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.

Star Wars PSA's

These Star Wars public service announcements by College Humor are actually pretty funny!  Color me surprised.  I'm actually pretty pleased that they restrained themselves from making some sort of Admiral Ackbar "Trap" reference, although it seems that they couldn't refrain from a "Keep Calm and Carry On" spoof.   Oh well.  They are still pretty great.

Ha ha, in tiny print it says "Paid for by the Endor Department of Parks and Recreation."  I would watch that show.  An ewok Ron Swanson would be hilarious.

It was specieisim! And anti-robotism!  R2D2 almost died fighting, shouldn't he at least get a purple heart or something? 

I don't know what's coming out of that cup, but it sure ain't blue milk.  It looks like how Hutts are born.

Anyway, I thought these were pretty great.  Stay tuned!

My fancy art installation

So, if you've ever read this blog before, you probably know that I really like dinosaurs. So when I came across these little plasticy dinosaur figures at Wal-Mart for $1 each, I instinctively grabbed one of every kind.  But, you know, they were really cheap and plasticy, and I wanted something classy to go with my alien portrait. So here's what we did.

 Oh hey Artoo!  He's such a camera hog, he just had to get in the picture too.

 They're pretty neat looking, right?  We just spray painted them with primer, grabbed some cheap acrylic from the store and went to town!  They're really colorful and bright and really cute, and pretty cheap to make.  Let me know what you think!

Stay tuned!

Is this the 50's, or 1999?

I think it's funny that Huey Lewis and the News picked 1999 as some distant future to reference in Back to the Future.  I mean, I know we made a lot of technological advancements from 1983 to 1999, but still, wouldn't you pick, like, 2099?  Or 2199?  Or something REALLY far into the future?  Anyway.  How cool is this plush DeLorean?  Of course this is made by the same plush engineer who came up with these really amazing felt dragons.

Look at all the detail!  It's pretty amazing.  I think the back engine parts are my favorites.  Anyway, you can see more pictures of it here, including more detail shots and some in progress shots.  I can't even imagine how many tiny stitches this thing must have! 

Stay tuned!

I must have this

That is all.

 

More pictures here. 

Stay tuned.

Really Cool Artwork

Check out this amazing artwork I found on Flickr!

 

First off, a couple of whores from Assassin's Creed.  I couldn't find any Altair or Ezio,which is unfortunate, but I guess the whores don't get enough attention. They are very helpful to have around when some...distraction is in order.

And Enslaved!  I didn't think anyone besides me played that game.  While it had a pretty unsatisfying ending, in my opinion, it was still pretty fun to play and looked gorgeous.  Honestly, the screen caps of the landscapes were pretty much the entire reason I bought the game.

I guess I should take back that thing I said about John Marston smiling.  He looks pretty cute here.

Some Dune artwork.  Some drunk Duncan and Lady Jessica.

And some Tali!

All of these are done by Waspwolfshark, and there are more cool pictures over at her flickr page.  You should really check it out.  She's got some more Mass Effect stuff, some Bioshock stuff, and some Dragon Age stuff, just to name a few.  There's some NSFW stuff over there, so heads up.

Stay tuned!

Twoferone

So I've been wanting to do a needlework project for a while now, and, of course, I also wanted it to be geeky. I came up with something that has a reference from not one but TWO of my favorite shows. One: Parks and Recreation. Two: Archer. Now, if you are easily offended, what the hell are you doing here? Just kidding. Some people might find this offensive, but I assure you, it's (probably) not.

See? It's all flowery and curly and stuff. Boyfriend designed it for me, since he loves typography stuff. I think it turned out really nice.

Reference 1: Parks and Rec. "Just the Tip" was the name of Andy's band before it became "Mouserat". And then "Scarecrow Boat". And then "Mouserat" again. And before you ask, yes, I want to make a MouseRat embroidery as well. And some/all of the following:
God Hates Figs
Everything Rhymes with Orange
Nothing Rhymes with Orange
Fiveskin
Fourskin
Threeskin
Muscle Confusion
Puppy Pendulum
Teddy Bear Suicide
And maybe RatMouse? I don't know. But I love all of the band names. Wikipedia says that the guy who plays Andy made up over 200 fake band names for that scene. That's commitment.
Reference 2: Archer. Okay, this one is probably offensive. (Warning: Video contains nudity. Animated nudity, but still) Seriously, if you have Netflix streaming you need to go watch Season 1. So funny.

Anyway, let me know what you think! And if anyone is interested in the pattern, let me know and I'd be happy to put it up for download somewhere.

Stay tuned!

Red Dead Redemption

So, I love Red Dead Redemption.  It is a fantastic game, and I am just now going through my second playthrough of it after putting in about 40 hours in the first playthrough.  I could ride around on my horse all day, watching the sun rise in Armadillo and watching it set over my ranch in Tall Trees.

If you have never played this game, I strongly recommend it. Sure it has fun shooting sequences, and like I said, riding around on your horse is fun and surprisingly relaxing, as long as you don't let some robbers sneak up on you or anything.  I learned how to play Liar's Dice, and I learned that even if I get caught cheating at poker I am a faster draw than most anyone.  

But there are parts of the game that are just amazing--anything to do with the mysterious stranger, for one (Seriously, go watch the youtube link.  Even if you've never played the game, the writing and acting are excellent).  And the little vignettes you come across while playing make this game different than anything else I've ever played.  One time I was riding my horse around Mexico, just wandering around, and in the middle of nowhere I came across a woman who had been murdered.  Her husband was next to her, crying, and since there was nothing I could do--no one to track down, no one to save--I left.  About 10 seconds later I heard a shot fired and chills went up my spine.  I didn't go back to check out what happened.

ANYWAY!  Totally not the point of this post.  Check out my little John Marston!

 

 As you can see (well, maybe not from this picture but from the rest) I made little John Marston with legs, instead of the usual round base.  It's the same pattern as the all crochet Link I made, and I really like it.

John here is complete with his revolver, his rifle, an ammo belt (both across his chest and around his belt), his magical bag which can carry 30 wolf pelts in it, a lasso and a fancy belt buckle.  Oh, and a feather in his hat. 

If it looks like his eyebrows are moving, it's because they are not sewed down.  I really like them--I can't picture John without a look of worry and anger on his face--but boyfriend doesn't like them at all.  Plus, when I think of John smiling I think of how creepy Shepard is when he smiles.  I think John would look the same way if he ever tried to smile.

And here's a closeup of his face, so that you can see his scars.  I know they are kind of small and he's missing the scars over his nose and lip, but boyfriend said it would be too much to try and put them all on there.

Do I have a thing for westerns?  I dislike most western movies so much that I waited about 6 months to buy this game because I was afraid I wouldn't like the premise enough to bother playing it.  And then there's the new True Grit movie, which I absolutely loved, which comes out on DVD next week and which I will be buying on day 1.  And I also love Maverick!  And Deadwood!  (PS--The ONLY reason I saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie was because Ian McShane was in it.  The ONLY reason I liked the new Pirates movie was because Ian McShane was in it, even though I felt he could have used more screen time.  And a couple more expletives)  Maybe I will have to reconsider my stance on westerns after all.

Anyway, let me know what you think about him!  Stay tuned!

Portrait of an Alien Overlord as a Young Alien

So, I bet a lot of you have been wondering what I've been up to this past year. (What's that? You haven't? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway.) Now that the drywall is up and (mostly) painted we have had time to start to decorate. Here is one of my favorite corners of the house:
Aww, isn't he cute? Well, don't let him hear you say that, he'll feed you to the grablorx. Oh, and if anyone is wondering (again, probably not, but I'll tell you anyway) the pictures on the right side of the picture are portraits of our cats. They can be the alien's evil minions though, if that sounds cooler.

Frame is from IKEA, picture is from me nagging boyfriend constantly to paint a smug alien overlord. Let me know what you think!

Stay tuned!