ilomilo crocheted minis

ilomilo is an absolutely adorable puzzle game the kids have found a demo for on the xbox. The world is winsome. The music is delightful. The main characters are altogether sweet. Even the purpose of the game - two best friends trying to find each other because they are happiest together - is endearing!

Awwwwwwwwww!  Just look at them...ADORABLE!!!!!

My children kindly requested a plushy version of ilo and milo and, well, they were too just too darn cute not to try. Here is my mini version, about 3 inches high (not including antenna)

Hook sizes G & E
ww yarn in blue or red, and cream
brown or black pipe cleaner
cream felt
cream embroidery thread
embroidery needle
yarn needle
fiber fill

ilomilo BODY - Hook G, red or blue yarn

Magic Circle 6
R1: 2 sc in ea st (12)
R2: *sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
R3 - R12: sc around (18 ea)
F.O. and leave a long tail

Make face out of felt, use markers to make eyes. Sew onto ilomilo body.

make one eye slightly bigger than the other

Insert pipe cleaner up through body and through magic circle middle. After pulling through as much length out the top as you'd need to give him a cute curly, trim the pipe cleaner so you will have an inch more length out the bottom.

Using the yarn needle, pull the yarn from the side you F.O. to the opposite side and through a stitch. Use this as a podium for the pipe cleaner to wrap around.

Stuff with fiber fill. Try to put 1/2 the stuffing behind and in front of the pipe cleaner so it stays near the middle. Whip stitch closed.

ilo milo ARMS & LEGS - Hook E with cream yarn
make 4

Magic Circle 5
R1: sc around (5)
R2: sc around (5)
F.O. with tail

Using a yarn needle, sew onto body and weave in.

Of course, you cannot make one without the other so here they are...together again:

ilo is red, milo is blue

Goomba: A Lesson in wrong side/right side amigurumi

Early in my amigurumi pursuit, I was unclear as to what side of the worked up yarn was correct for the outside of my projects. I would start my circle and notice that the yarn would naturally curl into a bowl. Figuring this was the correct way, I continued around, working on top of my stitches in a counterclockwise manner. It was awkward since you are taught to work rows right to left. Things got a lot easier when I realized I had not only been working my projects the hard way, but also finishing them off inside out!

It was only after already crocheting several projects that I finally decided to see what would happen if I pushed my little "bowl" inside out so that I could crochet in a clockwise manner. This project was Goomba from wolfdreamer. I had already made his head the way I had made all my previous amigurumi. The result is a stitch that I perceive as looking "flat":

The wrong side has a  blocky look and there is less of a sheen to it.

The proper way to work your amigurumi is to push the bowl "inside out" after a few rounds so that you are working around the circumference in a clockwise manner. The result definitely has a different look:

Working the right side up gives a more supple and uniform material.

This is the body and feet section of my Goomba and I realize it is harder to compare the two sides this way. I encourage you to do what I did and check out nerdigurumi's tutorial on youtube here. Not only does she thoroughly explain wrong vs right side but her side-by-side visuals will clearly illustrate the differences between them.

I finished up Mr. Goomba and gave him more secure felt features by sewing them on rather than using sticky backed felt. Now his teeth and eyebrows won't go missing again :)

Here's my 1/2 wrong side 1/2 right side Goomba :)

Sonic the Hedgehog

One thing that amazes me about my three children is just how different they are from each other. They may share the same squinty eyes, freckles and long piano playing fingers but their preference in food, say, just highlights my point.  For instance, my first born loves spicy meat: pepperoni, sausage and tacos. My girl has a sweet tooth and would prefer hot tea (cream & sugar, please) with graham crackers. My youngest would eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches morning, noon and night.

I love to find that their differences show up in their play as well. My eldest is fairly well-rounded: he loves riding his bike, writing stories, playing sports and video games. My girl is a bit more focused: it's all about animals with her, but any and all animals will do. My youngest, however, is even more singular. When he likes something, it is utterly and completely exclusive. He has gone through a few phases in his life. First there were cars. This phase started with chubby cars his little fingers could maneuver and grew to the smaller hot wheels and finally the Disney Pixar Cars.

Then came Mario. Oh, Super Mario! With his dazzling invincibility star and awesome fire power, this character bordered on obsession with him. The games were just the first of it. Soon after he was dressing like Super Mario, overalls, mustache, gloves and all. Then it was the figurines and plushies that thankfully coincided with the retail Mario craze so many things were purchased at birthday and holiday times. But his focused fixation changed this past year.

It's not Mario anymore. It's Sonic. Move over Nintendo, Sega is taking over. But, alas, I have found that either we are ahead of the craze or the Sonic thing is just not going to make as big a splash with retail. What's a Mom to do when birthdays are coming and there is nary a Sonic to be found? Peruse the web and land on Wolfdreamer's website, of course! She is amazing. If you haven't happened upon her website, you must stop everything and go here now. The woman is a magician with amigurumi. The things she has created from scratch and put up for free almost single-handedly inspired my blog. She is a perfectionist and her capabilities seemingly have no end. Just check out her pattern list. It is nothing short of incredible. It is in her wealth of creativity I have often found solace to my restless hook hand when I need a character to crochet. It is here I found Sonic the Hedgehog.

Crocheting the pieces was simple enough with her easy to follow patterns. Putting the 24 seperate pieces together was what took the majority of my time and energy. I followed her tips and made sure to pin first. Then there was the repositioning and repining and looking at it for days at a time until I couldn't stand it any longer and finally decided to start stitching. I was quite pleased with the end result! My only tiny addition were the buckles for his shoes that are chain stitches sewed onto the shoes in a rectangular shape over the white stripe.

My baby got his Sonic on his birthday and his face let me know that I had done well. He now sleeps with his store bought Mario plushie and his mommy-made Sonic, one in each arm reminiscent of Andy with Woody and Buzz. I wonder what the two rivals do when he's off to school and they are left on his pillow?

You got it ace, let's race!

Yoshi

A couple of months ago, I was commissioned to make a dark blue Yoshi. I ☺adore☺ Yoshi. Those of you who grew up playing Super Mario Bros, as I did, will likely understand. The faithful little riding buddy to our hero plumber, Mario, Yoshi was a great addition to the series. He makes the cutest noises during game play. I can't help but smile when he gulps down the Yoshi fruit. I love how on all the Yoshi levels the trees dance. His hovering power is rather useful and seeing his little legs run in the air makes me happy. He's just a great character!

I set out to accomplish this challenge with eyes wide open - it was to be my first multi-pieced character (as opposed to the one-piece amigurumi style). Most of Yoshi is amigurumi, but with over a dozen pieces to connect it felt a bit like a jigsaw puzzle where the right location for each pieces kept evading me. But I preserved and after several days of looking at him at different angles with pieces pinned, adjusting and looking some more, readjusting and looking some more, I finally made the plunge and sewed him together. I was pleased with the end result. It was, indeed, a labor of love and I couldn't give him away with stealing a few hugs and quality time with Yoshi all assembled. Also a photo shoot was necessary.

Most of Yoshi came from an amazing pattern from robotrish. If you need to make a Yoshi, check out the pattern here. I made a few adjustments according to what I preferred Yoshi to look like. You are welcome to use them if you like them, but you have to hit up robotrish's website for her entire pattern.

Using the same hook size you started with...

Tummy/Lower mouth (white)

I liked the look of horizontal stripes down Yoshi's tummy, so this part is done in short rows. Be sure to ch 1 at the end of your rows (unless otherwise noted as the first few rows), turn, and start your next row in the second ch from hook

Ch 4
R1: sc across (3), ch 2
R2: sc across (4), ch2
R3: sc across (5), ch 3
R4: sc across (7), ch 3
R5: sc across (9), ch 2
R6: sc across (10), ch 2
R7: sc across (11)
R8-R17: sc across (11)
R18: sc across (11), ch 2
R19: sc across (12), ch 2
R20: sc across (13)
R21: sc across (13), ch 2
R22: sc across (14), ch 2
R23: sc across (15)
R24: sc2tog, 10 sc, sc2tog (12)
R25: sc across (12)
R26: sc2tog8 sc, sc2tog (10)

I love his big nose!

R27: sc across (10)
R28: sc2tog, 6 sc, sc2tog (8)
R29: sc across (8)
R30: sl st, 6 sc, sl st (8)
sl st all the way around
F.O. and weave ends
Assembly tip: Attach securely to body piece leaving the bottom "lip" of mouth loose like he's gonna gobble up a yoshi tree fruit. Use rose colored chalk to color in the inside of the mouth for his tongue.

Check Spots - make 2 (white)

I preferred flat cheeks that were slightly larger around. This section is done in the round.

Magic Circle (6)
Rnd 1: 2 sc in each st (12)
Rnd 2: *sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
Rnd 3: *2 sc, 2 sc in next st* five times only (20)
F.O. and weave ends

Assembly tip: Match up "flat side" of circle to mouth/tummy strip and sew on.

Boots - make 2 (start with light brown)

I wanted a two-toned shoe and chose a rounder shape over the fold over boot. This is done in the round.

Magic Circle (6)

Rnd 1: 2 sc in each st (12)

Rnd 2: *sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)

Rnd 3: sc around (18)

**Change to darker brown color**

Rnd 4: sc back loops only around (18)

Rnd 5: *2 sc, 2 sc in next st* four times, 6 sc (22)

Rnd 6: *3 sc, 2 sc in  next st* four times,  6 sc (26)

Assembly tip: Insert small cardboard circle to make the bottom of shoe "flat"

Rnd 7: 26 sc (26)

Rnd 8: 3 sc, sc2tog, *sc, sc2tog* around (18)

Rnd 9: 3 sc, sc2tog, *sc, sc2tog* around (12)

F.O. and weave ends

Assembly tip: match up 12 st of boot to the 12 leg st and crochet together with dark brown

Saddle

Following robotrish's pattern up to R3 then my changes made it a slightly larger saddle...

R3: (still using red yarn) ch 1 and sc in same st as sl st, sc around adding 22 in the middle of rows and around edges. F.O. 
R4: (switch to white yarn) sc around front posts tightly (creates a bit of texture and bump in saddle. F.O.

Finish Yoshi following robotrish's assembly directions and you'll have an☺adorable☺ Yoshi of your very own!

photos courtesy of www.timdenison.com

Sitting down this Yoshi measure about 11" in height.

Boo Gets a Promotion

Of all the Super Mario Bros characters, my daughter seems to have a special place in her heart for the villans. My daughter is sweet as can be and adores animals, so the thought of a mean old plumber attacking turtle-esque creatures seemed inhumane (even if the dragon-y Bowser did capture the princess...she simply has more compassion for the animals than the spoiled princesses of the world). She also was attached to the flying Boos. These round ghosties are quite shy and if you look at them they will cover their eyes and stay put. But turn your back on them for one moment and they'll quickly sneak up on you! They may not be an animal, but really, they are kind of ☺adorable☺.

So for Christmas she got a Boo. Using wolfdreamer's clever pattern, I made him in a super soft acrylic white yarn and he was squishy and snuggly. I had used sticky backed felt for the eyes and the mouth was sort of a disaster of red yarn I tried to fashion into a mouth.

Boo as he was first made

At first he got played with often, but it wasn't long before the eyes would fall off and even though I'd stick some new ones on they too would fall off and eventually he got played with less and less. Yesterday I found Boo stuffed into a corner of the bed, forgotten, eyes missing and I thought to myself ...  
Boo needs a promotion.



My first improvement was to give Boo some proper eyes. I have found that sticky-backed felt is NOT  a great invention for a toy that actually gets played with. So I busted out the normal black and white felt and sewed on some eyes that should stay put.

Next, I dealt with his mouth. I make no exaggeration when I say I am not a perfectionist when it comes to embroidery. My hand stitching always turns out for the best if it's on the underside of something you'll never see. Now, I can get the job done, but...it's not pretty. Thus Boo's first mouth. So, it was back to the felt pack to make this better. I didn't even bother with taking out the red yarn, but rather cut out the mouth and teeth and secured them to hide my first attempt. I decided to not make the extra long tongue, and instead sewed the teeth onto Boos old mouth and left the red part of the mouth to hang down in a tongue-like fashion.

Now Boo had had to put up with a lot, so I made his promotion complete when I introduced him into royalty with a proper crown. Small diamond shaped blue felt was sewn on as jewels and....

King Boo

his transformation is complete! He's a lot more "put together" (as a king should be) and should be able to withstand some more love and play from his adoring playmate!

Chain Chomp Hat

I had a brilliant idea to crochet something Super Mario Bros related for each of my children this Christmas. There are some GREAT patterns and inspiration out there but I was still fairly green at this crochet thing and the amazing patterns like wolfdreamer's Mario and Luigi  seemed a bit out of my league. So after much deliberation I settled on the Chain Chomp Hat for my eldest. I figured it could get double use as a toy and keep his ears warm through the winter.

My inspiration for this project was based entirely on fashiondiva's creation at Cut Out + Keep found here. I dug around for cute & easy crocheted beanie and decided to follow this pattern but kept the rounds going amigurumi style instead of joining as suggested.

*4 dc into one st, sk, sl st, sk* repeat for scalloping

To the beanie pattern I added a scallop edging in white for teeth front and back. I fastened white sc chains made into loops as eyes.

back of hat has teeth, too

Grey sc chains made into loops attached at the tippy top are his chain (gotta have one broken chain at the end to show that he's OFF HIS CHAIN - WATCH OUT!)












It turned out a bit big for a 9-year-old head but did get some use and perhaps his brains will grow into it in the coming years.






 Thanks to my ☺adorable☺ model you can see just how large it turned out with a G hook and WW yarn.

I'll post the my other Nintendo Super Mario Bros crocheted projects soon!