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© One’s Creative Mind 2023
Happy May!
This month’s Midi tier pattern is Cri-Kee from Mulan. I have finally updated my pattern release schedule so you can see which patterns are coming up in advance. Click HERE to check out the other characters in my Mulan series.
I really wanted to maintain Cri-Kee’s small size and cuteness for this project. I re-did the body and head 4 times – both with and without the head connected to the body before I was happy with the final shape. Fortunately, due to the size of this project it didn’t take me very long to redo it each time.
From the start I had already decided that I wanted Cri-Kee to be able to stand on his own – unaided. So, I knew right away that the arms, legs and antennae were going to be the hardest part. I had an idea in mind so ordered some 1mm thick black craft wire that I planned to use and crochet around when creating the legs. Crocheting around the wire was not an easy task, and the legs being so small just made it fiddlier. But as you can see, I managed to make it work in the end.
On that note, I made an error when creating this pattern. I did not crochet the legs until I had completed the body which meant that, when it came time to attach the legs, I realised that I should have crocheted the legs first so that I could insert the wire for the legs before the body was closed off. In the end, I had to the tread the wire through the body with a needle, luckily, the wire was thin enough to do so easily. However, this meant that I had the wire sticking out and visible on the back. Fortunately, Cri-Kee’s body lining and wings cover it up. So, it is up to you if you want to insert the wire before or after because either way does work.
As with some of my other recent projects, the colours are not exact because I chose to use what I had on hand instead of buying more yarn. When making this project you can always pick colours that you prefer.
Cri-Kee’s approximate size is 8.5cm/3.25 inches tall (not including the antennae) or 15cm/6 inches tall (including the antennae when curved).
MATERIALS
- 4ply yarn (I used Scheepjes Catona in 110 Jet Black, 113 Delphinium, 201 Electric Blue, 226 Light Orchid and 527 Midnight)
- 2mm crochet hook
- Yarn needle
- Fire retardant Fibrefill
- Felt glue
- White polymer clay (optional – you can use your preferred method for the eyes)
- Black sharpie (optional- I used this to draw the details on the eyes)
- Scissors
- 1mm black craft wire
- Pliers
- Pins
- Stitch marker
ABBREVIATIONS
A full list of the abbreviations that I use in my patterns:
- MR# – magic ring with the specified number of single crochets
- SC – single crochet (double crochet English)
- HDC – half double crochet (half treble English)
- DC – double crochet (treble English)
- INC – single crochet increase
- #in1 – the specified number of SC in the same stitch (i.e. 3in1)
- #DCin1 – the specified number of DC in the same stitch (i.e. 3DCin1)
- #HDCin1 – the specified number of HDC in the same stitch (i.e. 3HDCin1)
- hdcINC – half double crochet increase
- dcINC – double crochet increase
- DEC – invisible decrease (if it is a DEC in BLO I tend to use the 2TOG decrease method)
- 2TOG – two stitches together decrease (non-invisible) method
- *_______* X# – repeat sequence within the asterisks the specified number of times e.g. *SC, INC* x6)
- FLO – front loop only
- BLO – back loop only
- CH – chain stitches
- CC – colour change
- CH1T – chain a stitch then turn your work
- SS – slip stitch
- ST/STS – stitch/stitches
- OFFSET – a term I use when adding or taking away additional stitches in order to line up or get the right placement
- = # ROWS – repeat the stitch sequence for the row the specified number of times e.g. 32SC (32) = 5 ROWS
- FO – fasten off
THIS POST CAN ALSO BE VIEW DIRECTLY ON MY PATREON PAGE HERE.
You are now complete.
I think that is the shortest assembly step-by-step that I have written. I love how straightforward this pattern is because its appearance makes a big impact making it look deceptively complicated. Once you find your groove when crocheting around the wire it is plain sailing from there. I hope that you agree.
If any of you have some tips for crocheting around wires, I would love to know!
Next month’s Midi tier pattern is Little Brother the dog from Mulan.
Until the next post – Happy crocheting!
Chantelle X
