Let’s knit toys
Election season is now at full tilt. Get through the coming months of negative ads, dodgy debates, and endless analysis with a new pattern from the Mochimochi Shop!
Make a tiny army of your party animal of choice, or knit up one of each if you’re a swing voter!
Techniques include knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, I-cord, and mattress stitch.
Buy the bipartisan pattern as a PDF download for $5 here.
My hard drive crashed last week. The techy people I took it to told me it would be a week to fix, but it’s now been well over a week, and their new estimate is “we have no idea how long it’s going to take.”
I was hoping to keep this mundane and somewhat embarrassing news (no, I hadn’t backed it up in a loong time) out of the blog, but the situation has disrupted my work and brought a few of my projects to a halt, and I’ve also lost some photos I had been planning on sharing on my blog. It’s taking long enough now that it seems like time to whine publicly.
In the meantime, I’ve started scrambling to replace stuff I’ve lost (only temporarily, hopefully). Among these things is a new top-secret pattern coming very very soon.
I get so excited when I see the first completed toy that someone else has made from one of my patterns. It always seems like a small miracle that a few lines of written instructions can yield a similar but totally unique creation in another’s hands.
Disco Smurf was eager to make a Captain Capacitor for her dad for Father’s Day (it’s coming up soon in Australia, apparently), and she’s already finished!
Love his expressive eyes!
By the way, the pattern for Resisty the Resistor will be coming a bit later, so stay tuned!
This is a free and easy pattern for everyone to enjoy. Please check out the Mochimochi Shop for more patterns that you’ll love!
Hey geek knitters! Get started on a knitted circuit board with Captain Capacitor! He’s ready to save the day with his superhuman energy storing capabilities.
You’ll need:
- Worsted-weight yarn, such as Cascade 220, in dark gray, light gray, and a small amount of white
- Set of size 6 US (4.0 mm) double-pointed needles
- Polyfil stuffing
- Tapestry needle
- Safety eyes
Gauge: N/A!
Abbreviations:
CO = cast on
k = knit
st(s) = stitch(es)
rnd(s) = round(s)
dpn(s) = double-pointed needle(s)
kfb = knit into front and back of stitch
k2tog = knit 2 stitches together
—–Pattern starts here!—–
Body
With dark gray yarn, CO 4 sts onto one needle to work as i-cord
Rnd 1: [kfb] 4 times (8 sts)
Distribute sts onto 3 needles to continue to work in a rnd.
Rnd 2: [kfb] 8 times (16 sts)
Rnd 3: knit
Rnd 4: [kfb, k1] 8 times (24 sts)
Rnd 5: knit
Rnd 6: [kfb, k2] 8 times (32 sts)
Rnds 7-10: knit (4 rnds)
Rnd 11: [k2tog, k2] 8 times (24 sts)
Rnds 12-14: knit (3 rnds)
Rnd 15: [kfb, k2] 8 times (32 sts)
Rnds 16-31: knit (16 rnds)
Switch to light gray yarn.
Rnd 32: [k2tog, k2] 8 times (24 sts)
Rnd 33: knit
Rnd 34: [k2tog, k1] 8 times (16 sts)
Rnd 35: [k2tog] 8 times (8 sts)
Stuff body and attach eyes before closing up, then break yarn and draw tightly through sts.
Legs (make 2)
With light gray yarn, CO 8 sts onto 3 dpns, leaving a long tail for seaming, and join in a rnd.
Knit 6 rnds, break yarn, and draw tightly through sts.
Feet / aka blobs of solder (make 2)
With light gray yarn, CO 6 sts onto 3 dpns and join in a rnd.
Rnd 1: [kfb] 6 times (12 sts)
Rnd 2: knit
Rnd 3: k3, [kfb] 6 times, k3 (18 sts)
Rnds 4-9: knit (6 rnds)
Rnd 10: k3, [k2tog] 6 times, k3 (12 sts)
Rnd 11: knit
Rnd 12: [k2tog] 6 times (6 sts)
Stuff before closing up, then break yarn, leaving a long tail for seaming, and draw tightly through sts.
Making up
Weave in all loose ends, except for the long tails you left on the legs and feet.
Stuff legs, and with your tapestry needle, attach open ends to bottom side of body using mattress stitch.
Attach feet to legs using mattress stitch, referencing the below photo for placement.
Use tapestry needle to embroider a white dotted line down the side of the body, just to the right of the eyes.
Update: Thank you to Michelle at the Craft blog for featuring Cap’n C!
Droplets by JamFactory, which debuted earlier this year, are a great example of a reversible toy.
Right side up, they’re happy little guys (well, all but one of them are)…
…and upside down, they’re vury vury sad.
Either way, cute! You can get them as blind boxes at Crazy Label or at your local vinyl toy store.
Two new free patterns are on their way!
We’ll start with Captain Capacitor later this week, and little Resisty will follow soon after. Get ready with your knitted circuit boards!
While I’m on the topic of geeky knitted toys inspired by my husband, I want to take the opportunity to plug his blog, Geek Out New York. John’s been working hard on it, and though I’m pretty foreign to his world of gaming and gadgets, I always enjoy reading his smart and witty writing. If you like what you see, please tell your friends!
The votes are in for the 2008 Mochimochi Photo contest!
It was clear from the way the votes came in over the last two days that each of the 10 finalists had their fans. In all, we received almost 1,000 votes! The results are exciting, too.
But first, John and I want to thank everyone who entered the contest and everyone who voted. It’s so much fun to see that other people are as excited about this contest as we are, and the creativity of your photos is endlessly inspiring! If you missed the contest this year, we will be holding it again next year too, with a few changes: we will be adding a “series” category, as well as a “judges’ choice” award.
And now for the results!
We actually had a TIE for third place, between Stackable Cats (Blue) by Bitter-Sweet- and Conga Line of Bobs by kayk. To break the tie, we had to look back to the comments in the semifinalist round, and the winner of third place is…
Conga Line of Bobs by kayk
Yay, kayk! You get some cute goodies from Japan…
…and a $10 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.
Second place goes to Tubby (and octopus) by PrettyCranium.
Hooray PrettyCranium! You will also receive cute goodies from Japan…
…and a $15 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.
And finally, with over 250 votes, first place in the 2008 Mochimochi Photo Contest goes to…
Slug Checkers by denise.y.cheung
Congratulations, Denise!! You win a box stuffed with craft supplies, kits, books, and toys from Japan!
You’ll also receive a $20 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.
Thus concludes the second Mochimochi Photo Contest! Thank you again to all who participated. And remember it’s not too early to get started on your entries for next year’s contest!
The votes are coming in fast and furious—over 650 so far!
We’re going to close the polls at midnight Wednesday night (Eastern Time), so if you haven’t voted yet, do so now!
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