Thursday, May 14, 2015

Budd the Beaver

     It's that time again. Time to reveal this month's amigurumi! This month's challenge was a beaver (April 20th - May 20th).  I named him Budd in remembrance of my mom and her best friend, who always said they were 'best buds'.  As this month's amigurumi fell over mother's day, my mom's birthday (May 20th), and her 'best bud's' birthday (May 14th); it was only fitting to dedicate my Amigurumi to her.  That is also why he is holding a turquoise balloon (her favorite color).
     As I thought about how I wanted to design Budd, I knew I wanted him to be cuddly.  
image found on pinterest 

image found on pinterest 
my rough sketches for planning construction.

I loved how fluffy the baby beaver looked, so I decided to use my fluffy yarn (Bernat Pipsqueak in Chocolate).  For the tail, ears, hands, and feet; I used my Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Cafe Latte.  This ended up being an exact match to the Pipsqueak yarn! I used some black crochet thread and weaved it into the tail to create that stereotype cartoon beaver tail.
For the nose and mouth, I actually used red heart super saver in black.  This was so the thread would not get lost in the fluff of the pipsqueak yarn. I cut small ovals in some white felt and slipped the eyes in the center; this created a whites of the eye look. 
    Budd is definitely cuddly! and he looks so happy :)



  Here is Budd meeting the gang.  4 down 8 to go! 

Balloon Pattern:
 materials needed - 
-Aunt Lydias crochet thread classic 10 (any color)
-20 gauge jewelry wire
-1.9 mm hook (I used a Boye 5)

Row 1: ch. 2, sc 6 in first ch. (6sts)
Row 2: Inc around (12sts)
Row 3: *sc 1, inc* rep 6x (18sts)
Row 4: *sc 2, inc* rep 6x (24sts)
Row 5: *sc 3, inc* rep 6x (30sts)
Row 6: *sc 4, inc* rep 6x (36sts)
Row 7: *sc 5, inc* rep 6x (42sts)
Row 8-12: sc around (42sts)
Row 13: *dec, sc 19* rep one time (40sts)
Row 14: sc around (40sts)
Row 15: *2 sc, dec* rep 10x (30sts)
Row 16-17: sc around (30sts)
Row 18: *1 sc, dec* rep 10x (20sts)
Row 19-20: sc around (20sts)
Row 21: dec around (10 sts)
Row 22: sc around (10sts)
Row 23: inc around (20sts)
fasten off

cut 4-5 inches of wire and bend around bottom of balloon.  To secure, push through paw and make a small loop below and above paw.