Broship of the Rings

Oh my gosh, these are too hilarious!  Check out the Broship of the Rings, by Noelle over at How Are You I'm Fine Thanks,

There they are, the Broship.

And this isn't part of the Broship series, but I thought it was too hilarious.

 

 I laugh every time this scene comes on.  It's like Legolas understood what a diversion was only in the most abstract sense, and then, in that moment, it finally clicked for him.  Too funny.

Anyway, you guys really should check out How Are You I'm Fine Thanks, because it's really funny.  And there are really funny X-Men comics over there too.

Link Free Pattern

Link Pattern

Recommended Yarn Colors:

Green for the tunic
Brown for the belt and trousers
Gold for the hair
White for the pants
Beige for the skin


Follow the base amigurumi pattern. Start the beginning chain stitches in green, and then do row 1 in green.  Switch to white at row 2, and then switch to brown for the boots when indicated in the pattern.  Link does not have regular hair; please see this pattern for his hair instructions.

Link's arm color guide:
Row 1-3: brown
Row 4-5: White
Row 6-end: green

Link's Hat and Hair:

The hat should be very snug against Link’s head.  The stitch count may vary for you, depending on how full you stuffed the head, so if 32 stitches seems too big or too small for you, adjust accordingly by making fewer or less chain stitches.

Start off with a chain of 32 stitches.  Slip stitch into the first stitch, being careful not to twist the chain.

Row 1-2: Even

Row 3: (sc in next 14 sts, sc2tog) twice

Row 4: even

Row 5: (sc in next 13 sts, sc2tog) twice

Row 6: even

Row 7: (sc in next 12 sts, sc2tog) twice

Row 8: even

Row 9: (sc in next 11 sts, sc2tog) twice

Row 10: even

Row 11: (sc in next 10 sts, sc2tog) twice

Row 12: even

 And so on, alternating a decrease row with an even row until you are sc2tog in every stitch.  Bind off and leave a long tail.

Take the long tail from the end of the hat and use it to sew Link’s hat down.  That’s it!  Just fold over the hat and sew it down—I find that sewing it down in three or four places does the trick nicely.  Don’t sew the hat to Link’s head.  Just sew it to itself.  Now we’re ready for the hair!

Take a length of gold yarn—about 6 feet or so—and tie a knot in one end.  Place the hat on Link’s head and mark where the first set of hair needs to go.  As you can see from the main picture, you want the hair to span from right over Link’s right eye to his left shoulder.  

Thread the yarn through the loops made by the single crochet.  DO NOT PULL THE YARN TIGHT!  You want it to hang down.  There is no need to knot the yarn on every loop, because the yarn will want to stay where you put it.  Remember to not pull the yarn taut!

Now repeat this process on the other side of the hat, going from the same spot over Link’s right eye to his right shoulder.  Notice how much shorter this length of hair is.  When you are done making the loops, tie a knot to secure the yarn but do not cut the tail.

Position that hat on Link’s head and you’re done!  Use the long yarn tail from the hair loops to secure the hat on Link’s head.  The tightness of the hat should work in your favor here, because it won’t want to slip off.  A couple of loops with the yellow yarn securing the hat to the head should do the trick. 

Link's Belt:

Start by chaining 17 stitches.  Now it is time for the pouch.  

Row 1: Sc in the previous 3 stitches.  Ch 1, turn.

Row 2: Sc in the next 3 stitches.  Ch 1, turn.

Row 3: Sc in the next 3 stitches.  Ch 1, turn.

Row 4: Sc in the next 3 stitches.  Ch 1, but do not turn.  You need to go up the side of

the pouch now, so do 2 sc along the side and then 1 slip stitch back up to the top.  You should be level with the original chain now, so continue along your way.

 

Finish the belt off with more chain stitches.  How many chain stitches you will need will vary on many factors; how fully the amigurumi was stuffed, your tension, etc.  For my purposes I required 12 more chain stitches after the pouch was completed, but you may need a few more or less.  The most important thing is that the belt is snug around the waist, but does not pinch.  It should be tight enough to stay without being secured in any way.  Fasten the belt with a slip stitch and weave in the ends.

Now it's time to attach the belt that runs across Link's chest.  Pick up a stitch at the back of Link's belt, about the middle of his back, and begin chaining.

Continue chaining until your belt is long enough to reattach in the front.  Attach this chain to the first belt.

Support this pattern by buying Legend of Zelda games through this link!

Art Dinouveau

I work in a used bookstore, so I come across a lot of really weird stuff.  Most of the time the stuff is gross, covered with bugs, cat urine, or various other things that don't merit being mentioned here, but every once in a while I come across something really cool, like this crazy bible dinosaur book (I actually see those quite often, unfortunately).  But this book is way, way cooler.  It is the neatest dinosaur book I've ever seen.

I mean, right?  The whole book is a dinosaur Art Nouveau extravaganza.  The title page actually says that the style is called Art Dino (dee-no).  And yes, that pronunciation is included.  Check out some of the pictures.

I really like this little squiddy decoration at the bottom.  (or is it a nautilus?)

A black and white picture to show the crazy border, even if the picture is kind of gross.

You just kind of have to wonder how something like this would get made.  I mean, I'm eternally grateful that it did, I just am very curious.  I really want to display this somehow, but I don't want to cut up the book.  Maybe I replicate one of the pictures in embroidery?  Or force boyfriend to paint one of them?  I don't know.  But it is available at Amazon, and the used price starts at only $0.25!  I guess at that price I could afford to buy a couple and tear out the pictures to my heart's content.


Stay tuned!

Major Overhaul!!

Alright, well, as you may have noticed, the site looks a little different around here.  If you are reading this in a blog reader, click through!  It's a little more polished, a little more fancy, and that's just the beginning.   The biggest change around here is the new series of free patterns that I am going to start offering. 

 

These two are the first free patterns available!  Han's pattern is being released today, Leia's should follow next week.

 

And these two are coming soon!  Link's ready to go, but Zelda's still not finished yet.

Gosh, both of those pictures really look like cheesy high school pictures of couples, right? That was not my intention.

And a preview picture!   I'm very excited about this one, I think you guys will really love it.

I have many more characters in the works right now, and hopefully I will be able to put out a new pattern every couple of weeks or so.  I have some really big plans for these free patterns.  I don't want to spill the beans yet, but if I can work it out there should be some pretty amazing stuff here soon.

I am still going to be selling patterns in my etsy shop as well.  I consider those to be on a different level than these patterns, and I am never going to put any information from those patterns on this site, like any sculpey tutorials or felt patterns.  So if you want an original Geek Central Station Star Wars amigurumi, head on over to my etsy shop!

So everyone, this is a pretty big deal to me, so please let me know what you think of everything!  I want to know if the patterns are good, if you like them, and what patterns you would like to see in the future!  And if you create anything with these patterns, please feel free to send me some pictures.  I love seeing what everyone makes!

Stay tuned!

Yarn Hair Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to put yarn hair into your amigurumi.  If you prefer instead to use embroidery floss, which allows you a little more freedom in the styling area, click here. 

First off, a note.  I find that regular worsted weight yarn is a little too bulky for hair.  Here are some of my preferred yarns.

Silk Bamboo Yarn for the dark haired characters.
Simply Soft Yarn for the lighter haired characters.

I like these yarns because they are a little thinner than the worsted weight, and I like the way that they hang.

Another note:  With hair I've found that less is more.  If you bulk up on the hair too much it will sit funny, even with the thinner yarn.  Put in less hair plugs than you think you need.  You can always add more later if you have patches, but the fewer the better.

 Tutorial

Step 1: I like to cut all of the hair lengths before I start.  That way I don't have to stop after every stitch and cut another piece.  Strands should be from 6 inches -12 inches long, depending on how long you want the hair.   Remember, the strands will be doubled over, so be sure you cut a long enough piece.  You can always cut it shorter!

When you have all your yarn ready, insert your hook into the ami's head.  Start at the bottom of the hairline; about halfway up on the head (as shown below) is low enough.

 Step 2: Take one of the lengths of yarn and fold it in half.  Grab it with your crochet hook and pull through.

 Step 3: Wrap the yarn around the crochet hook and pull through the loop on the hook.

 Step 4: You should have a little knot made.  Repeat this process around the head.  Start off pretty sparsely at the bottom, only adding volume once you get to the top of the head.  If you put too many loops at the bottom your ami's hair will stick straight out.

 Step 5: Once every loop is in, cut the hair!  For the ami's with longer hair, this might just mean a snip at the bottom to make the strands even.  For the ami's with shorter hair, this can mean some pretty complicated styling.    You are going to want to cut the hair at the bottom first, and then work your way up.  The hair at the top will be shorter than at the bottom.  Basically you want the top of the hair to be just long enough to cover the knots of the bottom.  Start slowly and reevaluate often.  You are probably going to cut a lot more than you thought, but if you are unsure always stay on the longer side.  You can always cut it shorter!

Han Solo Free Pattern

Han Solo Pattern

 

Recommended yarn colors:

Dark Blue for the pants
White for the shirt
Black for the vest
Dark Brown for the belt and holster
Silver for the belt buckle
Beige for the skin
Red for the stripes

Follow the base amigurumi pattern.  If you like, you can start Han off by chaining the first 30 sts in black, to make his belt , and then switch to the dark blue.  If you prefer not to change colors that often, though, it's not very important.

Follow the directions using the above colors as your guide.  Once you are done with the body, it's time to move on to the accessories!

Click here for hair instructions.

Han's Vest:

Arguably his most recognizable accessory.  Below are the instructions for the vest, HOWEVER, your pattern may require fewer or more stitches depending on your gauge and how tightly/loosely you stuffed your ami.  Please use your best judgement as to whether or not to add/take away stitches.

Start by chaining 26 in black yarn.  Use the above picture for a guide.  When you size this around Han's waist, there should be about a 1 inch gap in the front.

Single crochet 3 rows.  Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row.

Now you want to start decreasing.  You are going to decrease 2 stitches every row.  I placed my decreases randomly, because I didn't want lines of decreases. Do this for the next four rows, or until the vest reaches to just below Han's arms.

Now is the arm hole row.  SC in the next 2 sts.  Now chain 7 stitches, and attach with a slip stitch to the 4th or 5th st from the beginning of your chain.  This makes a hole just big enough for the arm.  Now is a good time to size it, to make sure that the hole is not too big or too small.  If it is, adjust accordingly.  Single crochet for another 5 sts, then chain 7 again and attach to the 4th or 5th st from the beginning of the second chain.  Single crochet until the end of the row.   DO NOT cut the yarn.

To give the vest a nice clean edge I like to single crochet around the edges  (see picture below--"last stitch" refers to the last stitch you made before the decorative edge). Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail.  Use the long tail to secure the vest in place, paying special attention to the front.  If not secured, the vest will flop open and generally look a little disheveled.

 Han's Belt:

In brown yarn, chain about 32 stitches.  This length should be long enough to circle around Han's waist and droop slightly over his right hip.  Attach the last chain to the first in a slip stitch.

SC the next 6 sts, ch 1 and turn

SC 4 sts, ch 1 and turn

SC 3 sts, ch 1 and turn

SC 2 sts.  Leave a long tail and pull through the loop.  Use the tail to wrap around the bottom of the leg.  Secure the tail and cut the yarn.

Buckle:

ch 4, turn

sc in the next 3 sts, ch 1 and turn

sc in next 2 sts, cut yarn and pull through the loop.  Use the tail to attach to the belt.

Red Stripe

Take a small length of the red yarn and use an embroidery needle to embroider the stripe up both sides of the leg.  Mine is a little off-kilter, but you get the idea.

Support this pattern by buying Star Wars items through this link!

Base Amigurumi Pattern

Base Amigurumi Pattern

IMPORTANT: Unlike most amigurumi, which are made either from the top down or bottom up, this pattern is made from the middle.  The legs are made first, and then the rest of the body.  I prefer to use Cascade 220yarn, as it comes in a ton of different shades so you can always find what color you want.

I only use 2 crochet hooks while making amigurumi; an F hook and an H hook.  Most everything is made with the H hook.  The F hook is used for smaller detail parts; most of those instructions will be on the individual character pages.  Everything on this page uses an H hook unless specifically noted otherwise.

LEGS:
This should be done in whatever color you want the pants to be.  If you want a belt, start with the belt color and then change to the pants color in row 2.

Start by chaining 30 stitches.  Slip stitch the last stitch to the beginning stitch, making sure that the row isn’t twisted.

Row 1: even

Row 2: 15 sc, ch 6                                                                               (21)

Attach the chain stitch to the first stitch in the row with a slip stitch.

 NOTE: Your colors may vary.

Row 3: sc in next 6 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 5 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 6 sts   (19)

 Row 4-5: even

Row 6: (sc in next 4 st, sc2tog) three times, 1 sc                                    (16)

Row 7: even

If you want to make boots, change to the boot color on this row.  If not, continue with the original color.

Row 8: (sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog) twice, 4 sc                                           (14)

Row 9: even

Row 10: (sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog) twice, 4sc                                          (12)

Row 11: (sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog) twice, 4 sc                                         (10)

Row 12: (sc in next 1 st, sc2tog) three times, 1 sc                                  (7)

Row 13: sc2tog all around.  Bind off and weave in all ends.

Now start on the other leg.

You do not need to chain 6 again!  When you are working the even row on row 1, simply single crochet in the already made chain stitches from the first leg.

Row 1: even                                                                                        (21)

Row 2: Follow instructions above starting on Row 3 and continue until Row 13 is completed.  Leave a long tail.

Once you are done with this leg, take the long tail and sew the legs together so they don’t point in every direction.  Secure the yarn with a knot  and stuff inside the leg.

 

 These are what your legs should look like after you are done crocheting them.

 

These are what your legs should look like after they have been sewn together.  Don't worry if the thickness is uneven, that will even out when you stuff it.  What will NOT even out is if the leg length is uneven.  If the length is uneven, it means you missed/added a row somewhere in one leg and not the other, and you'll have to frog the leg and redo it.

ARMS: Make two
You start the arm at the "hand" part, so choose your colors accordingly.  Start with the skin color, and if your character is wearing long sleeves, row 4 is a good place to change to the shirt color.  If your character has short sleeves, row 7 or 8 is a good place to change colors.
Row 1: 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook
Row 2: (sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) twice
Row 3: even
Row 4: even
Row 5: even
Row 6: even

Row 7-10: even

BO, leave a long yarn tail to attach arm to body

BODY and HEAD:

Once the legs are completed it’s time to finish the body.  Start by picking up 30 stitches from the other side of the chain that you made during the leg instructions.  Use whatever color you would like the shirt to be for this part.

Row 1-3: even                 

Row 4: (sc in next 7 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                   (27)

Row 5: even

Row 6: (sc in next 6 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                   (24)

Row 7-8: even

Row 9: (sc in next 5 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                   (21)

Row 10: even

Row 11: (sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                 (18)

Row 12: even

Row 13: (3 sc, sc2tog) three times, 3 sc                                                 (15)

Row 14: even

Change to beige yarn for the head.  I prefer Vanna White's Beige yarn for all skin tones, as this is the most natural looking skin colored yarn I have ever come across.

Row 15: (sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (20)

Row 16: (sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (25)

Row 17: (sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (30)

Row 18: (sc in next 5 sts, 2 sc in next st) five times                                (35)

Row 19-21: even

Now is when you want to attach the arms, put in the safety eyes and stuff the whole body.  Use a stitch holder to secure the last stitch you made and use the long tail from the arms to weave them into the body.  Be careful to align them with the legs—you don’t want arms that are not in line with the rest of the body!  I like to place the eyes around row 20-21, but you should use your own judgment to achieve maximum cuteness.  Make sure you stuff the body very tightly, including the tips of the legs, which can be hard to reach.  You can alter the form of the amigurumi with stuffing if you are careful—squish and squeeze to make your figure longer or fatter.

Row 22: (sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                             (30)

Row 23: (sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                             (25)

Row 24: (sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                             (20)

Row 25: (sc in next 1 st, sc2tog) five times, sc in next 5 sts                               (15)

Row 26: sc2tog until head is completely closed. Bind off and cut the yarn and weave in the ends.

You're finished with the body!  Now it's time to add the details to fully finish your character.