Titus the Barn Owl Pattern

I have always loved barn owls and I’ve been looking for a good barn owl pattern for a while but none of the patterns I saw were what I wanted to make.  When I saw Stacey Trock’s Design Week idea I was inspired to start designing this barn owl rather than put it off any longer.

He got his name from the scientific name for barn owl – Tyto Alba.  Although every time I think about the name I just think of the explorer nicknamed ‘Titus’ (Lawrence Oates) on Scott’s mission to the South Pole who said the famous line: “I am just going outside and may be some time”.

The pattern can also be downloaded as a PDF here

The body and head are made as one piece then the face, tummy, and feet are sewn on.

Need:

·         3 mm crochet hook.

·         Double Knitting or Worsted wool in the following colours:

o   Tan.

o   White.

o   Straw (for the feet and beak).

·         6mm Safety eyes (or black thread to sew eyes).

·         Stitch Markers.

·         Tapestry needle.

·         Stuffing.

Pattern:                    (English terms used)

Note: dec = dc 2 together, inc = dc 2 in 1 stitch.

Head and Body 

(Starting at the top of the head)

Tan wool

Row 1:  dc 6 in a magic ring.                                                      (6 stitches)

Row 2: inc around.                                                                    (12 stitches)

Row 3: (dc, inc) around.                                                             (18 stitches)

Row 4: (dc, dc, inc) around.                                                       (24 stitches)

Row 5-8:  dc around.                                                                 (24 stitches)

Row 9: (dc 2, dec) around.                                                        (18 stitches)

Row 10-11:  dc around.                                                             (18 stitches)

Row 12: (dc 2, inc) around.                                                        (24 stitches)

Row 13-17: dc around.                                                              (24 stitches)

Row 18:  (dc 10, dec) around                                                    (22 stitches)

Row 19-20:  dc around.                                                             (22 stitches)

Row 21: (dc 9, dec) around.                                                       (20 stitches)

Row 22: dc around.                                                                   (20 stitches)

Row 23: (dc 8, dec) around.                                                       (18 stitches)

Row 24: In back loops only (dec, dc) around.                             (12 stitches)

Stuff body at this point

Row 25: decrease until hole is closed.  Fasten off and sew in ends.

Face

Note: ‘tr inc’ is 2 trebles in the same stitch

White wool

Row 1:  dc 6 in a magic ring.                                                      (6 stitches)

Row 2: inc around.                                                                    (12 stitches)

Row 3: ch1, dc1, tr inc, (1 tr, 1 dc) in next dc, sl st into next 2 dc, 1 ch, 1 dc, 1 ch, sl st into next 2 dc, (1 dc, 1 tr) in next st, tr inc, 1 dc, sl st into next st, sl st into 1st dc.

Row 4: 1 ch, 1 dc in next 2 sts, inc in next 2 sts, 1 dc, sl st into next 2 sl sts, sl st into ch, 1 ch, 1 dc, 1 ch, sl st into ch, sl st into next 2 sl st, 1 dc, inc in next 2 sts, dc in next 2 sts, sl st into sl st.  Fasten off leaving long tail to sew.

Tummy

Starting at bottom edge

White wool

Row 1: ch 6

Row 2: turn, dc in 2^nd chain from loop and every chain to end, turn.

Row 3-7: ch, dc across, turn.                   (5 stitches)

Rows 8: ch, dc, inc, dc, inc, dc, turn.         (7 stitches)

Row  9-10 : ch, dc across, turn.              (7 stitches)

Row 11: ch, dc, dec, dc, dec, dc, turn.     (5 stitches)

Row 12: ch, dc across, turn                     (5 stitches)

Row 13: ch, dec, dc, dec, turn.                (3 stitches)

Row 14: ch, dc 3 together.  Finish off leaving long tail to sew.

Wings  (make 2)

Tan wool

Row 1: 6 dc in a magic ring.                                                       (6 stitches)

Row 2: (dc, inc) around.                                                             (9 stitches)

Row 3: dc around.                                                                     (9 stitches)

Row 4: (2 dc, inc) around.                                                          (12 stitches)

Row 5: (3 dc, inc) around.                                                          (15 stitches)

Row 6: dc around.                                                                     (15 stitches)

Row 7: (3 dc, dec).                                                                    (12 stitches)

Row 8: dc around.                                                                     (12 stitches)

Row 9: dc around.                                                                     (12 stitches)

Row 10: (2 dc, dec) around.                                                       (9 stitches)

Row 11: dc around.                                                                   (9 stitches)

Row 12: (dc, dec) around.                                                          (6 stitches)

Row 13: dc around.                                                                   (6 stitches)

Row 14: dec around.                                                                 (3 stitches)

Fasten off leaving tail to sew to body.

Feet      (make 2)

Straw wool

4 ch, ss into first chain, (4 ch, ss into same chain) repeat two times.

Making Up

Stuff the body and head. 

Put safety eyes on face and sew a few stitches on using straw yarn to form the beak.  Sew face onto the head.

Flatten the wings and sew onto the body.

Sew the feet onto the body.

It's not too late for Easter making!

Did you see my cute bunny disguised as a zebra last week?  I decided that, because it is Easter this weekend, I should make another bunny in disguise.  This time I wanted to make a rainbow bunny.

The design is really simple and just uses scraps of double knit or worsted weight wool.  It took me less than an hour to make it.

Download it here

Simple Striped Bunny: (english terms used)
the first 12 rows use alternating colours for the stripes
1. dc 6 in a magic ring slip stitch to close              (6)
2. ch 1, inc around slip stitch to close                    (12)
3. ch 1, (dc, inc) around slip stitch to close            (18)
4. ch 1, (dc, dc, inc) around slip stitch to close      (24)
5-13. ch 1, dc around, slip stitch  to close.             (24)
change to colour of bunny
14. ch1, in back loops only (dc, dc, dec) around, slip stitch to close. (18)
15. ch1, dc around, slip stitch to close.                   (18)
16. ch1, (dc, dec) around, slip stitch to close          (12)
17. ch1, dc around, slip stitch to close                    (12)  stuff body
18. ch1, dec around, slip stitch and fasten off          (6)
Sew hole closed

Ears:  (make 2)
ch 6, dc in  2nd chain from hook and along chain. dc 2 in last chain and dc down along other side of chain.  Fasten off and sew to head.

Tail:
dc 4 in magic ring.  dc 4 around, fasten off and sew to body.

I sewed a little pink nose and sewed on the eyes as well.

Design Week Review

Ok so I didn't post for days 4-6 of Design Week but I had coursework and a class test which were priority.

But I have been making great progress with my little barn owl I'm designing - he's called Titus by the way.

So here is my summary for each day:

Day 4 - Progress Photos

Day 5 - Trouble Spots

Besides struggling to find time I haven't had any problems


Day 6 - Turning a design into a pattern

I've been writing out the pattern as I go along - so far it's scribbled on the back of a train ticket and on an envelope but I will type it up when it's finished.

So here is Titus so far:

Look at his little face!!!  Just need to make the wings and sew on the feet then he's all done - so watch this space for the pattern.

Christmassy-ness!

I haven't blogged in so long due to courseworks and project work but I have still been crocheting!

I've also been away this weekend with The Boy's family having a Christmas together.  As everyone lives scattered over the country, it was great to have everyone in one place to celebrate an early Christmas.  I also got some presents which was lovely including a wind-up pair of mini spacehoppers off The Boy's little brother which Eve and I were racing today.

They are so much fun!

I decided to make one if my Mum's patterns - Patchwork Ball in Celtic colours as a present for The Boy's brother as he is a huge Celtic fan (I blame his Dad for corrupting him).

You can't really see the colours in the picture though - it's white and dark green.

Oh also, thank you to everyone who has made my Christmas Tree Angel or who plans to.  It has kindly been translated into French for me by Particules so there is now a French pdf pattern on ravelry or available from her blog here.

Christmas Tree Angel

I've finished my lovely little Christmas Tree Angel and typed up the pattern.  She turned out exactly how I wanted her to.

Let me know if there's any problems with the pattern.

It's also available to download as a PDF here 

The finished size is about 4 inches (10 cm) tall
Notes: inc = dc 2 in same stitch, dec = dc 2 together (dc2tog)

 
Need:

• 3.0 mm or 3.5mm crochet hook.
• Double Knitting or Worsted wool in the following colours:
• White
• Skin Tone
• Hair Coloured
• Black (for eyes – or you can use toy eyes)
• Stitch Markers.
• Tapestry needle
• Stuffing.
• Black cotton for the mouth.

Pattern: (English terms used)
Head
Skin Tone WoolRow 1: 6 dc in a magic ring                               (6 stitches)
Row 2: inc around                                             (12 stitches)
Row 3: (inc, dc 1) around                                  (18 stitches)
Rows 4-6: dc around                                          (18 stitches)
Row 7: (dec, dc 1) around and stuff head.         (12 stitches)
Row 8: (dec) around until hole is closed. Slip stitch and finish off leaving long tail to sew.

Body
White Wool
Row 1: chain 6 and slip stitch into first to create a loop.
Row 2: dc 8 into the ring (8 stitches)
Row 3: (inc, dc 1) around (12 stitches)
Row 4: Dc in every stitch around (12 stitches)
Row 5: Dc 1 in every stitch around (12 stitches)
Row 6: (inc, dc 2) around (16 stitches)
Row 7: Ch 1, tr in every stitch around (16 stitches)
Row 8: (dc 2 in the same stitch, dc 3) around (20 stitches)
Row 9: Ch 1, tr in every stitch around (20 stitches)
Row 10: (dc 2 in the same stitch, dc 4) around (24 stitches)
Row 11: Ch 1, tr in every stitch around (24 stitches)
Row 12: tr 1, (ch 2, miss 1 tr, tr in next stitch) around (24 stitches)
Row 13: (tr 2 in ch space, ch 1) around slip stitch into first stitch (24 stitches)
Row 14: ch 4, ss into ch space. Finish off and sew in tail.

Arms (make 2)
Skin Colour and White wool (start with skin colour)
Row 1: 6 dc in a magic ring. (6 stitches)
Row 2-3: dc around. change to white (6 stitches)
Row 4-5: dc around. (6 stitches)
Row 6: (inc, dc 2) around. (8 stitches)
Row 7-8: dc around. (8 stitches)
Fasten off leaving tail to sew to body.


Wings (make 2)
White wool
Row 1: chain 6 and slip stitch into first to create a loop.
Row 2: dc 8 in ring (8 stitches)
Row 3: inc around. (16 stitches)
Row 4: ch 1, tr in same stitch, (ch 2, miss 1 dc, tr) twice, double treble.
Fasten off leaving tail to sew to body

Halo
White wool
Chain 20, ss into first stitch to create a loop.
 
Hair
Hair Coloured wool
Cut several pieces of wool of the same length (I cut them about 8 cm long)
Tie together and sew onto the top of the head in the centre
 
Making Up
Stuff the arms – I didn’t stuff them firmly.
Sew the halo onto the head (over the hair).
Sew the head, wings, and arms onto the body.
Sew the facial features onto the face
To make the cheeks pinkish I coloured them in with a red coloured pencil.

  

A New Project

I realised that I don't have an angel for my tree and it's not worth buying one as they're either cheap and nasty or horrendously expensive so I decided to see what Ravelry had to offer.

The angels don't have hair or a proper face so I'm making my own one.  So far I've only made the head (with hair) and started on the body but it looks pretty good.  Only got: arms, wings, and halo to do after that!  I'm writing up a pattern as I go along so hopefully it'ss be done so I can post it soon.

Also it means I get to debut my 'WIP' logo on Ravelry!

Meet Genghis

This is Genghis the Eagle.

The Boy told me recently that he likes eagles and wolves so I decided I had to make one of these for him.  After looking on Ravelry and just about everywhere on the internet, I found that there are virtually no free eagle patterns.  I could have just made do with a wolf but that seemed far too easy so here is my pattern for a cute little eagle.

He got his name when I made a joke that if The Boy named the eagle he would end up with a name like Genghis then realised that it was actually quite a good name after all.

Let me know if there's any problems with the pattern.

It's also available to download as a PDF here

I've been asked for the finished size.  Using a 3.5mm hook my finished Genghis was 3.5 inches tall.

Need:

·         3.5 mm crochet hook.

·         Double Knitting or Worsted wool in the following colours:

o   Dark brown

o   White

o   Yellow

o   Black (for eyes)

·         Stitch Markers.

·         Tapestry needle

·         Stuffing.

Pattern:                    (English terms used)

Body

Dark Brown wool

Row 1: chain 18 and slip stitch into first to create a loop.

Row 2: dc around.                                                                      (18 stitches)

Row 3: 8 dc, 2 inc, 8 dc.                                                            (20 stitches)

Row 4: dc around.                                                                      (20 stitches)

Row 5: 9 dc, 2 inc, 9 dc.                                                            (22 stitches)

Row 6: 9 dc, 4 inc, 9 dc.                                                            (26 stitches)

Row 7: dc around.                                                                      (26 stitches)

Row 8: 12 dc, 2 inc, 12 dc.                                                        (28 stitches)

Row 9: 12 dc, 4 inc, 12 dc.                                                        (32 stitches)

Row 10: dc around.                                                                    (32 stitches)

Row 11: 14 dc, 4 inc, 14 dc.                                                      (36 stitches)

Row 12: dc around.                                                                    (36 stitches)

Row 13: dc around.                                                                    (36 stitches)

Row 14: 14 dc, 4 dec, 14 dc.                                                     (32 stitches)

Row 15: 14 dc, 2 dec, 14 dc.                                                     (30 stitches)

Row 15: (dec + dc) around                                                       (20 stitches)

Row 16: dec around                                                                   (10 stitches)

Row 17: decrease until hole is closed.  Fasten off and sew in ends.

Head

White wool

Row 1: 6 dc in a magic ring                                                         (6 stitches)

Row 2: increase in every stitch                                                  (12 stitches)

Row 3: (inc + dc) around                                                              (18 stitches)

Rows 4-7: dc around                                                                      (18 stitches)

Row 8: dc around and slip stitch to close                              (18 stitches)

Row 9: (1 ch, 1 tr in same hole, 2 ch, ss) around to form 9 peaks.   

Slip stitch and finish off leaving long tail to sew.

Wings  (make 2)

Dark Brown wool

Row 1: 6 dc in a magic ring.                                                      (6 stitches)

Row 2: (dc +inc) around.                                                            (9 stitches)

Row 3: dc around.                                                                         (9 stitches)

Row 4: (2 dc + inc) around.                                                        (12 stitches)

Row 5: (3 dc + inc) around.                                                        (15 stitches)

Row 6: dc around.                                                                         (15 stitches)

Row 7: (3 dc + dec).                                                                      (12 stitches)

Row 8: dc around.                                                                         (12 stitches)

Row 9: dc around.                                                                         (12 stitches)

Row 10: (2 dc + dec) around.                                                    (9 stitches)

Row 11: dc around.                                                                      (9 stitches)

Row 12: (dc + dec) around.                                                       (6 stitches)

Row 13: dc around.                                                                     (6 stitches)

Row 14: dec around.                                                                   (3 stitches)

Fasten off leaving tail to sew to body.

Feet      (make 2)

Yellow wool

6 ch, ss into first loop, (6 ch, ss into same loop) repeat twice.
They should look like the ones shown below:

Beak

Yellow wool

Row 1: 2 ch.

Row 2: 3 dc in second loop from hook and turn.                   (3 stitches)

Row 3: 1 ch, inc, dc, inc.  Turn.                                                    (5 stitches)

Row 4: ch, inc, 3 dc, inc.  Turn.                                                    (7 stitches)

Row 5: ch, 7 dc.  Fasten off leaving long tail to sew.

Making Up

Stuff the body and head. 

Sew the head onto the body using the row before the fancy edging leaving the edging loose.

Flatten the wings and sew onto the body.

Sew up the two shortest sides of the beak to form a cone.  Stuff and sew onto the head.

Sew the feet onto the body.

Sew eyes on with black wool.

Hope you like it!

Mini Soot Sprites

This is my very first pattern.  I was trying to find a pattern for Soot Sprites from the Studio Ghibli films and was unable to find anything small enough so I just made it up.  I ended up making 4 of these adorable little Soot Sprites – using up the remains of my supply of this wool.

Hope you enjoy making this simple project as much as I did.

You can download the PDF here.

Need:

·         4 mm crochet hook.

·         About 2.5 metres of fluffy or novelty yarn – I used Sirdar snowflake (which has been discontinued) but Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake or another novelty yarn would work just as well.

·         Stitch Markers.

·         A small amount of stuffing.

·         10mm googly eyes (or similar size)

Tips:

As the yarn was fluffy, I couldn’t really see the stitches so I used 6 stitch markers with one in a different colour to mark the start of the row.  This enabled me to see where I was meant to be putting my crochet hook so I could get the right number of stitches.  This worked perfectly until the final decreasing row where it became too fiddly.

As this pattern uses novelty yarn, in order to ensure that the finished soot sprite is fluffy you could fluff it up as you go along (like I did) or turn it inside out if you prefer the way the inside looks.

Pattern:                    (English terms used)

Row 1: dc 6 in a magic ring                                                                    (6 stitches)

Row 2: increase in every stitch                                                            (12 stitches)

Row 3: dc in each stitch                                                                          (12 stitches)

Row 4: decrease around and stuff (not too firmly)                      (6 stitches)

Row 5: decrease until hole is closed up and slip stitch to end

Fasten off and weave in ends

Other ideas:

You could use pipe-cleaners to create little arms and legs for the soot sprites.