Scroll down for the word of July
Imagine you love anything that’s in the fantasy-genre. Imagine then pulling the word “Elves” out your Jar of Ideas. The possibilities are endless! And that’s why this word was more difficult than others: I could do so much different things, but nothing was perfect. I thought about different materials: charcoal, pastels, acrylic paint, even strings and nails! And for every material, I had ten compositions. I could make a woman elf with flowers in her hair, or a group of elves scouting the woods. I could do an elven couple having a clandestine meeting at midnight, or a young elf playing with an animal buddy.
I started to postpone making something with this word. I focussed completely on crochet and ignored the piece of paper that was screaming to be used. When I started this blog, I wanted to include the Jar of Ideas to keep my creative juices flowing. One month to brainstorm, create and finish with a word. That ment I had to finish with “Elves”, but luckily I already found a theme.
Sidestory: I am a nerd, as you may know. I play World of Warcraft, but not constantly. I have ups and downs in gametime, the past year I hadn’t played at all. So naturally, when they announced the new expansion and new vanilla-servers (servers where you can play the original version of the game), I started playing again. I mean, Blizzard does a really good job getting everyone excited for a new expansion.
And there are two races in World of Warcraft that connect to my forgotten piece of paper: blood elves and night elves. Could I make Malfurion and Illidan or Sylvanas? First I played with the idea of the young Stormrage brothers, in drawing. I couldn’t get Illidan right, so I abandoned that idea. And finally, I decided on making my first original pattern. Since it was already half June, I only had two weeks left to finish something. So I’m starting small for now, with only the head of Malfurion. I just love his green beard! I can always add his body, and make Illidan. And since it’s my first original pattern, it probably will take a long time to get just the head right. So here we go…
I’ll write the pattern down in US terms. For UK terms, switch sc for dc and you’re done. The ears are written in both UK and US terms. On the Dutch version of this post, you’ll find the Dutch pattern. Just switch flags in the upper left corner!
Head
Rnd1: 9 chain.
Rnd2: 7 sc, 2 in last chain, go back on the other side: 7 sc, 2 in last chain. (18).
Rnd3: 2sc in 1st, 8th, 9th, 10th, 17th, 18th (24).
Rnd4: 2sc in 1st, 10th, 11th, 12th, 23th, 24th (30).
Rnd5: 2sc in 1st, 13th, 14th, 15th, 29th, 30th (36).
Rnd6: 2sc in 2nd, 3rd, 14th, 15th, 20th, 21st, 32nd, 33rd (44).
Rnd7: 2sc in 2nd, 3rd, 16th, 17th, 24th, 25th, 39th, 40th (52).
Rnd8: dec 3+4, 5+6, 19+20, 21+22, 29+30, 31+32, 45+46, 47+48 (44).
Rnd9-16: 44sc.
Rnd17: dec 3+4, 5+6, 18+19, 20+21, 26+27, 28+29, 40+41, 42+43 (36).
Rnd18: dec 1+2, 17+18, 19+20, 21+22, 33+34, 35+36 (30).
Rnd19: dec 1+2, 15+16, 17+18, 19+20, 27+28, 29+30 (24).
Rnd20: dec 1+2, 3+4, 12+13, 14+15, 16+17, 23+24 (18).
Rnd21: dec 1+2, 9+10, 11+12, 17+18 (14).
Finish off, sew together.
Ears (make 2)
UK
Rnd1: chain 10, turn.
Rnd2: sl.st, sl.st, dc, dc, htr, htr, tr, dtr, dc.
Finish off and tie the two ends together.
US
Rnd1: chain 10, turn.
Rnd2: sl.st, sl.st, sc, sc, hdc, hdc, dc, trc, sc.
Finish off and tie the two ends together.
Antlers (make 2)
For the antlers, I chained 6, turned and sc (US) 3. Chain 5 more, turn and sc 4. Chain 4 more, turn and sc all the way down. Finish off and tie the two ends together.
Hair and beard
For the hair and beard, attach green yarn around the face. This takes a lot of time, and a lot of yarn! When you’re done, make it fluffy with a comb or brush. Then cut into the desired shape.
And this is where I am right now! I still have to make the eyes and finish with the hair, but I wanted to show my progress and update you with the new word of the Jar of Ideas. I’ll keep working on this, because I am really liking how it is turning out! Stay tuned for updates…
