Round 3: *sc in next st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around. (18)
Rounds 4-9: sc in each st around (18)
Finish off, leaving trail. Stuff firmly.
Legs (Make 2)
Round 1: With A, 6 sc in starter circle. (6)
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around. (12)
Rounds 3-6: sc in each st around (12)
Stuff firmly. Finish off, leaving trail.
Feet (Make 2)
Round 1: With A, 6 sc in starter circle. (6)
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around. (12)
Round 3: *sc in next st, inc.* Repeat from * to * around (18)
Rounds 4-7: sc in each st around, (18)
Round 8: *sc in next st, dec.* Repeat from * to * around. (12)
Round 9: dec around until closed.
Finish off, leaving trail.
Flower Center (Make 1)
This is the "ring" that goes around the center of Vileplume's flower. It's length will vary depending on how you sew the petals to your doll's body. For this reason, I recommend you first attach and sew the petal pieces to the doll. Instructions for this are found in the "Assembly" section at the end of the pattern. When you've done this, it will look a bit like this:
Row 1: With D, ch 40. (40) This should be just enough to encircle the center area of the flower. If it isn't, add or remove ch until it does. When you're happy, turn.
Row 2: sc in 2nd st from hook. Continue to sc in each st to the end of the row (39) ch 1, turn.
Rows 3-4: Repeat Row 2 (39)
Finish off, leaving a long trail. Fold the piece lengthwise and, using a whipstitch, sew the top of Row 4 to the bottom of Row 1. Finally, sew the ends of the piece to each other to make it into a ring. Do not cut the trail yet; you will be using it to sew the ring to the doll.
Assembly: If you haven't yet, pin and attach the petals to the body piece. They should be attached at Round 28 of the body, where the color changes from A to B. Refer to the picture provided in the "Flower Center" instructions for reference for this. Finish the flower part by sewing the Flower Center piece around the edge of the petals, as seen below:
Next, sew the leg and foot pieces together, as seen below:
Pin the legs and feet to the doll, and sew into place. More reference images for this assembly are available at the end of this pattern.
Finishing Touches
Eyes: Using red fabric, felt, etc., make Vileplume's eyes. The shape of the eyes is a simple circle. You can also make the eyes from needle felting and red wool roving, if you know how. This is how I made the eyes in the example doll.
Mouth: Using a yarn needle and black yarn, embroider a smiling mouth onto Vileplume's face.
Petal Details: Using white fabric, felt, etc., make the spots on Vileplume's petals. This part is a bit freeform, as the number, size, and shape of the spots is irregular. Add 4-7 spots of whatever size and shape you desire to each petal piece. I used wool roving and needle felting to make the details on my doll; feel free to use this method if you know how.
Further images have been provided below for you to reference while creating your doll.
No comments:
Post a Comment