Pattern: Crochet Lion in Sneakers
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Materials: Needles etc: Crochet hook, size E (3.5mm); yarn needle; stitch marker. Yarn: Lion Brand, Vanna's Choice: Mustard (1 skein); Rust (1 skein) - you'll only use a little of this color; also, a small amount of green, black, and white worsted weight yarn to make the eyes and nose, and the sneakers. Stuffing: Cotton or polyester fll stuffing, or just use a few skeins of unwanted yarn (what I did). Notes: sc2tog means a single crochet the next two stitches together (a decrease). Pull a loop through the frst stitch, and then another loop through the second stitch. Then yarn over the hook and pull through all 3 loops that are on the hook. Tutorial from about.com: http: //crochet.about.com/library/bl-decrease.htm. TBLO means do this stitch through the back loop only. Instead of inserting the needle under the V of the stitch below, insert it only under the back piece of the V. Tutorial: http:/ /crochet.about.com/library /blbackfrontloop.htm Finally, the lion can either be made stiff (legs stick out even when you pick it up) or foppy (legs fop down when you pick him up; see the middle picture above). It just depends on how you sew the arms and legs to the body (see pattern below). If you make it foppy, then it might not be stable enough to sit up on its own.
Pattern:
rellow yarn unless otherwise indicated. # of stitches in each round are shown in parenthese
Head:
Ch 2. Round 1: Sc 6 times into the first chain.(6). Mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker and move it up each round as you go. Round 2: 2 sc in each sc. (12). Round 3: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc]. (18). Round 4: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next two sc]. (24). Rounds 5-6: 1 sc in each sc. (24). Round 7: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next two sc] three times, then 1 sc in each sc to end. (27). Round 8: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc] six times, then 1 sc in each sc to end. (33). Round 9-12: 1 sc in each sc. (33). Round 13: 1 sc in next 5 sc, repeat [sc2dec, then 1 sc in next 4 sc] three times, 1 sc in each sc to end. (30). Round 14: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next three sc]. (24). Round 15: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next two sc]. (18). Stuff head firmly. Round 16: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next sc] four times, 1 sc in each sc to end. (14). Round 17: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next sc] three times, 1 sc in each sc to end. (10). Round 18: Repeat [sc2dec two times, 1sc in next sc] two times. (6). Cut yarn leaving at least a 6 inch tail. Using the yarn needle, sew head closed.
Body:
Ch 2. Round 1: Sc 6 times into the first chain. (6). Mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker and move it up each round as you go. Round 2: 2 sc in each sc. (12). Round 3: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc]. (18). Round 4: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next two sc]. (24). Round 5: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next three sc]. (30). Round 6: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next four sc]. (36). Round 7: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next five sc]. (42). Rounds 8-15: 1 sc in each sc. (42). Round 16: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next 19 sc] twice. (40). Round 17: Repeat [1 sc in next 10 sc's, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 8 sc] twice. (38). Round 18: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next 17 sc] twice. (36). Round 19: 1 sc in next 5 sc's, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 6 sc, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 21 sc. (34). Round 20: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next 15 sc] twice. (32). Round 21: 1 sc in next 4 sc's, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 5 sc, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 19 sc. (30). Round 22: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next 13 sc] twice. (28). Round 23: 1 sc in next 3 sc's, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 4 sc, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 17 sc. (26). Round 24: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next 11 sc] twice. (24). Round 25: 1 sc in next 2 sc's, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 3 sc, sc2dec, 1 sc in next 15 sc. (22). Round 26: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next 9 sc] twice. (20). Cut yarn leaving at least a 12-18 inch tail. Stuff frmly. Using the yarn needle, sew body to hea
Arms:
Ch 2. Round 1: Sc 6 times into the first chain. (6). Mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker and move it up each round as you go. Round 2: 2 sc in each sc. (12). Round 3: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next three sc]. (15). Round 4: 1 sc in each sc. (15). Round 5: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next three sc]. (12). Round 6: Repeat [sc2dec, 1 sc in next sc]. (8). Stuff tightly now while the arm is still short, since it will be hard to push the stuffng into the “hand' when the arm is full length. Rounds 7-19: 1 sc in each sc. (Stop a few times to stuff the arm as you go). (8). Cut yarn leaving at least a 6-9 inch tail. For foppy arms: Stuffarm lightly, fold top fat and sew to body in a flat line. For stiff arms: Stuff arm frmly, and using the yarn needle, sew the top of the arm to the body in a circular shape. Repeat for second arm.
Legs:
With black yarn: Ch 2. Round 1: Sc 6 times into the first chain. (6). Mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker and move it up each round as you go. Round 2: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc.] (10). Round 3: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next three sc, 2 sc in next sc.] (14). Round 4: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next five sc, 2 sc in next sc.] (18). Switch to green yarn: Round 5: 1 sc TBLO in each sc. (18). Round 6: 1 sc in each sc. (18). Round 7: 1 sc in next 4 sc, 1 sc TBLO in next 3 sc, sc2dec TBLO twice, 1 sc TBLO in next 3 sc, 1 sc in next 4 sc. (16). Round 8: 1 sc in next 4 sc, 1 sc TBLO in next 2 sc, sc2dec TBLO twice, 1 sc TBLO in next 2 sc, 1 sc in next 4 sc. (14). Switch to yellow yarn. Round 9: Repeat [sc2dec TBLO, 1 sc TBLO in next 2 sc, sc2dec TBLO, 1sc TBLO in next sc.] (10). Stuff tightly now while the leg is still short, since it will be hard to push the stuffing into the shoe when the leg is full length. Rounds 10-22: 1 sc in each sc. (Stop a few times to stuff the leg as you go). (10). Cut yarn leaving at least a 6-9 inch tail. For foppy legs: Stuffleg lightly, fold top fat and sew to body in a flat line. For stiff legs: Stuff leg firmly, and using the yarn needle, sew the top of the leg to the body in a circular shape. Repeat for second leg. Tail: Ch 2. Round 1: Sc 6 times into the first chain. (6). Mark the beginning of the round with a stitch marker and move it up each round as you go. Round 2: Repeat [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next two sc] (8). Rounds 3-17: 1 sc in each sc. (8). Cut yarn leaving at least a 6 inch tail. Do not stuff the tail. Fold the top fat and sew to body in a fat horizontal line; this will help the lion sit up.
Finishing:
To make the mane: Cut orange yarn into 2-3 inch pieces and tie each piece to the head in the middle of the piece of yarn (to make a mane that is about 1 or 1.5 inches long). Do the same for the tip of the tail. I used about 100-200 pieces of yarn on the head and about 15-20 pieces on the tail. If you're making this as a child's toy be sure to tie the knots VERY securely. To make the eyes and nose: Using the yarn needle and the black yarn, embroider a triangular nose and two smaller eyes, as shown. To make the shoelaces: Cut a 6 inch piece of white yarn. Using the yarn needle, thread it through the sneaker as you would for a shoe. Tie in a bow. Repeat for second shoe. Tie off all loose yarn ends and pull them into the lion so that they aren't visible.
