Making toothless: About the tail

Okay, let's keep working on Toothless. I've just finished the tail thanks to a comment I got on the previous post when someone asked me to explain how to do the tail. I followed Sarselgurumi's link to the tail pattern, which you can find clicking here.

I haven't changed anything of the pattern. The only thing I've done is rewriting it to make it more standard, the way amigurumi patterns are usually written. The tail is really easy to do and, as the original author says, you can easily make it longer or shorter. Just crochet and pin it to Toothless' body till you are happy with it. I did the same rows she recommended.

MR= Magic ring

inc= increase

inc x2= two increases (one increase in a stitch and one increase in the following stitch)

sc followed by a number= one sc in a stitch the following stitches. 

dec= decrease

VERY IMPORTANT: Always count the stitches you have at the end of a row. The total number you should have is in brackets. If you have more or less of the number in brackets, find where the problem is and make that row again.

1 - MR 5

2 - inc, sc 4 (6)

3 - sc 1, inc, sc 4 (7)

4 - sc 1, inc x2, sc 2, dec (8)

5 - sc 2, inc, sc 5 (9)

6 - sc 3, inc x2, sc 3, dec (11)

(from now on the decreases will always cross the first stitch of the new/next round, don't worry, just start the new round after the decrease like nothing happened) If you use a marker to know where the first stitch of a row is, place the marker in the first stitch you make after the decrease)

7 - sc 3, inc , sc 6 (11)

8 - sc 4, inc x2, sc 4, dec (13)

9 - sc 4, inc , sc 7 (13)

10 - sc 5, inc x2, sc 5, dec (15)

11 - sc 5, inc , sc 8 (15)

12 - sc 6, inc x2, sc 6, dec (17)

13 - sc 6, inc, sc 9 (17)

14 - sc 7, inc x2, sc 7, dec (19)

15 - sc 7, inc , sc 10 (19)

16 - sc 8, inc x2, sc 8, dec (21)

17 - sc 8, inc , sc 11 (21)

(there is a pattern after row 8 that you can easily recognize and that allows you to elongate and enlarge the tail as wide as you like)

Here you can see some pictures of my finished tail and how long it is compared to the body.

Side view

Upper view

I have also modified the tailfins pattern (the ones closer to the body). They were too small in my opinion so I added an additional row

Tailfins set A (my version)

(base of tail near body):

Make two and attach to center line of tail near the body.

Ch 5, work sc in 2nd ch from hook, triple inc in next ch (3sc in ch), 2 sc,ch, turn.

5sc, ss.

Fasten off and attach to tail

I didn't change the set B, just followed Sarselgurumi.

Here is a "draft" picture of how they should look like attached to the tail.

Let me know if you have any comments or doubts :)

Making Toothless: About the wings

Hello everybody, this is the post that gave me the idea to create a blog with the process of every amigurumi I make. I have been crocheting for about 4 months so now I'm starting to try more difficult amigurumis like this Toothless pattern (please note that both pattern and pictures belong to http://sarselgurumi.blogspot.com.es/ ).

The very first thing you should do before you start making an amigurumi is have a look at the whole pattern. Check that you understand every abbreviation and you know how to make every stitch. When I read Toothless' pattern I wasn't sure I could do the wings, so this was the first thing I did before going on crocheting the little dragon. It is quite easy once you understand the pattern. I will talk about my mistakes so maybe it can help. If you are a beginner, consider doing a couple of amigurumi before this one, as working in black is really hard, you should already know how to "subconsciously" find the next loop, etc.

This is the picture of the finished wing:

And this is the first wing I tried (on top, unfinished, you will read later on what happened) compared with the final piece:

On with the tips for the wings!!!

ch=chain

st=stitch

inc=increase

sc=single crochet

I have rewritten the instructions just for the sake of making it similar to the rest of the instructions given on "sarselgurumi" page.

Examples: 

3sc=means make one sc in each of the following 3 stitches.

ch6= make six chains.

1st row.- ch6, sc in second st from hook and the one after it (second chain from hook means basically that you dont sc in the very last chain you made, if you do this part well then you should have 7 stitches when you finish as indicated), double inc in next ch (make 3 sc in only one stitch, basically increase by 2), sc 1 in each of the next 2 chs; ch1 and turn (the ch1 is basically so that you have the same number of stitches when you turn it to begin next row, if you don't do the chain you will lose that stitch when you turn) (7 sc) (when it says turn, think of a mirror, don't put it upside down)

This explains where is the second loop to start crocheting

2nd row.-  3sc, double increase(remember, this means 3sc in one st), 3sc; ch1 and turn (the ch1 is basically so that you have the same number of stitches when you turn it to begin next row, if you don't do the chain you will lose that stitch when you turn) (9 sc)

3rd row.-  4sc, double inct, 4sc; ch4 and turn (same as before, you are doing 4 chains but in the next row you won't be working on the last one but the following 3, doing this part well is important). (11 sc) In the picture I have circled the 4 chains so you can see them, they are really important as they start the tip of the wings.

4th row.- sc in 2nd ch from hook  and next 2 chs (same as the beginning of first row) , 5sc, double inc, 5sc, 3 foundation sc (I did 3slip stitches and it gave the wings the round look you can see on the left, it looks quite nice). (19 sc) ch 1, and turn.

5th (last row).- 9sc, double inc, 9sc; fasten off (21 sc)

TIPS: I didn't do all the loop of a stitch but only the FRONT LOOP so that the wings do not have an inner and outer part. This way, when you do the second wing and turn it left, they will look the same.

This wings are the very first non-circular design I crocheted so I can assure you it really isn't difficult.

When it says "turn", DO NOT turn it upside down like I did first time, you will end up with a wannabe-circular pattern and that is not what we want. Flip it like a mirror.

Hope it helps. I will be updating this while I keep doing more toothless' parts, so let me know if you have any doubts in the comments section (I can also speak Spanish or show you how to read English patterns).