Hey hey crochet lovers. I’ve been busy making lots of new Pokemon over the past few months and I have quite the backlog to get online. This little fella has jumped the queue though, as it’s my very first original design and I couldn’t wait to share it online.

After brushing up my amigurumi skills on some of the excellent patterns out there I felt I knew enough to tackle this fairly simple design. The main body is a sphere and each of the vines is essentially a tight blue tube. There’s nothing too tricky to crochet but getting the right look from the vines can be more challenging, and it’s more art than science. I like to needle-felt features, so that’s what I’ve done here, but you could equally crochet some simple white circles with a small black centre if you prefer.

Tangela pattern

All elements were crocheted using a 3.5mm hook and DK yarn to create a Pokemon approximately 20cm high. You’ll need black, red and denim blue yarn plus white and black fibres for needle-felting.

Main body (make 1 in black)

Rnd 1: 8 sc in Magic Ring (8)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around (16)
Rnd 3: sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc around (24)
Rnd 4: sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc around (32)
Rnd 5: sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc around (40)
Rnd 6: sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc around (48)
Rnd 7: sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc around (56)
Rnd 8: sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc around (62)
Rnd 9-16: sc in each sc around (62)
Rnd 17: sc in next 6 sc, dec over next 2 sc around (56)
Rnd 18: sc in next 5 sc, dec over next 2sc around (48)
Rnd 19: sc next 4 sc, dec over next 2 sc around (40)
Rnd 20: sc next 3 sc, dec over next 2 sc around (32)
Rnd 21: sc next 2 sc, dec over next 2 sc around (24)
Rnd 22: sc next sc, dec over next 2 sc around (16)
Rnd 23: dec over next 2 sc around (8)

Vines (make 20 in blue)
6 sc in a magic ring (6)
sc in next 6 sc
Continue round until vine is around 30cm long

Feet (make 2 in red)
6 sc in a magic ring (6)
Rnd 2: 2sc in each stitch (12)
Rnd 3-15: sc in each stitch (12)
Lightly stuff
Rnd 16: Dec over next 2sc around (6)

Needle-felting the eyes

1) Start by teasing out some white fibres and coiling them into a flat coin shape.

2) Poke with a needle until the fibres fuse and start to form a flat circle. Tease any loose fibres in from the outside to get a crisp edge.

3) Repeat for the second eye until you have two equally sized circles.

4) Take a small amount of black fibres, coil them tightly and place in the centre of the first eye. Use the needle to fuse the fibres into a tight pupil in the centre of the eye.

5) Repeat for the second pupil to complete the look.

Attaching the vines

The most challenging part of this Pokemon is attaching all the vines and tangling them in a pleasing way. I started by attaching a ring of five vines around the top of the body and one just below the right eye for authenticity. Continue by attaching more vines in rings at different heights.

I found it helps to tangle as you go, especially around the face, to make sure you get good coverage. Try to keep the coverage even. If you find its still a bit patchy, you may need a few more vines. Good luck!