Hello everyone! I am Erin of @ekaygdesigns. I am so happy to have the first pattern of the new year featured here, on The Hook Nook! However, when designing, I had no idea of the relevance it would have upon its release. As of May 2019, koalas had been declared "functionally" extinct, meaning that their population was so low, they no longer had an effect on their surrounding environment. It was also said that they didn't have enough breeding adults left to support the species. Now, these horrifying Australian bush-fires have practically decimated the koala population, as well as the natural habitat for many Australian animals. Tens of thousands of animals are suffering and in need of help.
Australia's WIRES Wildlife Rescue is taking direct donations on Facebook, to help recover these devastated animals and their land. If you would like to donate and receive the PDF, printer-friendly version of this pattern, for the next 2 weeks, now through Monday January 20th, when you purchase this pattern from either my Ravelry or Etsy shops, ALL proceeds will be collected for the WIRES Wildlife Rescue to aid their rescue efforts in Australia. You can follow their Facebook or Instagram pages for more information about how these donations are helping. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Australia and those that are affected by these fires.
***Note: Grab all of the materials for this project in THNLife Shop! Click here.
Materials
All supplies can be found in the shop - click HERE
Yarn -
The Hook Nook Yummy Tweed (Bulky 5): Precious Metals (A) approximately 90 yds
The Hook Nook Yummy (Bulky 5): Like a Dove (B) approximately 8 yds
The Hook Nook Yummy (Bulky 5): Charcoal Toothpaste (C) approximately 4 yds
Small amount for the eyes:
The Hook Nook Small Stuff (DK 3): Tattoo Ink
Other tools -
The Hook Nook crochet hook, size H - 5mm
Scissors
- (Find stitch markers, tapestry needs, retractable measuring tape and scissors in The Hook Nook Notions Kit)
Terms and abbreviations to know
Magic ring
Rnd, rnds - round, rounds
St, sts - stitch, stitches
Sl st - slip stitch
Sk - skip
Sc - single crochet
Inc - increase, 2 sts in same st
Dec - decrease, combine 2 sts to make 1 st
BLO - back loop only
Invsc2tog - invisible single crochet 2 together; this is essentially a decrease, but done in such a way as to make the continuous stitching smoother, and the decrease not as noticeable.
Insert hook into front loop only of next stitch, DO NOT yarn over.
Insert hook into front loop of second stitch.
Yarn over. Pull through 2 loops.
Yarn over and pull through last 2 loops.
3sctog - decrease, turning 3 sts into one
Insert hook into designated st.
Pull up a loop.
Sk next st and insert hook into the second st from first st.
Pull up a loop.
Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops
Pattern
Body - beginning at the head, with (A)
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: (inc, sc in next st)6x; 18 sts
Rnd 4: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)6x; 24 sts
Rnds 5-7: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 8: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 9-12: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 13: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Rnds 14-15: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 16: (ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 17: (sc into each of the 7 chs, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 18-30: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Arms - Make 2 (A)
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: BLO, sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnds 4-12: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the arm holes in the body. Weave ends in on the inside of the body.
Ears - Make 2 (A)
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: (inc, sc in next st)6x; 18 sts
Rnds 4-6: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Rnd 7: (invsc2tog, sc in next 7 sts)2x; 16 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Make the white parts of the ears before sewing onto the head.
Whites of ears (B)
Ch 6
Row 1: turn and inc into 2nd ch from hook; sc in next 3 chs, inc in last ch; 7 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 7 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 3 sts, dec; 5 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next st, dec; 3 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the front of the gray ear. Then sew the whole ear onto the head of the puppet. Sew ears approximately 3-4 rnds down from the top center of the head.
Nose (C)
Ch 3
Row 1: turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next st; 2 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc in each st; 4 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 4 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 2 sts, inc; 6 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 6 sts
Row 6: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 2 sts, dec; 4 sts
Row 7: ch 1 and turn, 2 dec; 2 sts
Do NOT turn, sc around the whole nose (Row 7 is bottom of the nose, and row 1 is the top). Sc 6 up the side, sc 2 across the top, sc 6 down the other side, and sc 2 across the bottom, sl st to join; 16 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the nose to the face with the top (row 1) of the nose at about rnd 8 of the head, and the bottom of the nose at about rnd 16. Do not sew it too stretched out in the middle. You want it to puff out a little.
Before you finish, stitch your eyes into place on the face of the puppet, slightly above and to the right and left of the nose. This is approximately rnd 7 and 8, with about 2 stitches in between the eyes.
Chest Tuft (B)
Ch 10
Row 1: turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 8 chs; 9 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 9 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 5 sts, dec; 7 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 3 sts, dec; 5 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next st, dec; 3 sts
Row 6: ch 1 and turn, 3sctog; 1 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the tuft between the arms, on the front of the body, with the point down. Weave all your ends in, inside your puppet.
If you'd like to find more, all of my puppet patterns can be found in my Ravelry and Etsy shops (links in the sidebar). I'd love to see the puppets you create with my designs! Feel free to tag me in your pictures @ekaygdesigns and thank you to all those that purchase this pattern PDF in support of the Australian wildlife affected by the bush-fires. My hope is that as you make this pattern you keep those in Australia in your thoughts and prayers.
