Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Amigurumi Unicorn Horn

As Miss Monkey Pants is at Preschool today, Pink Ape
volunteered to model for me.  He's a nice guy, that Pink Ape.

I'm not exactly sure when it began, or what inspired her, but Little Miss Thing has been busying herself lately, making paper kitty/tiger/puppy ears to wear.  She sits at the kitchen table and painstakingly draws the pattern, colors it, cuts it out, then tapes it all together to form a three-piece headband with ears.

She unabashedly wears them to the grocery store.  I unabashedly let her.



I sometimes have to help her tear the tape off of the roll (she is only four, after all), but other than that, these creations are entirely hers.  She has come a looong way with her scissor handling and her cut and paste/tape abilities since she started doing this, and as a crafty mommy, I'm thrilled to see her doing it. 

The other day, she surprised me when she announced that she was making a Unicorn horn.

I looked over, and INDEED, she had made a giant pink, triangular Unicorn Horn and was taping it together.  Like SO:

I posted this picture to Facebook, and one of my friends (who knows how I like to make stuff) commented that "...maybe it needs some crochet around it to make it more magical?" And it suddenly occurred to me that I really needed to crochet her a 'lil Unicorn Horn.

Yeah.  I totally DID.

He took his duties seriously and sat very still,
smiling ever so gently and pinkly.

Crocheting this "in-the-round" gives it that special,
spiral-y Unicorn thing...

Here is Pink Ape's BEST Unicorn Impression.
Very, Very Good, Pink Ape.



Pink Ape thinks the addition of a single strand of silver
thread was a REALLY nice touch. He does. He mentioned
it after we'd finished the film shoot and he'd had a banana.

NOW.  Go Spread some 4-year old Unicorn Love throughout the House and Grocery Store. 

We'll be there, too.



Make your own.

AMIGURUMI UNICORN HORN FOR DRESS-UP AND MAKE-BELIEVE


INGREDIENTS
  • White Yarn (Medium Weight/Worsted size 4 or 5-ish will work just fine)
  • Sliver thread (DMC Floss is good here)
  • Size E or F hook (no gauge. no worries.)
  • Poly Fill to stuff
  • Thin, White Headband  (no wider than ¼” to fit through the stitching)

STITCHES USED
  • HDC (American Half-Double Crochet)
  • SS (Slip Stitch)
  • CH (Chain)
  • SK (Skip)
  • YO (Yarn Over)
  • HDCIDC (I just totally made that up.  Half Double Crochet Invisible Decrease... I use Planet June's invisible decrease. YAY! Planet June!)

INSTRUCTIONS

This pattern is worked in the round for a spiral effect.
Work with BOTH the White Yarn and the Silver Thread at once.

Round 1 Leaving a long tail, CH 16. (You will be using this tail to close the bottom after stuffing.  Alternately, you could just add on or even tie a new piece of yarn to the beginning.  If leaving along tail, you need maybe a yard or so).
Join with SS to form a ring.
CH 2 (counts as first HDC). HDC Around. Do NOT join. We will continue in-the-round. (16 Stitches)
Round 2 HDC into first HDC of Round One and HDC around (16 Stitches)
Rounds 3-15   Begin decreasing a single stitch every row.   HDCIDC in first stitch.  HDC around.
­­Row count decreases by one for each round like this:   
Round 3 – 15 Stitches
Round 4 – 14 Stitches
Round 5 – 13 Stitches
Round 6 – 12 Stitches
Round 7 – 11 Stitches
Round 8 – 10 Stitches
Round 9 – 9 Stitches
Round 10 – 8 Stitches
Round 11 – 7 Stitches
Round 12 – 6 Stitches
Round 13 – 5 Stitches
Round 14 – 4 Stitches
Round 15 – 3 Stitches
It DOES get a little difficult on Round 12 or so, but keep at it.  At that point, even if you just Skip the first stitch instead of doing the HDCIDC, it should be ok…)
To end, pull through last loop to tie off.  Weave in end.
STUFF lightly enough so that the poly fill doesn’t poke through, but heavily enough that the horn has enough strength to stand.

TO CLOSE THE BOTTOM:
Round 1 With the long tail, pull up a loop though 1st HDC.  YO and HDCIDC around. Join with SS to first HDCIDC. (8 stitches)
Round 2  CH 1.  *SK 1, SS 1* three times.  (4 stitches). 
Tie off.  Weave in end.  Flatten the bottom of the horn with your hand (if it’s not quite flat, don’t worry). 


ADDING THE HEADBAND
Here’s my favorite part… a thin headband will slip snugly through the crochet stitches.  Push the headband through one side and out the other, as close to the bottom of the Unicorn Horn as you can. If the bottom of your horn is a bit more rounded than flat, push the rounded bit to the inside of the horn (make it concave) and work your headband through in such a way so that the pushed-in bit is held behind the headband. 


24 comments:

  1. This is so rad! Very creative!

    My niece is the same age as your daughter and is very crafty herself. I just bought her a new book called Crafty Chloe and she LOVES it. Very inspiring and teaches a good message: storebought is never better than handmade.

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  2. Hey, Thanks, Kate! I'll check that book out! She'll be STOKED! :)

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  3. I'm glad you went with Pink Ape as your model for this one. I could really feel him channeling his inner unicorn.

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  4. LOVE the pattern. I'm making an unicorn hat for my youngest and a narwhal hat for my oldest...your pattern worked for both. I did notice that in order to get the swirly pattern I had to work in the front loop only of each switch! Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. I did this - crocheting in the front loop only. Then added a single stitch of a contrast color climbing the swirl for more detail! Going to use the whole idea in a crocheting workshop at a tiny festival.

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    2. Excellent! I hope the workshop is successful! :)

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    3. I am crocheting in the BACK loop only to get the swirl... does the front loop provide a better look?

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    4. Kelly, if only crocheting in the front, the swirl is not as pronounced, but there is a texture change. Check out these samples on Crochet Spot: https://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-in-front-back-or-both-loops/

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  5. I made one from your directions, but the last couple of rows didn't look so well :( I then made one going from the top down, starting with a MC (or MR, depending on what people call it) and 3 hdc, then inc on hdc each row. Worked out better for me...I have a good friend who has a grand niece visit her once a week - a really girly-girl with pink/purple 'foo-foo' style, who loves princesses, Faeries, and unicorns. I can't wait to give her one! TY for posting this, and I do agree, Pink Ape is really getting into the spirit ;)

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  6. My friends are going to love this! :D

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  7. My daughter loves this horn! But I worked it from the tip down, i find it easier to increase than decrease. Also I crocheted on the inside loop only instead. I like the look. Thank you. :)

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  8. I love this pattern! Is it okay to sell items made from your patterns? ie, on Etsy? I would of course credit you and include a link to your site.

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    Replies
    1. Why not? I'm not trying to sell it... have at it, and thanks for asking! :)

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  9. I'm new to the wonderful world of Crochet. I have been blindly, (no free pattern to be found,) making a winter face mask for a girl, (made a dragon one for a boy,) but haven't found a pattern or design she would like. LOL. This was a fabulous tutorial for me to stumble apon!! A unicorn. Why didn't I think of that?! Thanks so much! :)

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