Caleb's Pickachu

You may remember that last year, I made my nephew Caleb an Oshawott for his first birthday. It was my first try at amigurumi, and it turned out well, if I do say so myself. So, for his second birthday, I decided to try a Pikachu. Pikachu has a more complicated body shape, since he's all one contoured piece from his feet to his head, and I had a little more trouble finding a pattern I really liked.

I settled on the Pikachu pattern from Etsy seller getfun for the body, ears, and arms of my Pikachu. However, this pattern uses felt for the tail, feet, and details, and I really wanted my Pika to be all crochet.

So, I used the pattern for the tail, feet, and stripes from the Pikachu pattern by WolfDreamer Off the Hook. I improvised the cheeks and eyes, as they're just circles.

While you can definitely tell that this is Pikachu, I'm not quite as happy with this effort as I was with Oshawott. I'm something of a perfectionist, and I wanted Pika to look just like the cartoon. In the end, Caleb seemed to like it, which is what's really important.

Andy, Caleb, and Pikachu

Pattern: Poke Bag

My nephew who just turned two last month has already seen enough episodes of Pokemon to have his own favorites, leading me to crochet him an Oshawott and a Pickachu (post soon!). Of course, my little buddy's love of Pokemon is just an excuse for his dad, the older of my two younger brothers, to watch.

Actually, we don't make excuses, my brother and I love Pokemon! So, for his birthday I made him a bag to hold the damage counters, status problem markers, coins, etc. that we need to play the Pokemon TCG.

 It's a Pokeball!

The twist on this bag is that it has a flat bottom. So, when you open it and fold down the sides, it turns into a handy bowl to for easy access to grab the tokens during a game.

I actually first thought of this concept some time ago and made a smaller version for my dad. I haven't ever written up the pattern for that, so I'll do that soon. In the meantime, here's the pattern for the Pokeball version.

Materials

Appoximate amounts worsted weight yarn:

90 yards - Red
95 yards - White
20 yards - Black
H Hook

Pattern

For anyone unfamiliar with working in continuous rounds instead of joining at the end of each round: Place a stitch marker in the first stitch of the round, and move it up as you complete each round.
Round 1: Create a magic ring. 6 sc into ring.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around.
Round 3: *Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st* Repeat around.
Round 4: *Sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st* Repeat around.
Round 5; *Sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st* Repeat around.
Round 6: *Sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st* Repeat around.
Round 7: *Sc in next 5 sts, 2 sc in next st* Repeat around.
Round 8 - 15: Sc in each st around.
Row 16 - 17: Change to black. Sc around.
Row 18 - 24: Change to white. Sc around.
Row 25: [Sc in next 6 sts, ch 2, skip 1 sc, sc in next sc] repeat seven times around.
Row 26: [Sc in each sc, work one sc around the ch 2 from previous row], repeat around.
Row 27: Sc around.
Row 28: Sc around until 3 last three sts. Sl st into the last 3 sc from previous round. Finish off and weave in tail under the first few sts of the final round to create a smooth edge.

Button (make one):
Using black, create a magic ring. 12 dc in magic ring, sl st to join. Finish off.
Using white, create a magic ring. 12 hdc in magic ring, sl st to join. Finish off.
Center the white circle on top of the black circle and position both on the front of the bag so that the black stripe on the bag is behind the center of the circles. Using white, sew through both circles to attach.

Use white yarn to chain stitch or braid a drawstring or use ribbon. Thread through the spaces created in rows 25 and 26 of the bag pattern.

While it's pretty simple, this is the most complicated pattern I've written so far. So, please let me know if you have questions or if there is anything that doesn't make sense. Enjoy!

Poke-Mon Hat

When I started crocheting, I was (pleasantly) surprised to find out how many Pokemon crochet patterns there are out there! My brother Andy first got me into Pokemon through the trading card game, which led me to the cartoons, then the Nintendo DS games, then the old GameBoy games...and on and on. So, after making his son an Oshawott and a Yoda hat, I decided it was time to make Andy something.

I made this Pokeball hat using this free pattern by Bonnie Jacobs. Andy said the visible crochet stitches made it look sort of Rasta, so we dubbed it the Poke-Mon hat. I used I Love This Yarn! from Hobby Lobby in Red, White, and Black. You can also find this project on Ravelry if you'd like more information.

So, I will leave you with a picture of the recipient of this project wearing his hat!

I think I'll need to make hats for his family of three (and one impending) by this winter!

Gotta Catch 'Em All - Oshawott

My brother Andy has been a fan of Pokemon since it's earliest versions for the Game Boy came out in the 90's. Later, when the cards and cartoons were trendy, I got into it as well. Furthermore, as soon as his son was born, Andy introduced his wife and little boy to the cartoons. So, we're a family of Pokemon Trainers! For his first birthday, I made my nephew this Oshawott plushie.

Shown here with a toy for reference.

I worked from Linda Potts' Oshawott pattern published on her blog WolfDreamer Off the Hook. I used I Love This Yarn! from Hobby Lobby in Turquoise for the body, White for the head and arms, Navy for the ears, feet, and tail, and Black for the eyes. The shell and nose were made from scraps.

This project was SO MUCH FUN! I really want to make some more plushies and Pokemon in particular. I especially want to make a Pikachu for my nephew. I also want to make a soft doll with changeable outfits for my friend's daughter, and a Batman for my spouse, and a... I just need more time to crochet.

Hat for Nephew It Is

Since I started crocheting, I've actually had to restrain myself from making a zillion nerd and/or cute animal themed baby hats for my nephew who just turned one. I did have to make one though. I mean really, I only have so much self-control.

I made this hat using Caron Simply Soft in Pistachio and a size H (5.0 mm) hook. The pattern is the Yoda Baby Hat from the Happy Hooker blog. I did make one small alteration to the pattern in that I did a whip stitch around the outside edges of the ears, then pulled it tight to give them a little curl.

Overall, I'm really pleased with my very first crocheted hat, though I haven't quite mastered the trick of fastening off things worked in the round and leaving a perfectly smooth edge.