Splash, splash! It’s shiny Squirtle

June 17, 2018 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers! After making a couple of shiny Charmanders for the May Pokemon Go Community Day, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to tackle a shiny version of another of the Kanto starters.

The shell is the trickiest part of this make

I’ve followed a lot of Pokemon crochet patterns now and this has to be one of my favourites in terms of faithfulness to the original creature. It’s a perfect blend of cute, accurate and sturdy to boot, and I couldn’t be happier with this little fella. While it is not a free pattern, like many, the step-by-step instructions and photos are superb and I’d certainly consider more patterns from Aradiya Toys.

Pattern: $4.99 from https://www.facebook.com/AradiyaToys

Yarn: Scheepjes Twinkle DK

Hook: 3.5mm

Riding high, it’s Lotad

February 9, 2018 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers. I seem inexorably drawn to grass and water type Pokemon – maybe that comes from living in the damp and green North West of England, or maybe I just like anything blue. Lotad is one of my favourites at the moment, perhaps because it spans grass and water types but also because its lily pad sombrero is just so darned cute.

This was a pretty simple make and only took a few evenings to pull together from start to finish. The most complicated part is the lily pad, which is made from two separate layers crocheted together. It helps if you get the layers to be the same size – my openings at the back didn’t quite match up – but a creative bit of tucking and it worked out fine.

Lotad’s lily pad is two layers sandwiched together

The pattern suggests using a piece of card or plastic to give the pad some additional stability but in the cotton yarn I used this wasn’t really necessary, so mine is all yarn. Rather than crochet the dark green details on top, I turned to needle felting, which worked out great.

Pattern:

Yarn: Blue Sirdar cotton DK, green Wendy cotton DK, yellow Rico Essentials cotton DK

Hook:

Can I get a Woop, Woop! It’s Wooper

December 3, 2017December 15, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers. My apparent obsession with water type Pokemon continues with my next creation – the adorable, if a little dopey looking, Wooper.

This isn’t my most impressive bit of needle-felting – I don’t know why one simple smile proved so challenging. At least his little axolotol antennae worked out well.

Pattern: http://www.wolfdreameroth.com/2010/06/wooper-plushie.html

Yarn: Patons blue DK cotton plus a little dark blue and mauve yarn

Hook: 3.5mm

Twinkle, twinkle Omastar

December 1, 2017December 15, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers. It’s back to the water we go for the next tiny creation, and this one is particularly tiny. It was one of the quickest makes I think I’ve done, even with his little tentacles and horns. I needed something I could finish at this point as I was mid way through a very intensive and hefty make, which I’ll be revealing very soon,

Omastar is so tiny he makes Igglybuff look big!

Needle-felting the features onto such a small face was particularly challenging, and the star-shaped mouth gets a bit lost under his body but I swear it is there!

Though he may be but small, Omastar has a big personality.

Pattern: $3.99 from https://www.etsy.com/listing/457579946/omastar-amigurumi-crochet-pattern

Yarn: blue and cream cotton DK

Hook: 3.5mm

A Staryu is born

November 28, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers. With so many Pokemon to choose from, where do you even start with trying to crochet them all? I thought I’d try to focus on the original Kanto 250 for a while and Staryu seemed like one that wouldn’t take too long to pull together. And I don’t know why but I seem to find myself drawn to water and grass types.

This was a quick make and one of the few I’ve made that doesn’t have any needle felting at all.

Pattern: Free from Samantha Gibbs at https://xxbyamomentx.tumblr.com/post/149959770892/staryu-amigurumi-direct-pdf-download

Yarn: Sirdar orange, red and yellow cotton DK

Hook: 3.5mm

Taking it slow… Slowbro

November 27, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers. Back when I started crocheting Pokemon my skills were pretty basic and there were some characters I never thought I would have been able to tackle.

Slowbro is one of those that was on the ‘too hard’ list for a long time but I’m pleased I’ve got to the point were I’m that bit more fearless. This is still quite a complex make, with lots of individual elements and essentially two full characters in one – punchy pink Slowbro and the grizzly grey Shellder biting down on Slowbro’s tail.

It’s quite satisfying watching all the pieces of a new character coming together, and with Slowbro there are a lot of pieces to connect.

This Slowbro pattern is a commercial design, so there’s a small cost involved but I think it’s worth it for the level of detail and the clear instructions it offers.

Pattern: $5.99 from Eugene Lau – https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/470512752/pdf-pattern-slowbro

Yarn – pink, peach, cream and grey DK yarn, white, back, pink and red roving for needle-felting

Hook: 3.5mm

There must be something in the water

June 4, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers. Here’s another cutie that I hooked up as a last-minute gift a few months back. One of my very good friends has a special fondness for Mudkip and crochet, so this seemed the perfect present.

The only trouble I had with this little fella were the lines on his fin, which frankly came out a bit wonky. His fin is far from as perky as I would like either, but we all have our saggy days.

Pattern: http://nanettecrochet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mudkip-pattern.html

Yarn: Cotton DK

Hook: 3.5mm

Psy-aye-aye, it’s Psyduck!

March 9, 2017May 10, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey you lucky ducks. There are so many Pokemon to choose from – seriously, there are over 800 of the cute critters now! – but some just jump out of the ball and demand to be made. Who doesn’t love the confused little water baby, Psyduck?

Psyduck is a simple make and this Sirdar yarn was very nice to work with. I didn’t have quite as easy a time with the beak and flippers but he doesn’t seem to mind.

Bulbasaur introduces Psyduck to the family…

Pattern: http://www.wolfdreameroth.com/2009/03/psyduck-with-pattern.html

Yarn: Sandy and Cream Sirdar Cotton DK

Hook: 3.5mm

Finished size: 25cm high

Froakie hops to it

March 1, 2017March 1, 2017 | heyheygav

Hey hey crochet lovers. After hooking up the cheeky Chespin, it made sense to partner him up with his brother in arms, Froakie. This pattern was a dream to follow and even the more intricate details like Froakie’s fingers came together quite easily. There’s something of the Mickey Mouse about his cute white fingers that just makes him so sweet.