This is a first attempt at making a little mochi ball, modeled after the mochis at the top of this page.
I was hoping for puffier cheeks, which turned out to be much more of a challenge than I had expected. The shiny plastic eyeballs make it cute enough, but then I think these little beady eyes could make a pile of tangled yarn look cute if you just stuck them on top.
I’ll keep working on this one – with any luck, it will reappear in a better form as the next free Mochimochi Land pattern.
Cute! Though he does look a bit like a body-less teddy bear. Maybe you could add on cheeks that are knit seperately and then stitched on later? Or maybe some short-row shaping if you wantd to get complicated.
I love the color though. I am in an orange phase for some reason.
Either way, that is absolutely adorable! I’m not sure if this would help but, making it more like an oval and then adjusting the shape with sewing like they do fabric dolls? I’m not sure if it would work, but it could be worth a shot. Course fabric and knitted yarn act differently.
Miki, you are I are thinking along the same lines – you can’t really tell in the photo, but I actually did some short-row shaping in this. And then I also tried sewing on separate pieces for the cheeks, but they didn’t look so great.
An interesting idea, Teresa. I don’t know so much about sewing, but I’m willing to give anything a try to make my mochi!
I like it just the way it is……I want to make one of these just as is….I’m still yet to learn this short row shaping, so be sure to include precise instructions please. If anyone wants to make their own adaptions, that can be up to the individual knitter.
Ah, Teresa! That is a great idea to shape the head like fabric dolls. I beleive that Brenda Dayne of Cast-On podcast did that with her dolls that she knit for Gary and Dave of Chub Creek podcast and they turned out great! There are some internet resources on google about that. From what I know you just thread some yarn through certain strategic places on the doll face and you can form a chin and cheeks.
awwwww. he’s a cutie!
perhaps you could skip the dryer phase of the felting process and shape the cheeks when he’s wet? that’s how the base of the swat team kitties from crafty alien was worked– i stuffed mine with plastic grocery bags and let her dry into shape!
he’s totally adorable, btw! :)
Thank you, everyone, for all the great shaping ideas! I’m going to see what I can come up with in the next few weeks….