Crocheted human heart
by Ariadne Aranea
This pattern is inspired and informed by illustrations from the awesome The Human Body Book from DK and on Holomatix's also-awesome online3Dheart model. http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.c0.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0..9781405316255.00.html http://www.holomatix.com/assets/heart/index.html
BEFOREYOUSTART
Yarn and things
You will need three or four different colours - all weights are DK Bright red (for vessels carrying oxygenated blood) Bright blue (for vessels carrying de-oxygenated blood) - the heart itself, you use two strands (or a single strand of chunky yarn if you prefer) ( suitably heart-y colours. I used a burgundy yarn and a two-colour yarn in red and off-white. You will need two hook sizes - I used 3.5mm for the blood vessels and 5mm for the heart muscles. You will also need plenty of toy stuffing, and a large yarn needle.
Notes
Really! Please read these notes before you start! This is a detailed guide to making a heart, but it is not a total stitch-by-stitch patterr There will be times when you need to use your brain and eyes and fingers, looking at pictures and feeling your way to the right shapes rather than blindly following instructions. This is good. This is creativity. Embrace it. Make your heart better than mine! US stitch terminology is used. ·? All stitches are single crochet unless otherwise stated, and “inc" means work 2sc into sc Numbers of stitches given in brackets after a step in the instructions show the total number of stitches you should have on a round after that step. Do not join rounds unless stated, just continue in a spiral, amigurumi style. When making the blood vessels, you will be instructed to make openings (so that the vessels can branch as needed) by chaining and skipping stitches. Later, when you work into the openings, do it by working 1 sc into each skipped stitch and into each chain stitch. Whenever you first stitch into a chain, sc through back loop only (blo) - this leave the front loor available to be worked later. All references to Left or Right are as you look at the heart from behind i.e. as if the heart were in your body and NoT as if you were looking at it from the front. A real heart is about the size of a fist. This is bigger. Quite a lot bigger.
From the front: R & L reversed
From behind: R is R and L is L!
INSTRUCTIONS
Make ventricles
This is a single piece containing both right and left ventricles, which are the lower chambers of the heart where blood is pumped out into, respectively, the pulmonary artery (to be oxygenated in the lungs) and aorta (to circulate around the body). Using the 5mm hook with two strands of DK held together in "heart" colour(s): Magic circle, 6 sc in ring. ·Increase by 6 evenly on each of the next 5 rounds (12, 18, 24, 30 and then 36 stitches) ?Increase 3 evenly on each of the next 3 rounds (40, 44, 48 stitches) ·Work evenly for 4 rounds (48 stitches) ·Decrease 6 evenly for each of the next 3 rounds (42, 36, 30 stitches) ·Work evenly for 2 rounds (30 stitches) ?Decrease 6 evenly on the next round, then work evenly for 1 round (24 stitches) ·Decrease 6 evenly on the next round, then work evenly for 1 round (18 stitches) ·Decrease 6 evenly on the next round, then work evenly for 1 round (12 stitches) Stuff and then decrease 6 evenly around (6 stitches remaining) and bind off.
Make right atrium and vena cava
The vena cava is the blue vein that brings de-oxygenated blood from all over the body to the heart - the superior vena cava collects blood from the upper parts of the body and the inferior vena cava from the lower parts. The right atrium is the upper-right chamber of the heart which collects de-oxygenated blood from the vena cava and then passes it into the right ventricle, ready to be pumped to the lungs. Using the 5mm hook with two strands of DK held together in "heart" colour(s): Chain 9, sc in second stitch from hook and each stitch along chain, then sc in each stitch along the other side of the chain (to make a round of 16 stitches in total) Mark the centre stitch of the round. For each of the next 5 rounds, work an increase on each side of the marker. After these shaping rounds, you should have 26 stitches in total, and the piece should have a distinct flare on one side, with the other side going straight up. Work as follows, which should take you 4 rounds in total: Sc 4. Increase 4 evenly over the next 18 stitches. Ch 8, skip 8. 0 Sc around, back to the start of the chain, increasing 2 stitches evenly as you go. When you get to the chain, sc into each ch, o Mark the 8 central stitches on the flared side of the piece and work in sc until you get to these 8 stitches, increasing 1 on the way. Ch 8, skip 8 and work to the end of this round in sc, increasing 1 on the way. Sc all around, including sc into each ch of the chain. Place a decrease on each side of the chain (but don't attempt to work an decrease into the chain!) By now, you should have two openings into the atrium on each side of the piece (the first is for the superior vena cava, the second for the inferior vena cava) (32 stitches) Decrease 6 evenly for each of the next 4 rounds (24,18,12, 6 stitches). Bind off. Now we're going to make the veins. Start with the vena cava superior (in the first opening you made), using the 3.5mm hook with one strand of DK in bright blue: · Sc into each ch and each skipped sc, plus one in each “corrner" (18 stitches) Work 1 round evenly, then sc to the next corner (at the front of the work, as you hold it with the straighter side of the right atrium on the left i.e. on your right). ·2 sc, ch 3, sk 3, sc. ·Continue in sc back to start of chain, working a decrease at each corner. (16 stitches) Sc into each chain, and continue around until the tube is 4-5cm long, working 2 decreases evenly along the way to get down to 14 stitches. Sc to a point about a third of the way round from the opening you just made (i.e. if that opening is 12 0'clock, sc to about 4 o'clock). Ch 3, sk 3, sC. ·Continue in sc back to start of chain, working 2 decreases as you go around (12 stitches) Sc into each chain, then work 2 rounds evenly. Work decreases all around, until only 6 stitches remain. Bind off, using the tail to close the tube with a yarn needle. In each of the two small openings you made: o Work a round of 6 sc and continue for 3-4 rounds. Bind off, closing the tube with a yarn needle. Stuff the whole piece (right atrium and vena cava superior) loosely, and then make the vena cava inferior, using the 3.5mm hook with one strand of DK in bright blue: Working into the second opening on the right atrium, begin as for the vena cava superic making a round of 18 stitches in total. Continue around until the tube is 3-4cm long. ?Work 6 decreases evenly on the next round (12 stitches). Stuff loosely. Work decreases until only 6 stitches remain. Bind and close as before. Stitch the right atrium onto the ventricles, along the bottom/front edge only, using the pictures below as a guide to position.
Make left atrium and pulmonary veins
The left atrium is the upper-left chamber of the heart which collects oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins and then passes it into the left ventricle, ready to be pumped around your body. The pulmonary veins are the red veins that bring oxygenated blood back from the lungs. I advise you to take a good hard look at the real shape of a left atrium before you start making this piece. The instructions here are more or less what I did, but you willfind them easier to follow (and to adjust, if you wish) if you know what shape you're aiming for. Left atria are not an easy shape! Using the 5mm hook with two strands of DK held together in “heart" colour(s): Chain 11, sc in second stitch from hook and each stitch along chain, then sc in each stitch along the other side of the chain (to make a round of 20 stitches in total) [Leave the yarn tail loose to help keep track of which end is which.] Rounds 2-3: \*Inc, sc 2, inc, sc to end of round\* twice (22, 24 stitches) ·Round 4: Inc, sc 2, inc, sc 7, 2 inc, sc to end (28 stitches) Round 5: Inc, sc 4, inc, sc 7, 2 inc, sc 9, ch 2, sk 3, sc (31 stitches) Round 6: Sc, inc, sc 4, inc, sc 8, 2 inc, sc to end (working 1 sc into each ch) (35 stitches) Round 7: Sc 2, inc, sc 4, inc, sc 9, ch 3 sk 2, sc, ch 3 sk 2, sc 9, ch 2 sk 3, sc (38 stitches) Round 8: Sc around (working 1 sc into each ch), placing a decrease on each side of the double opening in the middle of the round (where yarn tail hangs down) (36 stitches) Rounds 9-10: Work in sc, placing 2 decreases at the start of each round and 2 decreases on each side of the yarn tail end. (32, 28 stitches) · Decrease 4 evenly on the next round (24 stitches) · Decrease 6 evenly on the next 3 rounds (18, 12, 6 stitches) Stuff loosely, close and bind off. The two pairs of openings in the left atrium are for the pulmonary veins. If the shaping works the way it's supposed to, you should see that the yarn-tail side turns inwards, and the other side twists over, so both pairs end up pretty much on top of the work. Don't worry if it doesn't look quite perfect - you can squish it into the right shape later, when you secure it to the other pieces! Using the 3.5mm hook and one strand of bright red DK, work as follows into each hole: Work 5 sc around each opening (each has either 3 ch and 2 sc or 2sc an( Continue in sc until the vein measures 2-3 cm. Bind off and close tube. Now stitch the left atrium onto the ventricles along the foundation chain line and “around the corner" to get the general shape as shown in the picture. You can finally perfect the shape later if needed, after stitching on the pulmonary artery and aorta.
Pulmonary artery
This is the blue artery that branches and then carries de-oxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs to get oxygenated. Using the 3.5mm hook with one strand of DK in bright blue: Chain 20, join and sc in each ch (20 stitches) Continue around until the piece measures 1-2cm and then, without binding off, sew the bottom in place on top of the ventricles (a bit to the left in the corner where right and left atrium meet). Then continue in sc until the piece measures almost the height of the atria. You now need to divide the piece so that it branches to right and left, more or less parallel with the pulmonary veins. You start by making a chain across the top, perpendicular to the left atrium i.e. sc to a starting point near the left atrium, ch 8, sk 10 and then continue in sc around what should now be an 18-stitch tube heading towards the right atrium. Continue until the branch extends over about half of the right atrium, secure it with a slip stitch into the atrium and then divide again as follows: Sc to the top-centre of the tube, sk 9, sc and now continue around this 9-stitch tube for few rounds. Bind off and close. Work 9 sc into the other half of this branch, sc for a few rounds, bind off and close Now work the other branch of the artery. Work 18 stitches into the other side of the main part of the artery and complete so that it matches the opposite side, stuffing loosely as you go. You can make this left side a little longer so that it doesn't get hidden by the aorta!
Aorta
This is the red artery that takes oxygenated blood away from the left atrium and pumps it to every cell in your body after dividing and branching many times. Chain 18, join and sc in each ch (18 stitches) Continue around until the piece measures 1-2cm and then, without binding off, sew the bottom in place on top of the ventricles (a bit to the right in the corner where right and left atrium meet, right next to the pulmonary arteries). Then continue in sc for a few rounds before starting to shape as follows: slip stitch 4 on side nearest to left atrium; sc 4; hdc 2; dc 2; hdc 2; sc 4. Repeat this round several times, so that the tube curves back towards and over the left atrium.
From above, showing configuration of blood vessels Once the tube has curved over (does not have to be 90°), work 2 rounds in sc and then make an opening for the tube to branch by working ch 3, sk 3 at the top of the tube. Work another 2 rounds and then make a second opening in the same way, Work 2 more rounds in sc. Now repeat the curving rows as described above to continue the curve of the aorta, but this time place a decrease at the bottom (on the inside of the curve) of each row. Once the tube is long enough to reach over and behind the left atrium, bind off and stuff the tube loosely. Sew the tube closed and secure it in place. Now work smaller tubes into the two openings at the top. Work 6sc around each opening and continue in sc until the smaller tube is 2-3 cm long. Bind off. Optional: I added long chains to the end of these arteries as I wanted to use these as "ties" to hang the finished piece. To do this, just make a long chain before binding off.
Finishing
Secure all the parts in place where necessary to maintain the shape you want. Add the coronary veins and arteries. These are the blood vessels that feed the heart muscle itself, some are red and some are blue. Use the yarn needle to sew them on in free-form embroidery, using the pictures (or, much better, images of a real heart) as a guide. Personally, I worked as follows: (Blue) Make two rows of sc by picking up stitches along the back line where the left atrium joins the ventricles, then a further row of sc to join these two rows together. · (Blue) Continue in embroidery chain stitch around to the front and down the front of the heart. (Blue and red) Add remaining veins and arteries using chain stitch for the larger vessels and a simple backstitch or straight stitch for some of the finer lines.
