I knit this fancy fellow today instead of doing any actual work! His name is Charlie the "C"-horse!
I'm going to make one in every color of the rainbow now, I think he's my favorite of all knitted sealife! If there's interest, I'll write up a pattern sometime this week (hopefully before I get my spinning wheel, after that, nothing's getting done, ever).
Update! Here's a pattern I've written for him! He's a little modified from the pictures, since I had to simplify my unintelligible increase system to be understandable to anybody who isn't me. Many thanks to DutchMoeder, who test-knit the pattern for me and pointed out several impossibilities.
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Charlie the “C”-horse
Yarn: Worsted weight, gauge doesn’t really matter.
Needles: set of 4 DPNs, US size 7.
Other: size G crochet hook, tapestry needle, small amount of black yarn, stuffing, scissors
Notes:
-Needle 1 marks the beginning of each new
round.
-The short row section leaves a small hole on each side of his body. I use it to place his fins.
-When moving stitches between needles, make sure you don’t twist them! They’ll end up noticeably flipped.
-The head section is like making the heel of a sock.
-Red Heart squeaks.
CO 3, leaving a fairly long tail.
Knit 3 inches of icord.
When you knit the next row, kfb in each st and distribute across 3 needles.
Body:
Round 1: Knit
Round 2: kfb in each stitch for a total of 4 stitches on each needle.
There will be no more increasing on needle 1!
Round 3-9:
Needle 1- knit
Needle 2- kfb, k to end.
Needle 3- k to last stitch, kfb
Round 10: Knit
Slide last 2 sts. of needle 3 & first 2 sts. of needle 2 onto needle one for a total of 6 sts.
Short rows: Instead of knitting needle 1, turn work and purl needles 2&3. Turn again & knit needle 2. WITH THE SAME NEEDLE, knit the first 3 stitches of needle 3. Turn & purl 6 stitches using the empty needle. Turn work & knit the first 3 stitches. Slide the other 3 stitches onto needle 3. Knit needle 3 with the empty needle.
Rounds 11-15: Knit
Rounds 16-20:
Needle 1- knit
Needle 2- ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog
Needle 3- ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog
You should have 6 sts. on needle 1, and 2 sts. on needles 2&3.
Stuff body.
Head:
Needle 1 only:
Row 1: knit
Row 2: turn and purl
Row 3: turn and knit
Row 4: turn and purl
Row 5: k5, turn
Row 6: p4, turn
Row 7: k3, turn
Row 8: p2, turn
Row 9: k1, turn
Row 10: purl 3
Row 11: knit 6
With needle 2, pick up 4 stitches and knit 2 stitches for a total of 6 stitches.
With needle 3, knit 2 stitches and pick up 4 stitches for a total of 6 stitches.
There should be 6 stitches on each needle.
Face:
Round 1-3:
Needle 1- knit
Needle 2- ssk, knit to end
Needle 3- knit to last 2 sts, k2tog
You should have 6 stitches on needle 1, and 3 stitches on needles 2&3.
Stuff head.
SSK all sts. until 3 remain, removing needles as necessary. Place all stitches on one needle and knit icord for 4 rows. Cast off.
Finishing:
Curl icord towards body in a spiral and sew into place using the yarn tail.
Embroider small black eyes with tapestry needle and black yarn.
Using crochet hook and yarn, DC 4 stitches onto back left to form a fin. Repeat for back right. Starting at the top of the head, SC down the center back until you reach the tail. This forms his spine.
Weave in ends.
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And a bonus pic of my current WIP, so I can feel some gratification on a project that's been dragging out for far too long:
Self-designed scoop neck cardi with eventual 3/4 sleeves and very cool sleeve/bottom detail.
