Tiny Bulbasaur (Free Crochet Pattern)

I have just set up an Etsy shop for crochet/cross-stitch/art prints/pyrography/3D-printing (I have far too many ideas...) and to celebrate, here is a free crochet pattern of my favourite Pokémon, Bulbasaur!

If you'd like to support me or get the whole set, this pattern and the other Kanto starters can be found on my new Etsy:
Tiny Bulbasaur
Tiny Charmander
Tiny Squirtle
or save money and get the whole set!

As always, if you have any questions about the pattern or notice any problems with it please contact me through the comments section. I love to see pictures of the things people make with my patterns so if you make a Tiny Bulbasaur and post it online, send me a link.

Level: Beginner, but can be fiddly to sew together

Ingredients:
Small amounts of Bulbasaur-coloured wool (I used DK weight)
Crochet hook (I used 3.5mm)
Fiber fill or stuffing of your choice
Two safety eyes (I used 10mm)
Tapestry needle
Scissors

Abbreviations:
Sc - single crochet
Inc - increase (2 single crochet stitches in one stitch)
Dec - decrease (I recommend the invisible decrease method)
Sl st - slip stitch
Ch - chain, followed by a number indicating the number of chains to make

Pattern use:
You can do anything you like with the finished product, but please do not sell this pattern or redistribute it without credit. Please use your own photos to sell your products.

Bulbasaur is part of the Pokémon franchise and does not belong to me in any way; it belongs to Nintendo.

The pattern!

Head:
Using turquoise wool
Round 1) 8 sc in a magic ring (8)
Round 2) inc in each stitch around (16)
Round 3) *sc, inc*, repeat around (24)
Round 4-8) sc in each stitch around (24)
Attach the safety eyes between round 5 and 6, four stitches apart.
Round 9) *2sc, dec*, repeat around (18)
Round 10) *sc, dec*, repeat around (12)
Sl st to finish, leave a long tail and stuff the head


Body:
Using turquoise wool
Round 1) 6sc in a magic ring (6)
Round 2) inc in each stitch around (12)
Round 3) *sc, inc*, repeat around (18)
Round 4-6) sc in each stitch around (18)
Round 7) *5sc, inc*, repeat around (21)
Round 8-10) sc in each stitch around (21)
Round 11) dec in each stitch around to close, stuffing the body as you go
Finish stuffing, sl st to finish, and sew the body closed

Sew the head onto the body, using pictures as a placement guide. Get Bulbasaur's eyes as forward facing as you can so he's looking straight ahead.


Legs (make 4):
Using turquoise wool
Round 1) 10sc in a magic ring (10)
Round 2-5) sc in each stitch around (10)
Sl st to finish, leave a long tail

Stuff legs lightly and sew onto the body, using pictures as placement guide.


Ears (make 2):
Using turquoise wool
Round 1) 6sc in a magic ring (6)
Round 2) *sc, inc*, repeat around (9)
Round 3) *2sc, inc*, repeat around (12)
Sl st to finish, leave a long tail

Squish the ears flat and sew the ears onto the head, using pictures as placement guide.


Bulb:
Using green wool
(leave a long tail at the start for sewing)
Round 1) Ch 12, join to first ch with a sl st (12)
Round 2) inc in each stitch around (24)
Round 3-4) sc in each stitch around (24)
Round 5) *2sc, dec*, repeat around (18)
Round 6) *sc, dec*, repeat around (12)
Round 7) dec in each stitch around (6)
Round 8) sc in each stitch around (6)
Sl st to finish, weave in the tail. (You can sew the neck of the bulb tighter to give it more shape.)

Stuff bulb from the bottom and sew onto Bulbasaur's back.


You're almost there! Take some darker blue wool and embroider small triangles/squares on Bulbasaur's forehead, sides, and legs. You could also glue on small pieces of felt. This is the part that really brings it all together. Now hide the ends of your thread and enjoy your #001 brave boy Pokémon!

This crochet pattern is © Kate Tuck, 2020. This pattern may not be sold, re-written, or re-posted without the author's permission.

Teeny Tiny Trilobites (Free Cross Stitch Pattern)

Hello all and welcome back! This is a project that, to my shame, I started three years ago and then promptly forgot in a corner of my sewing box... but what's a better lockdown activity than finishing old craft projects?

Presenting my teeny trilobites! These critters were once so prevalent that they're now excellent marker fossils for dating the surrounding rocks. (As much as I like how this turned out, I'm not sure I ever want to stitch on 28-count fabric again.)

These trilobite patterns were generously posted by Adventures in Stitching, so I decided to stick them together and add the genus names underneath for a little natural history style sampler:

Purple: 1100 stitches

Brown: 504 stitches

Total size: 95 x 55 stitches

Since I never actually buy proper DMC or Anchor colours, the colours I used were 'lavender' and 'dark brown', which I think look great in contrast to the off-white linen.

I hope you enjoyed this little make and it will inspire you to maybe try something a bit out of your crafty comfort zone.

Limpet x

 

Card Suits Cross Stitch Free Pattern

I had someone ask me for the pattern of the card suits I used in my Alice cross stitch which I'm happy to share. Like this person, I couldn't find any satisfactory patterns online, so I made them up.

Here they are:

I'd have no idea how to translate clubs or spades into corner squares...

Each card suit measures 9x9 stitches which makes them nice and easy to place in borders. The smaller squares in the rounded parts of the hearts, clubs, and spades show where to put your half cross stitches. I think they give a nice shape without having to make the design too big, as you can hopefully see below.

My first cross stitch... ah, the memories...

So there we are, card suits. Please use them as you wish!

Limpet x

GIR, Reporting for Duty!

GIR: Oh. I left that at home.
Zim: You left what at home?
GIR: The guidey chippy thingy.

Zim: You! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!?

GIR: To make room for the cupcake!

GIR is a robot alien in a dog suit from 'Invader Zim,' a show that was unfortunately cancelled due to a lack of any educational value. He's not stupid, he's advaaaaanced. 

This pattern is wonderful and Gir looks just like his cartoon counterpart. Since he stores his cupcake in his head I also added that, because why not. The head is reinforced with card so he's still structurally sound without his cupcake inside, and the ears are kept up with some bent paperclips.

I have to say I'm beyond happy with how this turned out. Who couldn't love those boggley eyes?

Just going to skip over the fact that it's July and this is only my second post of the year!

Limpet x

D&D Dice Bags

D&D, or Dungeons and Dragons, is a game that I got into completely by accident. A little group of the Physicists have been playing it for a while, and I went along with a friend because she liked a boy there and didn't want to go on her own. It took a little getting used to, but I loved it.

My first campaign is finished now, and I had an awful lot of fun with Nini the goliath barbarian. Imagine a huge ginger woman who thinks she's only ten because she only has ten fingers to count on. Nini believed she was raised by rabbits, but it turned out they were just small fur-cloaked people that raised her after her barbarian village was ransacked. It was a lot of fun sending her on a voyage of self-discovery from which she learned very little. (Good at swinging a great-axe though!)

Campaign number two is going to start soon, where I will be playing as Ib Layzafeyse, a goblin who calls herself a laser monk. To be honest I just wanted to be able to use the kung fu/tai chi motto -"You're f*cking with my chi."

Instead of borrowing dice from the DM (dungeon master), I decided to buy my own. And all dice need a dice bag!

Dragon egg dice bags! As always it's a free pattern on Ravelry. The one on the right I made first, and it's so big I can fit my fist in it. I did 3 rows of 8 crocodile scales following the pattern, two rows of 7, two rows of 6, then one row of 5. I did a row of hdc at the top. 

Let me tell you how to reduce by one scale neatly:

The usual v-stitch pattern is this: 

*(dc, ch 1, dc) in next st, skip 2 st*

To reduce a row by one scale: 

*(dc, ch 1, dc) in next st, skip 2 st, (dc, ch 1, dc) in next st, skip 3 st*

To reduce a row by two scales:

*(dc, ch 1, dc) in next st, skip 3 st*

Then just sl st to the first v-stitch as before and carry on with the scales like usual.

The first one I made I'm calling my prototype. I next made a smaller one which I much prefer (otherwise I'll be tempted to buy enough dice to fill it!) by discounting step 4 in the bottom. At the end of this one I did *dc, dc, skip 1 st* around the top and then threaded my string through the skipped spaces, which makes it look a bit more eggy when it's closed.

I hope my little modifications are clear enough. The big scaly bag I'm going to give to 'girl who fancied boy' to foster a new character alliance, although Miss Layzafeyse does not play well with others.

I'm excited for my dice to arrive! Expect more photos when they do! (They're so prettyyyyy.)

Limpet x

Free Geometric Skull Cross Stitch Pattern

As a lil' sorry for it being a while since posting last, and because I've been meaning to do it for a while, I wanted to share my skull cross stitch with you along with a free pattern.

So this was the teaser I posted just before the new year, along with a filter-less photo of what it actually looked like. I decided a geometric rainbow border would contrast with the realism of the skull nicely, and designed it so it fits snugly inside a 6 inch frame.

I also think he'd look great with a wreath around him and a Christmas hat, but maybe that's just me! I kind of want to do one for each season of the year.

The pattern:

The pattern shown is 83 x 83 stitches, meaning that on 14 count aida it's almost exactly 6 x 6 inches. Of course you can adjust the border as you see fit, and I'm more than happy to assist if you'd like it in a different size and want some help.

In a black 8 inch frame with a black 6 inch border, under Alice on the living room wall. The angle is pretending to be artistic but really just avoiding the light reflection on the glass.

As someone who struggles to finish projects, I'm glad it's finally out and on display. I've actually been working on this for quite a while, but I lost my darker shade of grey and was forced to tidy the house to find it again!

Limpet x

Free Cuttlefish Crochet Pattern

This is not my pattern. It was written by Steven Wyckoff of www.wyldscallyns.com, and I found it here on Ravelry. Unfortunately the pattern no longer exists anywhere on the internet, so I am posting it here as found originally. It's just too cute to be taunting so many people on the internet with no pattern.

Take it away, Steven!