How to Make My Dad (or yours!)

Once I got my craft supplies back from the storage unit, I decided to make my dad for father's day!  Now you can too!  Here's how:

Ingredients:

-3.75mm hook & 3.25mm hook

-9mm safety eyes, color of your choice

-small amount of cream colored medium weight yarn for head/hands

-colors of your choice for pants & shirt, scraps can be used!

-lace weight yarn or craft thread for hair & mouth

-felt & fabric glue for the tie

Directions: 

*Head

Round 1: With cream color: make your original foundation row with six stitches (chain 2, 6sc in first ch, or use the magic ring method).

Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch around (12 stitches)

Round 3: 2 sc in next stitch, sc in next stitch around (18 stitches)

Round 4: 2sc in next stitch, sc in next 2 stitches around (24 stitches)

Round 5: 2sc in next stitch, sc in next 3 stitches around (30 stitches)

Round 6: 2sc in nect stitch, sc in next 4 stitches around (36 stitches)

Round 7-9 sc around (36 stitches) *depending on your stitch size and how you want the finished product to look, add or subtract a row as necessary

Round 10: sc2tog, sc in next 4 stitches (around)

Attach safety eyes and sew on the hair, make the stitches slightly loose so they won't pull when you stuff the piece.  I used a satin stitch to make my dad's hairdo.

Round 11: sc2tog, sc in next 3 stitches (around)

Round 12: sc2tog, sc in next 2 stitches (around)

Start stuffing firmly.

Round 13: sc2tog, sc in next stitch (around)

Round 14: sc2tog until piece is closed up enough to tie off.  Hide the end of the tail of yarn inside the head. Sew on mouth with pink embroidery floss or craft thread.

*Body

Note: before you make the body, check my photo.  If you want your dad's body to be thinner or taller than mine, adjust your design accordingly by adding/subtracting rows & stitches. For a taller dad, increase both the pants and shirt rows by one or two.  I'd increase them equally so your dad looks proportionate - but you know best how your dad looks!

Round 1: With dark blue (or "pants" color), make your foundation row or six stitches.

Round 2-4 are worked just like the body.

Rounds 4-6 sc around

At round 7, change to light blue (or shirt color).  I used a lighter weight yarn, so I had to increase the number of stitches - I increased every other stitch to expand the body a little bit so he would have a rounder body - I just wanted the base to be sturdy so it would stand. If your dad is thin and you want to make his doll thin, you may want simply use medium weight yarn and keep the stitch count the same.

Round 8: sc around with shirt color

Round 9: at this point you want to start very slowly decreasing.  With the DK weight yarn, I decreased every sixth stitch around. Do whatever looks right so you have a nice, even taper (this can also be fixed with stuffing later.) 

Round 10: Continue decreasing, I decreased every 4th stitch.

Round 11: If your piece needs to taper more, decrease every few stitches around.  I just crocheted around for rows 11 & 12. 

Leave the top of the body open with a tail end of yarn still attached for sewing to the head later.  Leave unstuffed so you can sew the arms on easily.

*Arms

Round 1: With cream yarn, make your initial row with 5 stitches.

Round 2: sc around (5 stitches)

Round 3: change to light blue (shirt color) and start using smaller hook, sc around (5 stitches)

Round 4-6 sc around. Leave a tail end and use it to sew the arms to the top row of the body.

Stuff the body firmly.  I put some plastic pellets in the bottom so it would be more stable when standing.  If you gave your dad extra thick or longer hair, you may need to put a coin or two or a marble into the bottom so it will stand up.  Sew body to head.

*Tie - make with felt and glue right at the top of the body.

And you're done! :) Please let me know how this pattern worked for you.  Happy crafting and happy fathers day to all the dads out there!

Sundry's Debut!

I'm pleased to announce that I've completed the very first Sundry the Second Chance Monster!

I've been too spastic to deal with patterns or to be able to make even stitches, which meant it was a perfect day to follow the yarn where it took me, and this is the result!  I'll have to get some better pictures when I have something other than my cell phone to take them with :) The flash bleached out the blue button eyes a bit, but she really is quite colorful! 

I may be able to post an actual pattern for her at some point, but it's tricky because the yarn varies in size, so I basically had to stitch differently in each row to make them even (ish). Here's the basic concept: if you can get a bowling pin sort of shape about 24 stitches around at the wide part of the head, decrease to 15 or so stitches for the neck, and then back up to around 30-35 around for the body.  Keep going until it looks like the "right size" (some of the rows will vary in width, so don't worry about the number.) 

I did the bottom few rows in the back loops only so they would taper, and began to decrease around, also in the back loops only.  *This is important, since it effectively fixes the gaps that are sometimes left between stitch decreases.  Stuff rather gently, since the silk yarn has no give -- it molds very nicely as long as it isn't over-stuffed.  Finish off when the hole at the bottom is quite small by putting a slip stitch across the gap.  Tie off and pull the end of the yarn through the body, pull tightly so that the bottom will sit flat (this won't happen if there's a giant knot).

Hair: Wrap silk yarn several times around the widest part of your palm.  Gather in the center, and sew to the top of the head.  This is tricky since the silk yarn is so dense, I used a yarn needle and 4 strands of embroidery floss.  Wrap around and knot at the bottom first, rather gently, and then make as many stitches as you can up the center part.  Cut the loops so you get single strands of hair.

Arms: Cut three rather long lengths.  Hold one end of them in your teeth, braid.  Tie a knot near ONE end, leave tails for fingers.  Use a large crochet hook to pull the braid through the body, pull to desired length.  Make another knot for the other hand, cut off the braid, leaving tails for fingers. 

Don't worry if it looks lopsided, this design is very mush-friendly and will hold its shape nicely!

:)

Enjoy & feel free to e-mail me/leave comments with any questions!!  These will be on sale at some point to help fund the materials for my donations.