Alice doll

I found another cute doll pattern today: Alice in Wonderland

It's not exactly a doll that fits into the whole middle ages theme I seem to be working in, but its still very cute.

I also found yet another hooded scarf pattern, though I don't think I like this one as much as the other one I posted about. Maybe its the yarn. I'm not too thrilled with their choice, the black from the other pattern caught my eye more. I really need to make myself a hooded scarf, its a good way to use a middle ages pattern for normal every day wear. Kohls is selling hooded scarves this season, so it can't be too odd of a choice.

Hooded Scarf

A friend of mine sent me this pattern for a hooded scarf. I've seen other patterns for hooded scarves before, but I really like the way this one looks. The wide scarf and the stitch patterns are really nice. I'm going to have to add this to my project list. This could also be a good pattern for skiing. I love my crochet hood, but it makes me look 5. Perhaps a hooded scarf would be a more acceptable solution. Granted people wear crazy winter hats skiing all the time, and the scarf ends could be a little hazardous (I am not the best skier...). Regardless, this pattern is awesome and looks really warm :-)

Spitz

After making heavens_hellcat's fierce but friendly dragon, I came up with my own modification. I wanted the belly to be sparkly, and look more like the delicate underbelly of a dragon. But, I loved how the legs, arms and spikes came out on my fierce and friendly dragon. So, why mess with success! My modification will link to the original pattern when its time to make the arms, legs and spikes.

Not: hook size isn't overly important, but I used two different hooks.A smaller hook when working with the sparkly yarn and a larger one when working with the chenille.

Belly: Using sparkly worsted weight yarn
Row 1: chain 11
Row 2: sc 12 (I increased in the middle, so round ch5)
Row 3: 2sc in first stitch, 1 sc in each of the next 10 stitches, 2 sc in last stitch (14 stitches)
Row 4: 2sc in first stitch, 1 sc in each of the next 12stitches, 2 sc in last stitch (16 stitches)
Row 5: sc in the first 8 stitches, 2c in the 9th, then sc in each of the remaining stitches (17 stitches)
Row 6: sc in the first 9 stitches, 2sc in the 10th stitch, then sc in each of the remaining stitches (18 stitches)
Row 7 - 12: Follow the same pattern as row 5,6.sc 1/2 way across the row, 2 sc in middle stitch,. sc across the rest of the way (19,20,21,22,23,24)
Row 13-14: sc 24
Row 15: sc ion the 1st 11 stitches, dec, sc across the rest of the row (22 stitches)
Row 16-28: sc 1/2 way across the row, dec, sc across the rest of the row (21,20,19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 stitches)
finish off

Back: using chenille
Before starting to crochet, leave a long tail of crochet for sewing.
Row 1: chain 15
Row 2: sc 16 (I increased in the middle, so round ch5)
Row 3: 2 sc in 1st stitch, sc across next 14, 2sc in last stitch (18 stitches)
Row 4: 2 sc in 1st stitch, sc across next 16, 2 sc in last stitch (20 stitches)
Row 5 - 8: sc 1/2 way across the row, inc in a middle stitch, sc the rest of the way across (21,22,23,24)
Row 9-10: sc 24
Row 11-19: sc 1/s way across, dec in some middle stitch, then sc the rest of the way (23,22,21,20,19,19,18,16,15)
Secure chenille and leave a long tail to sew.

Construct the Body:
Sew the belly and the back together. Turn the body inside out to hide the stitching. Stuff the body.

Tail: using chenille
The body should now have two openings. Pick which side you want to be the back of the dragon. The tail will be crocheted in the round, and you will be crocheting around the opening.

Step 1: 25 stitches (the last/first row of the belly has 10sc and the back 15 = 25 stitches)
Step 2: Repeat round one until the tail is almost long enough
Step 3: Once the tail is long enough, crochet a few more rounds, but dec every other stitch. This will give the tail a pointed look. Remember to stuff the tail as you go!

Head: using chenille
Follow the same steps as those for the tail. Except, when you are decreasing, the goal is to have a rounded end (for the snout). To get a more rounded appearance, the last 5 rows of the head should be:

Round 1: dec every 6th stitch
Round 2: dec every 5th stitch
Round 3: dec every 4rd stitch
Round 2: dec every 3rd stitch
Round 1: dec every other stitch

Then, as there will still be an opening, stuff the head, then sew it closed. I found that gathering the opening and pulling it tight gave the nose a good rounded look.

The arms (chenille), legs (chenille), and scales (sparkly) were made according to the directions in the fierce but friendly dragon
I didn't add ears to my dragon
I added a row of sc in the sparkly yarn to the front of the dragon's wings (the side facing the front of the dragon's body)

Finished snout: using chenille and some flame colored yarn
I decided to add an open mouth to my dragon, and some flames. To make the mouth, I measured the circumference of the snout, and chained 6 (as 6 of my chains = circumference of the snout) I joined ch 1 to ch6, and then crocheted 3 rounds of 6 stitches each. I ended up with a cylinder, and sewed it on to the the end of the dragons snout. With the chenille, the head looks seamless (which is why i love chenille for toys!). I then attached flames to the inside of the mouth. To make the flames:

The basic idea of the flames is to sc a square, then make three tendrils of fire (one on the right edge of the square, another in the middle, and a third on the end).
Row 1: chain 5
Row 2-6: sc 5
Row 7: Instead of sc across the row, make 5 chains, and then sc along this new chain. Once you sc in the last ch, 1 sc in the 2nd sc of row 6. ch 5 again, sc down the chain, and 1 sc in the 4th sc of row 6. ch 5, sc down the chain, i sc in the 5th sc of row 6.