Planet Yarn would be inhabited by yarnlings...right? That's what I thought, so I started making them. Some stick around (literally: they have magnets in their bottoms) and some like to travel our own planet. They come in all shapes and as they're made from Stylecraft Special dk, they clearly come in many, many colours (currently 88!).
Although I tend to make them up as I go along I thought it would be fun to send a pattern out there, into the world, so anyone could hook up their own yarnling if they fancied it.
So here is the yarnling in question! Cute eh? This little 'un is made with
bright green Stylecraft Special dk. (Quick note: this is not a toy and the finished item is not suitable to give to small children)
I've worked on making this pattern as easy as possible to follow and if you have any advice to make it even clearer I would be very grateful! If you have a go and get stuck then leave me a message on this post and I'll hopefully get you unstuck!
Yarnling Pattern
by Debbie Sixsmith
Level:
easy stitches but a bit fiddly
Skills
needed: US single crochet (sc)/UK double crochet (dc),
crocheting in the round, slip stich (sl st), crochet in back stitch, magic ring.
Yarn
and equipment needed:
·
Stylecraft Special dk yarn (approx. 10
grams)
·
4mm crochet hook
·
scissors
·
yarn needle
·
stitch marker
·
safety eyes (or sew beads/embroider
them on)
·
magnet (if you want your alien to have
a ‘sticky’ bottom
·
fork or pom pom maker
·
toy stuffing
Notes:
The amigurumi technique of spiralling instead of joining each row is used. It may help you to use a stitch marker so you
know where the end of each row is.
I’ve
included two versions of the pattern, one in UK terms and one in US terms.
The
pattern in UK crochet terms:
Body:
For the base:
Magic circle and dc 6 into magic circle and gently
pull closed (6)
Round 2: 2 dc in each stitch (12)
Round 3: *2 dc in stitch, 1dc in stitch* repeat 5
more times(18)
Round 4: *2 dc, 1 dc, 1 dc* repeat 5 more times
(24)
For the following you will be stitching into the
back stitch only, this will build up the body’s sides.
Rounds 5 – 18: dc in each in the back chain of
each stitch.
Leave a long yarn tail, and leave your last stitch
open, when you fasten off your yarn (about 30cm) because you’re going to close
the top of the head up with it.
Your little alien’s body is inside out right
now…but leave it that way, if you want to sew a magnet into it’s bottom to make
it a sticky alien. If not then turn your
yarnling ‘inside out’ to get it the right way!
Magnet
pocket:
As for the base above, make a magic circle and dc
6 into it and pull gently to close (6)
Round 2: 2dc into each stitch (12)
Round 3: *2dc then 1dc* repeat (18)
To sew magnet into yarnling’s bottom stitch the
little circle you’ve made right over the corresponding circle in the yarnling’s
body, make sure you slip the magnet in before you close the stitching! Now turn your body ‘inside out’ so the pocket
is snugly inside and your alien is not right side out. Don’t worry about any ends, they’ll all be
hidden inside.
 |
| magnet placed on the base of the inside out yarnling |
 |
| pocket placed over the magnet ready to sew on |
Arms
(make two):
Make a magic circle and dc 4 into it and pull
gently closed (4)
Rounds 2 – 6: dc into each stitch (4)
Leave a long yarn tail (about 20cm) so you can sew
the arms on with it. Pull the last loop
closed by fastening off in the normal way.
Your arms are made inside out so using your
crochet hook pull the arm out the right way.
It can be a bit fiddly!
Putting
your yarnling together:
 |
| All the yarnling's components, including magnet and safety eyes. |
Flatten out your yarnling’s body with the long
tail and open loop at the edge (as in the above picture), you are going to be joining your yarnling’s body at the top to make a flat edge, like a cushion.
Decide where you would like its eyes to be
(between rows 10 and 11 looks good) then either fit your safety eyes or sew
some stitches with the yarn colour you’d like for eyes.
Now stuff your yarnling as loosely or as tightly
as you’d like. Like humans, some
yarnlings are plumper than others!
Using the open loop you left at the top of its body
you are going to slip stitch across the top of the yarnling’s body to finish
the top of its head off. When you finish
off lose the end in its body instead of trimming it.
Decide where you your yarnling’s arms will look
best, between rows 8 and 9 right on the sides looks good. Sew your arms on securely (they’re too tiny
for stuffing), fasten off and lose those ends into your stuffed body rather
than trimming them off.
Now does your yarnling need pom pom ears? Most
do! Take yourself off to look at my form
pom pom tutorial here on the Planet Yarn blog or get out your pom pom maker and make
two for your yarnling’s bonce. Sew ‘em
on and you’re good to go!
The
pattern in US crochet terms:
Body:
For the base:
Make a magic circle and sc 6 into it and gently
pull closed (6)
Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch (12)
Round 3: *2 sc in stitch, 1sc in stitch* repeat 5
more times (18)
Round 4: *2 sc, 1sc, 1sc* repeat 5 more times (24)
For the following you will be stitching into the
back stitch only, this will build up the body’s sides.
Rounds 5 – 18: sc in each in the back chain of
each stitch.
Leave a long yarn tail, and leave your last stitch
open, when you fasten off your yarn (about 30cm) because you’re going to close
the top of the head up with it.
Your little alien’s body is inside out right
now…but leave it that way, if you want to sew a magnet into its bottom to make
it a sticky alien. If not then turn your
yarnling ‘inside out’ to get it the right way!
Magnet
pocket:
As for the base above, make a magic circle and sc
6 into it and pull gently to close (6)
Round 2: 2 sc into each stitch (12)
Round 3: *2 sc then 1sc* repeat five times (18)
To sew magnet into yarnling’s bottom stitch the
little circle you’ve made right over the corresponding circle in the yarnling’s
body, make sure you slip the magnet in before you close the stitching! Now turn your body ‘inside out’ so the pocket
is snugly inside and your alien is not right side out. Don’t worry about any ends, they’ll all be
hidden inside.
|
| magnet placed on the base of the inside out yarnling |
|
| pocket placed over the magnet ready to sew on |
Arms
(make two):
Make a magic circle and sc 4 into it and pull
gently closed (4)
Rounds 2 – 6: sc into each stitch (4)
Leave a long yarn tail (about 20cm) so you can sew
the arms on with it. Pull the last loop
closed by fastening off in the normal way.
Your arms are made inside out so using your
crochet hook pull the arm out the right way.
It can be a bit fiddly!
Putting
your yarnling together:
|
| All the yarnling's components, including magnet and safety eyes. |
Flatten out your yarnling’s body with the long
tail and open loop at the edge (as in the photo above), you are going to be joining your yarnling’s body at the top to make a flat edge, like a cushion.
Decide where you would like its eyes to be
(between rows 10 and 11 looks good) then either fit your safety eyes or sew
some stitches/beads for eyes.
Now stuff your yarnling as loosely or as tightly
as you’d like. Like earthlings, some
yarnlings are plumper than others!
Using the open loop you left at the top of its
body you are going to slip stitch across the top of the yarnling’s body to
finish the top of its head off. When you
finish off lose the end in its body instead of trimming it.
Decide where you your yarnling’s arms will look
best, between rows 8 and 9 right on the sides looks good. Sew your arms on securely (they’re too tiny
for stuffing), fasten off and lose those ends into your stuffed body rather
than trimming them off.
Now does your yarnling need pom pom ears? Most
do! Take yourself off to look at my fork
pom pom tutorial on the Planet Yarn blog here or get out your pom pom maker and make
two for your yarnling’s bonce. Sew ‘em
on and you’re good to go!
Copyright of this pattern belongs to Debbie Sixsmith and may not be copied or shared without crediting the owner and website first published on
www.planetyarn.co.uk
You are free to make as many yarnlings as you like for personal use and for sale but please credit the pattern to Debbie Sixsmith at
www.planetyarn.co.uk
