The Pulled Stitch Blog: Book Review: Crocheted Sea Creatures

Last Christmas I made a Puffer Fish for a nephew. The pattern was from Inside Crochet, issue 70 and it was such a success that I just had to rush out and buy the book. Crocheted Sea Creatures, by Vanessa Mooncie.
The first thing you need to know is that I am probably the worlds worst amigurumi crocheter. I constantly loose count and can never sew the features on evenly. So my characters usually have that run-over-by-a-bus look!

When I got the book, the first thing I wanted to do was compare the magazine instructions with the published version. I've always assumed that magazines have limitations on the amount of space they have for each pattern. This was my first opportunity to find out what that means in practise. Here's the difference; where the magazine squeezes the pattern onto three pages, the book uses eight. The type face is larger and easier to read, there are more photos and there are stitch charts for every section of the instructions. (You are probably sick of hearing me say that I'm dyslexic but just in case you missed that, I'm going to say again...) There are stitch charts for every single part of the instructions! I find it incredible that anyone can work out how to write stitch charts for 3 dimensional objects, but here they are! Can you tell that I'm a bit excited about this?

The book was first published in 2015, so there are plenty of completed projects to look at on Ravelry. The patterns are written for mainly DK and Chunky yarns, the beauty of Amigurumi is that you can use any weight of yarn. As usual you will find more information on my Ravelry 'Projects' page.

I felt it was worth blogging about because I was so pleased with my own attempts and I'm always on the look out for 'male' gifts. I think the Octopus will make a fun gift for next Christmas. There are Christmas-cracker style jokes in the book along with each character as well as some fun facts. I was thinking of copying some of these out to include in the gift wrapping for extra entertainment.

I can never make a pattern 'exactly' as written. (I think it may be an affliction!) For the Puffer Fish I added safety eyes and used Scheepjes Cotton8, a 4ply yarn, and added the orange yarn for a burst of colour. When I was looking for how to add extra interest to the Octopus I found this delicious variegated colour way in Schachenmayr's Catania Colour 4ply cotton yarn, which works up beautifully.

Octopus have an awful lot of legs don't they?! I have to admire the very clever way the patterns are written. There is almost no sewing and few ends to weave in. The front and back of the legs are joined with crochet stitches. I was able to catch all the loose ends in as I went. The only time I had to get a needle out was to sew the eyes to the head as one piece.

I had a large ball of variegated acrylic yarn in my stash. It wasn't particularly nice yarn so I thought I'd use it for the Whale.

The pattern calls for 260m of chunky yarn. I had 450m of DK weight, so I decided to use my yarn doubled and play chicken. I won! I was left with 21metres unused, phew! The whale grew nose to tail without a single sewn seam. Just the blow hole, eyes and fins needed stitching on, as well as an embroidered mouth. Thanks to the simple shape of the whale it was fairly easy to get the features placed evenly.

My finished whale is cuddly and almost exactly the same size as the pattern, at 50cm long. It might be nice to try him in a super chunky weight for something bigger even more comforting.

I couldn't resist trying the Nautilus. I like the fact that the creatures in this book are not 'all the usual suspects'. While there are obviously some old favourites like the Octopus and the Seahorse, there are also some strange and unusual characters. I find myself picking up information by accident as I peruse the odd YouTube video.

I went back to 4ply cotton yarns, the Scheepjes Cotton8 Rust no671 seems to be the perfect shade. This time the pattern is made up of many pieces which are almost entirely crocheted together. Before I began to attach the head I thought that I must surely have made a mistake. I couldn't imagine out how it could possibly become the right shape, but it did!

The shell markings were a bit fiddly to add. Although Vanessa has given some direction it's the first time she's left it up to you. When I googled 'Nautilus', I found that the shell markings vary widely, so perhaps it's fitting that every Nautilus made should be unique. The only sewing is fitting the eyes in place and fitting the hood over the head.

I'm drawn to the idea that my makes should be functional. In this case I'm conflicted, my Nautilus is neither cute and cuddly, nor does it serve a practical purposes and I can't think who on earth I can gift it to?

When it comes to weird and wonderful, the Angler Fish has got to be in the top ten. This one actually manages to be quite cute. I played yarn chicken again, but this time I lost. Instead I've chosen a sock weight yarn from my stash to create (I'm hoping!) an as yet undiscovered species of Angler Fish. I got a bit carried away in my enthusiasm and forgot to photograph the separate elements before I had joined the mouth and stuffed the body.

The hardest part about this pattern is knowing how much to stuff the body and how exactly to shape the mouth. Eventually I decided more was better than less in this case. Creating what is basically a hollow in a stuffed object creates challenges, as does using three different four ply yarns. When you get a bit cocky and decide to deviate from the pattern you've got to accept the unexpected! I'm reasonably happy with the outcome but I do feel a burning desire to try again!

I did try again! This time I went with less stuffing and with a finer yarn for the mouth. I'm much happier with the outcome.

I'd like to tell you that I learnt from this experience and from now on I will not mix different yarn types. Ahem, queue the next project...

For my final pattern of the blog I wanted to make the shell. It is only half a pattern really as you'll find it in the pattern for the Hermit Crab. I am sure every child who has visited the seaside has hunted for shells and brought home a selection of sand encrusted relics. I don't know why they are so fascinating or seem so exotic.

The shell is made of two parts, the textured outer and a smooth inner. I set off using the same Schachenmayr yarn I used for the underside of the Octopus. As it had the same weight per metre as Scheepjes Catona I thought that they would pair up well. They do not! The Catona manages to be a smidgeon wider in gauge and so the inner is too big for the outer.

Solution:
Make a new inner using a finer weight cotton for what is now shell No.1.
Make a new outer using the Catona but with a larger hook size for shell No.2. (Just to be on the safe side!)

I'm really thrilled with the outcome. The shells keep their shape and are surprisingly tactile. Once it all comes together the subtle shaping produces an amazingly sculpted work of art!

As my Amigurumi skills seem to be (mostly!) improving, here are my top tips;
    Mark the start of each round with a locking stitch marker as it's so easy to loose count.
    Record your round by round progress on some scrap paper.
    Always make a note of where you are in the pattern before putting the work down.
    Invest in a pair of craft forceps, they make stuffing awkward spaces a breeze.