Kirby

Hi all! I am now updating Saturday morning instead of Thursday morning. Gives me Friday night to chill and write my blog posts. As for what I’ve been doing, I’ve been adding a whole bunch of Facebook options to my site these past few days, and also Amazon store links. I think it looks quite nice, and I’ll continue doing more of that as I go along.

I also just finished writing my short story for the Bento comics anthology, titled . The anthology has a Peter Pan theme, and the Pickwicks are the neighbours of Wendy Darling and her family. The story isn’t due until March 15th, in time for release at TCAF, a comics convention in Toronto held on May 5-6th each year, so you may not see it in print until then. It’s just as well – I’m trying something new with this story, so you’ll all see it online sometime after the 15th March.

Today, I get to show you something Nintendo-related I crocheted a while ago – Kirby.

 
Kirby
 


 

The star of his own Nintendo games, this Kirby is from a free pattern at iceblueberries’ blog, and I added 8mm safety eyes to him instead of crocheting the eyes. Amazingly, this seemed to suit Kirby a great deal, and he looks a dead ringer for the “real” McCoy!

 

Kirby1

Step 1: Crochet Kirby's body. This is only 30 stitches at its widest point, so it was done in no time.


 
Kirby2

Step 2: Added 8mm safety eyes, instead of crocheting the eyes. The eyes were a perfect fit for this size!


 
Kirby3

Step 3: Sew his little mouth, and give him rosy red cheeks!


 
Kirby4

Step 4: Crochet his hands and feet, and sew them onto his body. Straight-forward.

And here we have, THREE Kirbys…

 
threekirbys

Shark Chewing on an Aussie Surfer

This week I’m halfway through the tones of Small Shen, and also adjusted the release date of House of Odd to March 20, 2012, which is the date it comes out on Amazon. It now even has a Kindle edition (on Amazon).

In other news, I get to show you my Shark amigurumi, shown here chewing happily on some unlucky Australian surfer (with tasteful amounts of blood).

 
Shark
 

This pattern is originally from here, and I altered the original to make the shark a bit bigger. So it can fit a surfboard and surfer in its mouth, ofcourse!

 

Shark 1

Step 1: Crochet the top half of the shark in grey, as with all amigurumi

 

Shark 2

Step 2: Crochet the bottom half of the shark in white, then sew the 2 hemispheres together, leaving a space for the mouth.

 

Shark 3

Step 3: Crochet the fins and tail, and sew it onto the shark. I used size 14mm safety eyes (huge).

 

Shark 4

Step 4: Crochet the legs and surfboard, then stick them in the shark's mouth while sewing the shark's mouth together. Due to the stuffing inside, this took a while


 

And here we have the final Shark, from a few more angles to capture the bloody moment:

 
Shark Side
 
Shark Front

White Angry Bird – Free Crochet Pattern

A whole bunch of stuff is happening this December, and I find myself quite busy this festive season. I’m working on the inks for Chapters 1-2 for Small Shen, so that’s the bulk of my main work. I’m also working on a music-art collaboration project with a musician friend, the first release of which is due Jan 31st 2012, so that has been penned in on my timetable. On top of that, I have a bunch of crochet stuff to do, and the kind of odds and ends that crop up at the end of the year. Will I accomplish anything by December 31st?!

I finally deleted my old Livejournal account. Managing it is a bit too much, since it’s no longer active.

This week, I get to post up my free crochet pattern of the White Angry Bird. For those who are living underneath a rock, Angry Birds is a highly popular casual game that involves throwing a bunch of cute-but-furious cartoon birds at a bunch of greedy pigs, who have stolen the birds’ eggs. The “mascot” of the series is the Angry Red Bird, and this week he’s joined by his friend, the Angry White Bird.

 

Get the free Angry Red Bird crochet pattern here.

 
Important: People have asked me for more Angry Bird patterns, but I’m afraid I can’t promise anything, since these characters are copyrighted. I provide these patterns for free because it’s all in good fun, but the original copyright owners must be respected – and I don’t have any other Angry Bird patterns either. If you’re looking for the green bird, the black bomb bird, or the green pig, you can register on the site Ravelry.com and find them there. No word on the yellow or blue Angry Bird.

That said, if you like this pattern, please support Angry Birds and buy the game, or the game-related merchandise.

 

Angry White Bird
Here’s the Angry White Bird with the Angry Red Bird. Friends!

 

Angry White Bird Pattern

Here’s a list of what I used to make this crochet. It’s not a definite list, so feel free to use whatever you have, as long as it’s appropriate. It’s crocheted in the round, like most amigurumi, so only basic crochet skills are required.

NB. This pattern is created by me, so please give a link back to me if you want to use it or if you want to sell your crochet. Please give credit where it’s due.

  • White, dark yellow, light yellow, and black 8 ply yarn
  • 4mm crochet hook
  • 8mm black safety eyes – 6060 from Etsy is a good place to buy these
  • Large sewing needle, to sew the bits and pieces together

 

Crochet Abbreviations

Here are a list of the abbreviations I use, and what they mean. These are pretty standard, so if you know how to crochet, this won’t be hard to decipher:

  • ch – chain
  • sc – single chain
  • dec – decrease
  • * – beginning/end of a repeating part of the pattern

 

White Bird 1
The round, egg like appearance of the White Bird

 

Body (Make 1, white)

Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 single chain (sc) in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – 2 sc in each chain (12 stitches)
Rnd 3 – *2 sc in next single chain, 1 sc*, repeat 6 times (18 stitches)
Rnd 4-5 – sc
Rnd 6 – *2 sc in next single chain, 2 sc*, repeat 6 times (24 stitches)
Rnd 7-9 – sc
Rnd 10 – *2 sc in next single chain, 3 sc*, repeat 6 times (30 stitches)
Rnd 11-16 – sc
Rnd 17 – *decrease (dec) 1, 3 sc*, repeat 6 times (24 stitches)
Rnd 18 – sc

Start stuffing the body, and sew the eyes onto the face.
Rnd 19 – *dec 1 through back loops ONLY*, repeat 6 times (12 stitches)
Rnd 20 – *dec 1* repeat 6 times (6 stitches)

Fasten off, then use a needle to weave in loose ends.

 

White Bird 2
The eyes and the eyebrows… so different yet similar to the Red Bird’s.

 

Eyes and Eyebrows (Make 2 of each, black and white)

Make the two eyes with white yarn
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – 3 sc

Fasten off, then use an 8mm safety eye to pin it on the body, making sure the longer part is on the outside of the eyes.
Then use a sewing needle to sew the white eyes properly onto the body.

 

Make the two eyebrows with black yarn
Rnd 1 – Ch 6, turn
Rnd 2 – 4 sc

Fasten off, sew onto the body on top of the eyes.

 

White Bird 3
It has a significantly bigger beak than the Red Angry Bird.

 

Top Beak (Make 1, dark yellow)

Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – *2 sc in next single chain*, repeat 4 times (8 stitches)
Rnd 3 – sc
Rnd 4 – *2 sc in next single chain, 3 sc*, repeat twice (10 stitches)
Rnd 5-7 – sc
Rnd 8 – *dec 1 through back loops ONLY*, repeat 5 times (5 stitches)

Fasten off, stuff and sew onto the body between the eyes, leaving space for the bottom half of the beak

 

Bottom Beak (Make 1, dark yellow)
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – *2 sc in next single chain*, repeat 4 times (8 stitches)
Rnd 3 – *2 sc in next single chain, 3 sc*, repeat twice (10 stitches)
Rnd 4 – *dec 1 through back loops ONLY*, repeat 5 times (5 stitches)

Fasten off, stuff and sew onto the body under the top beak.
Don’t sew the bottom and top beaks together since it’ll turn into a big yellow blob, so just sew the corners of the beaks together to get that slack-jawed look.

 

Whtie Bird 4
Where you add the rest of it on

 

Yellow Cheeks (Make 2, light yellow)
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 single chain (sc) in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – 2 sc in each chain (12 stitches)

Fasten off, stuff and sew onto the cheeks, under the eyes

 

Black Hair (Make 3, black)

Rnd 1 – Ch 4, turn
Rnd 2 – 3 sc, turn
Rnd 3 – 3 sc

Fasten off, then sew into a small tube. Sew onto the top of the head.

Angry Birds – Free Crochet Pattern

Well, Small Shen is chugging along and nearing the end of Chapter 2 (after that, inking this third of the book). Meanwhile, I got quite involved with my crocheting, making a fair number of amigurumi (small crocheted plush toys). I’ve been making attempts to come up with my own patterns, and now that I’ve finally succeeded, I’m proudly showing them off on this blog!

This free pattern is of the angry red bird from Angry Birds, a very popular casual game I played for a little while back. The objective of the game is to catapult a bunch of cute-but-furious birds at a bunch of green pig enemies, who have stolen the eggs of the birds. It’s a better-than-most catapult game, and the super-cute and eye-catching designs just made it very endearing. As you can see, the birds are a very big part of the game’s appeal:

 

Angry Birds - Original Picture

What the original Angry Red Bird looks like.

 

And here is what my Angry Red Bird crochet looks like. I put it on my hand, so you can see the relative size of the finished amigurumi. I prefer to make smaller amigurumi, so this one’s on the smaller size, but I find the projects easier and faster to finish, which has its good points.

 

Get the free Angry White Bird Pattern here
 

Angry Bird - Finished

My version of the Angry Red Bird character.

 

Angry Red Bird Pattern

Here’s a list of what I used to make this crochet. It’s not a definite list, so feel free to use whatever you have, as long as it’s appropriate. It’s crocheted in the round, like most amigurumi, so only basic crochet skills are required.

NB. This pattern is created by me, so please give a link back to me if you want to use it or if you want to sell your crochet. Please give credit where it’s due.

  • Red, white, black and yellow 8 ply yarn
  • 4mm crochet hook
  • 8mm black safety eyes – 6060 from Etsy is a good place to buy these
  • Large sewing needle, to sew the bits and pieces together

 

Crochet Abbreviations

Here are a list of the abbreviations I use, and what they mean. These are pretty standard, so if you know how to crochet, this won’t be hard to decipher:

  • ch – chain
  • sc – single chain
  • dec – decrease
  • * – beginning/end of a repeating part of the pattern

 

Angry Bird 1

Crocheting the bird's body in red yarn.

 
Body (Make 1, red and white)

With red yarn
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 single chain (sc) in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – 2 sc in each chain (12 stitches)
Rnd 3 – *2 sc in next single chain, 1 sc*, repeat 6 times (18 stitches)
Rnd 4 – *2 sc in next single chain, 2 sc*, repeat 6 times (24 stitches)
Rnd 5 – *2 sc in next single chain, 3 sc*, repeat 6 times (30 stitches)
Rnd 6-11 – sc

Change to white yarn
Rnd 12 – sc
Rnd 13 – *decrease (dec) 1, 3 sc*, repeat 6 times (24 stitches)
Rnd 14 – sc

Start stuffing the body, and sew the eyes onto the body at this point
Rnd 15 – *dec 1 through back loops ONLY*, repeat 6 times (12 stitches)
Rnd 16 – *dec 1* repeat 6 times (6 stitches)

Fasten off, then use a needle to weave in loose ends.

 

Angry Bird 2

What the bottom of the bird should look like.

 

Eyes and Eyebrows (Make 2 of each, black and white)

Make the two eyes with white yarn
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)

Fasten off, then use an 8mm safety eye to pin the two white eyes on the body
Then use a sewing needle to sew the white eyes properly onto the red body.

 

Angry Bird 3

Sewing the eyes onto the body, after you pin the safety eyes onto the body.

 

Make the two eyebrows with black yarn
Rnd 1 – Ch 6, turn
Rnd 2 – 4 sc

Fasten off, sew onto the body on top of the eyes

 

Beak (Make 1, yellow)

Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – sc
Rnd 3 – *2 sc in next single chain, 1 sc*, repeat twice (6 stitches)
Rnd 4 – *2 sc in next single chain, 2 sc*, repeat twice (8 stitches)
Rnd 5 – *2 sc in next single chain, 3 sc*, repeat twice (10 stitches)

Fasten off, stuff and sew onto the body between the eyes

 

Angry Bird 4

Sewed the beak and eyebrows onto the body.

 

Red Hair on Head (Make 1 big, 1 small, red yarn)

Making the Bigger Hair
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2 – *2 sc in next single chain, 1 sc*, repeat 2 twice (6 stitches)
Rnd 3-5 – sc, then fasten off

Making the Smaller Hair
Rnd 1 – Ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd chain away from hook (Magic Ring method)
Rnd 2-3 – sc

Fasten off, then sew both hairs onto the top of the body.

 

And viola! All done!