My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Basic pony pattern

[hooked_on_anime]

Hello to all :) And a special, slightly belated hello to all the Bronies (and pals?) over from Equestria Daily ♥

Surprise pattern time! I in no way expected this to be the next pattern I posted, and then I ended up crocheting it on a whim, so. It's definitely more on the "difficult" side as my patterns go, I'm afraid :P Still, I'm hoping to have a much simpler pattern up next - or at least relatively soon.

A note on the pattern as a whole: This pattern is based on the basic ponies we see so much of in the show, particularly the mane cast and the background ponies. Ponies with different body types - Celestia, Luna, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, younger ponies, and anyone I might be forgetting - would ideally have a different shape. Unfortunately, I'm not likely to get around to making the patterns for them any time soon, short of getting a commission for them (or a really huge donation or something); this pattern will still work for any of them, it just won't look -quite- right. [Edit:] uminohoshi suggests half-double crochet (double crochet for the UK folks) for young ponies. [/edit]

Another lifehack from the comments: "The trick to stuffing a dark piece with pale fiberfill is to find a darkish sock (or the foot off a pair of pantyhose) and put that inside the piece, then stuff the sock." Way cool.

As always, feel free to alter something with the pattern if, while you are making it, you think it would look better. It's more important that you're happy with the end product than you stick exactly to the pattern.

Moving right along, let's start with pictures:





The finished product in the form of Fluttershy ♥ She's not actually my favorite pony, but she is pretty far up on the list ;)

Here's also some pictures of Fluttershy before she got her wings and finishing touches: One, Two, Three

Hopefully that'll help out anyone who's having a problem with attaching things.

While I'm at it, here's some reference images for alternate crochet options: Boy nose 1 (with unicorn horn), Boy nose 2 (with unicorn horn), Folded wing 1, Folded wing 2

The white pony pictured above is actually going to be Rarity when finished; I gave her a temporary nose job so I could get some reference images in this post. Being the embodiment of generosity, I'm sure she won't mind - especially if I get it off her quick ;)

I was originally planning to make a Dr. Whoof to showcase the alternate nose, but these ponies take a long time to crochet, and I've got a charity project to finish ^^a I used up all of my vacation time on Fluttershy and soon-to-be-Rarity, and now it's time to get down to business. After I'm done with that, though, back to fun :Dbb

Speaking of fun, here's a little pic from one of the FFVII ponies:



Innit a scream? I guess it just goes to show what a little balanced stuffing/patterning can do ;)


Pattern time!

Large print PDFs: [US version] [UK version]
Both are in 18 point Verdana font for ease of readability; neither include pictures. I just used find-and-replace in the UK version, so if there's anything I need to change other than dc = tc and sc = dc, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Jan 6 2013 The marvelous Lenka has translated this pattern into Czech! Go check it out if it's your language - or even if it's not; she's included some great pictures of the process, including the "Rainbow Dash" style wings.

I am also pleased to announce that knitoneawesome has made a single crochet version (double crochet for the UK folks) and it looks fantastic! Everyone who has ever wanted a SC version is invited to take a look - and even those who like the DC version fine, because who knows if you won't like that one better?

For this pattern you need to know: How to crochet in the round [spiral], chain stitch (ch), single crochet (sc), double crochet (dc), how to increase ([stitch] 2 in 1), how to decrease ([stitch] 2 tog), front loop crochet (fl [stitch]), back loop crochet (bl [stitch]), US stitch names. You can find a bunch of crochet tutorials here.

A note on wings: I tried like the dickens to come up with a single-piece unfolded wing pattern, but nothing I came up with looked Rainbow Dash enough - and considering that some of you might well be crocheting Rainbow Dash, that was at least 20% too uncool. So I decided to go with a compromise, and offer a pattern both for folded wings and for more "Rainbow Dash" unfolded wings. The folded wings still look fine, and are a bit simpler if you've already gotten a terrible headache from the rest of the pattern. (Or at least from the hindlegs. If the front loop decreasing/back loop increasing in the middle of those is giving you a headache, they should still work fine with regular double crochet decreasing/increasing; they'll just lose a touch of "sharpness", which you'll really want to keep with the hooves if nowhere else.) Make whichever ones you feel most comfortable with - or heck, make one of each! That'd probably be great for Derpy ;)

For those who want a sc pattern instead of a dc pattern: I don't know if I'll ever have the patience needed to work everything out exactly, BUT I do have a conversion rate: For every 3 rows of dc, I crochet 5 rows of sc. Increasing at 6 stitches per round usually ends up with about the same dimensions, so it's mostly the straight-up "dc 1 in 1 all around" rounds you need to convert. To find out how many rounds of sc to use instead of dc, divide the dc number by 3, and then multiply the result by 5. For example, in the body there are 9 rounds with no stitch number changes; 9/3 = 3, 3x5 = 15, so you need to do 15 rounds of sc.

For the parts that increase or decrease at a lower rate than 6 stitches per round (ears, legs), maybe try alternating each row that changes number with a row that doesn't change number? I don't know if it will work, but it may be worth a shot.

Sizing Info: I used a 5mm/H hook for a gauge of ~4.5 dc per inch/5 dc per 3cm, 6 rounds per 2 inches/5cm. I'd estimate 250 yards required; I usually pick up a skein of Red Heart or I Love This and end up with plenty of extra.


Head
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 4: dc 30 (dc 2 in 1, dc 3)
Round 5: dc 36 (dc 2 in 1, dc 4)
Round 6 thru 8: dc 36 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 9: dc 30 (dc 2 tog, dc 4)
Round 10: dc 24 (dc 2 tog, dc 3)
Round 11: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 2)
Round 12: dc 12 (dc 2 tog, dc 1)
Round 13: dc 6 (dc 2 tog all around)
Round 14: sl st 3 (sl st 2 tog all around)
Finish

Neck
Round 1: ch 23; sl st 1 through first ch; continue in a spiral
Round 2: sc 22
Round 3: sc 6, dc 11, sc 5
Round 4: repeat 2
Round 5: repeat 3
Round 6: repeat 2
Round 7: repeat 3
Finish
When attaching, make sure the longer part of the neck faces the back of the head and body.

Body
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 4: dc 30 (dc 2 in 1, dc 3)
Round 5: dc 36 (dc 2 in 1, dc 4)
Round 6 thru 14 (nine rounds): dc 36 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 15: dc 30 (dc 2 tog, dc 4)
Round 16: dc 24 (dc 2 tog, dc 3)
Round 17: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 2)
Round 18: dc 12 (dc 2 tog, dc 1)
Round 19: dc 6 (dc 2 tog all around)
Round 20: sl st 3 (sl st 2 tog all around)
Finish

Nose (female)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 12 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 4: dc 18 (dc 1 in 1 all around)

Nose (male)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: sc 12 (sc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: sc 24 (sc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 4: fl sc 24
Round 5 thru 7: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Ears (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 12 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 4: dc 15 (dc 2 in 1, dc 3)
Round 5: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 4)

Forelegs (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: bl sc 24 (bl sc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 4: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 5: dc 23 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 22)
Round 6: dc 22 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 21)
Round 7: dc 21 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 20)
Round 8: dc 20 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 19)
Round 9: dc 19 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 18)
Round 10: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 17)
Round 11 through 14: dc 18 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Hindlegs (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; dc 12; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: bl sc 24 (bl sc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 4 through 6: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 7: dc 23 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 22)
Round 8: dc 22 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 21)
Round 9: dc 21 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 20)
Round 10: dc 20 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 19)
Round 11: dc 19 (dc 2 tog, dc 1 in 1 x 18)
Round 12: dc 2 tog, dc 5, bl dc 2 tog x 3, dc 6 (dc 15)
Round 13: dc 6, fl dc 2 in 1 x 3, dc 6 (dc 18)
Round 14: dc 21 (dc 2 in 1, dc 5)
Round 15: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 6)
Round 16: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Horn (OPTIONAL)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: bl dc 8 (bl dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 3 through 5: bl dc 8 (bl dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Folded Wings (make two) (OPTIONAL)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 12 (dc 2 in 1 all around)
Round 3: dc 18 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 4: dc 24 (dc 2 in 1, dc 2)
Round 5 through 8: dc 24 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 9: dc 18 (dc 2 tog, dc 2)
Round 10: dc 12 (dc 2 tog, dc 1)
Round 11: dc 6 (dc 2 tog all around)
Round 12: sl st 3 (sl st 2 tog all around)
Finish
Sew in feather pattern


Rainbow Dash Wings (OPTIONAL)

Feather 1 (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Feather 2 (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3 and 4: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Feather 3 (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3 through 5: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Finish

Feather 4/Main Wing (make two)
Note: For pics of how to put everything together, I highly recommend Lenka's Czech translation of the pattern; she includes a number of very helpful images of the process.
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: dc 9 (dc 2 in 1, dc 1)
Round 3 through 7: dc 9 (dc 1 in 1 all around)
Round 8: dc 4; continuing on Feather 3, dc 9; switch back to Main Wing, dc 3, dc 2 tog
Round 9: dc 2 tog, dc 7; continuing on Feather 2, dc 9; switch back to Main Wing, dc 9, dc 2 tog
Round 10: dc 2 tog, dc 11; continuing on Feather 1, dc 9; switch back to Main Wing, dc 9, dc 2 tog
Round 11: dc 2 tog, dc 26, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 12: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 20, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 13: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 15, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 14: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 11, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 15: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 6, dc 2 tog x 2
Round 16: dc 2 tog x 2, dc 3, dc 2 tog
Finish

Assembly:

I usually start with the head and designate the first ring as the "front". I sew the nose on over that spot, with the first rows lining up to the best of my ability. I usually stuff the nose when it's about two-thirds sewn on.

For the ear placement, imagine a line that goes from the front middle of the nose to the middle of the back of the head. The bottom of the ear should roughly match up with this. DO NOT STUFF THE EARS. Make sure they're curved slightly towards the top of the head as you sew them on. The ears should be about an inch and a half/four centimeters apart at their closest point.

I usually sew the neck to the head before the body, but you can do it either way. Make sure the narrowest part lines up with what will be the front of the body/head, and the widest part faces with what will be the back of the body/head. I like to attach the neck a couple rounds "behind" the nose and maybe one above the first round of the body, and then as evenly/round as I can from there. I don't stuff the neck until it's at least half-way sewn down to the second body part.

All four legs I stuff almost to the top. Imagine a line that divides the pony's belly in half lengthwise; you can use a contrasting color of yarn as a visual aid, which I usually do. With the "line" of decreases facing the front, position the front legs on either side of this line directly below the neck. Sew them in place, folding a bit of the cloth in on the inside of each leg to allow the legs to curve slightly around the body. Do the same thing with the rear legs at the back end of the pony.

If you're attaching a horn, sew it an even distance between the ears and about two rounds in front of them.

If you're attaching wings, sew them on to the body slightly below the neck about where the sc turn into dc and vice-versa; make sure the feather ends point to the back.


Fluttershy's cutie mark and eyes I made by painting them onto felt, cutting them out, and then hot-gluing them on. For her mane, I used the fringe method, though I substituted a clipboard (longwise) for the lace loom. For her tail, I simply cut a bunch of yarn that looked to be about twice the length of her tail, tied it in the middle, and secured that as firmly as I dared to her hindquarters. For Rarity, I'll probably be using a variation the Owly method, which I haven't actually tried before. I'll probably be crocheting the bases for her hair in rows, attach one end of each to the appropriate places, and adding the top layer of yarn to both sides either before or after the attachment. We'll see how it goes, I guess; when I get around to it, I hope to update this post with pictures of the finished product :)b


I think that's about it! If you have any questions about this pattern, please feel free to leave a comment, and I will try and get my butt in gear to reply with help ^^b Thank you!

20 Jan 2012: By now I've gotten the question several times, "Can I sell ponies I've made using your pattern?" I thought it would be best if I made a more public answer than just in the comments below.

I am generally cool with it! I only ask a few things:
1) Include information on where you got the pattern (Hooked On Anime)
2) If you are able, financially or otherwise, drop me a little something in the tip jar; we'll call the suggested donation $6 USD? Though I won't turn you down if you want to donate more (or less, even).
3) Please comment here or send me a PM or an e-mail or something to let me know you're doing it! You don't have to include your name or anything, I just want to keep an idea in my head of how much competition I have popular this pattern is with people selling it and stuff, I guess.

26 Jan 2013: In response to the question "Can I translate your pattern into another language?"

The answer is: Yes! I am deeply flattered by the fact that two people have already asked to do so. If you love this pattern enough to want to share it with other people who don't speak/read English, I would be delighted to see you do so. Please only do two things:

1) Link back here, so people know where the original came from, and:
2) Send me a link to your non-English version so I can share back. You're serving people in a way that I can't; if someone would get better use out of your translation than my original, it only makes sense that they use it, and I can only tell them where to go if I know where to send them.

In response to any other question: There are three pages worth of comments in response to this post. I or someone else may have already answered your question in one of these comments! Check through them before asking your own question. In the future, if I get any repeat questions ("How do I make [Character]'s mane/tail?" is a very common example), I will tell you to check the other comments. Answering repeat questions has taken up time I would prefer to be using to do other things: typing up new patterns, for example, or crocheting things I hope to sell. Please please please check through the information that's already here before asking something.


Thanks very much!

Thanks also to everyone who has helped me make this pattern better; in case it's not obvious, I don't usually use a beta-tester for fan patterns, and every mistake you help me remove helps not only me, but everyone who uses this pattern in the future. I am incredibly grateful to all of you.

-----

If you like this pattern and have the means to do so, please consider making a donation. I put a lot of work into these and love sharing them with fans, but I also like being able to pay the bills! Thank you.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I love you =^.^= I just started working on a Fluttershy amigurumi, but I couldn't find *any* patterns for wings at all, plus you've got the horn so I can do my Twilight now too :D

[hooked_on_anime]

Thanks ^__^ ♥ I see that great minds think alike when it comes to crocheting ponies ;) I hope the wings don't give you too much trouble :O

Saw this on Equestria Daily

[(Anonymous)]

Hi! I saw this on a "My Little Pony-Friendship is Magic" fan site known as Equestria Daily and I must say that this is pretty Epic. I am sure that you enjoyed making this Moe Pony as much as others are going to enjoy seeing it. Just warning you to prepare for a flood of traffic by Bronys, Male and Female, young and old.

Re: Saw this on Equestria Daily

[hooked_on_anime]

Hi back ^_^ I'm delighted that I made it onto ED, and must admit that I'm looking forward to the flood of Bronies :)

PLEASE SELL THESE

[(Anonymous)]

Seriously, you'll make bank.

Re: PLEASE SELL THESE

[hooked_on_anime]

I am seriously tempted! I've got a couple other projects to finish, but after that, I might open up for commissions. Possibly.

'Course, ponies of this size would probably be in the $100 USD range, unless I want to under-sell myself; I can't help but wonder how that would affect sales...

[(Anonymous)]

Brb abandoning all my current crochet projects to make army of ponies.

[hooked_on_anime]

XD Enjoy! Don't hurt yourself getting it done, though 6_6;;; *has done that*

Finished size?

[(Anonymous)]

This is so adorable - I can't wait to make it!! Thank you for posting the pattern :) Out of curiosity, how large is the finished product? I want to have some idea before I make it!

Re: Finished size?

[hooked_on_anime]

Thank you ^_^ I'm glad you like it!

Mine's actually about a foot tall at the ear; that makes it plenty big for snuggling and such, but possibly a little daunting as a project or if you don't have a lot of room for extra things. (I had some older MLP plushes back in the day that were basically that size, which probably influenced me more than a bit ^^a)

[(Anonymous)]

This looks so fun! I'm gonna have to get creative with some of the different manes, but I can't wait to try this!

[hooked_on_anime]

Thank you ^_^ If you figure out or learn any particularly good tricks, I'd love to find out about them :) Especially for something like Rainbow Dash's tail 9_9; I get a headache even contemplating it...

[(Anonymous)]

So I'm a noob at crochet and was wondering how you attach all the different pieces together?

[hooked_on_anime]

You sew them together with an extra piece of yarn. I usually like to leave the tail end of the pieces extra long to do this, but it works fine with a length you just cut off the skein/ball on its own.

If you don't have a yarn needle, you can sew things together by pulling the yarn through with your crochet hook; it's less intuitive than straight-up sewing, but it's what I did for my first few crocheted plushes, and it works fine.

Sew together between crochet stitches, where there's natural holes. I pull the yarn through about every other stitch, alternating between the two pieces I want to attach together.

Make sure you're sewing the pieces on in the shape you want them to be; you can really influence how something looks that way. For example, I sewed Fluttershy's rear legs on kinda from an angle and slightly smooshed against her belly, so the outside edge rode up a little bit while the inside edge was folded over a little.

Once you've sewn/stitched the pieces together all around the outside of the smaller one (leg to body, neck to head, etc), tie the ends of the yarn together so the stitches won't come undone. Pull the yarn ends under the crochet "cloth" with your crochet hook to hide them.

I hope that helps; I can probably come up with a diagram or something if visuals would be better, too.

[(Anonymous)]

What size hook did you use, if I may ask? :O

[hooked_on_anime]

I used a 5mm/H hook for this.

[(Anonymous)]

So it's a G Hook, but what weight yarn? Worsted? Prefer cotton to acrylic? ^_^
(you are the best brony ever for making this pattern available!)

[hooked_on_anime]

I go with worsted and acrylic usually. A single Red Heart Super Saver skein can get me through the main body of a single pony, wings included.

If, um, you'll forgive my ignorance, do you think you could tell me how that sort of information helps? I've always gone straight into Make The Thing mode without much pause. I know yarn weight and stitch gauge help determine an item's size, but I don't rely on gauge much and as far as hook size goes I tend to match to the yarn. I get that a lighter weight of yarn might yield a smaller size, but does it also mess up the pattern or something?

Sorry to bug you with questions like that, I just didn't get much formal crochet education, and I figure that if you're asking then you probably know why you need it. Knowing that should help me remember to include that sort of information at the beginning of the pattern in the future.

*ahem* Anyway, thank you so much ^_^ I'm happy to share the pattern with y'all.

Rarity's mane

[(Anonymous)]

I was wondering how you were going to put the curl in Rarity's mane? She has a little more curl then Fluttershy.

Re: Rarity's mane

[hooked_on_anime]

Oh man, that was a major pain and took way longer than I wanted it to.

I started by crocheting "sheets" of cloth (similar to how you would crochet a scarf, for example) of about the right length for her two mane pieces and her tail, curls included. Then, I positioned the curls about how I wanted them to look in the final product (see here) and tied them down lightly with the leftover yarn ends.

I then used the Owly Method to embroider strands of yarn over the cloth, tucking it under bits of the stitches occasionally, giving it a more hair-like appearance.

The results weren't perfect, but they're about as good as I can get right now. If I get the time someday, I'm hoping to see if I can't come up with a different method that takes less than two hours of labor. (Actually, two hours is a gross understatement, which is why I really want to find an alternate method. But until I get the motivation, I'm not sure I'm going to get around to it...)

[(Anonymous)]

I just finished making my first pony and oh man, he is just he cutest, cuddliest thing ever Now to make him a friend....

[hooked_on_anime]

Glad to hear he turned out well! I hope you're having a lot of fun with my pattern :)

Thank You

[(Anonymous)]

I wanted to thank you for the pattern. My Twilight Sparkle turned out so great! I entered her into my local county fair, and she got a blue ribbon! I'm planning on making a winter wrap up outfit for her. This was the best pattern I found online. Thank you, from an 18yo dude.

Re: Thank You

[hooked_on_anime]

Oh wow, congratulations! I'm so glad she turned out well for you :)

head?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I'm attempting to start the head--but I'm a bit confused. How many should we start the chain with? And should we start with the magic circle? Thanks so much for this pattern. It's the best one I've found so far--and I made sure to donate to you for your trouble. :)

thanks

Re: head?

[hooked_on_anime]

Sorry about the lack of clarity there! I start with a magic circle unless otherwise noted, but chaining three and making the first round in the first chain should work just as well.

While I'm going on about clarity I should probably mention that the rounds go in a spiral, and edit the post to reflect that besides ^^a

I hope that helps! And thanks very much for your donation as well <3

Rarity

[(Anonymous)]

Hi I saw this pattern and decided to make Rarity scince she is my favorite pony she turned out cute but yours is better I was wondering about her mane have you found a better method for it?mine I did similar to yours but I didn't do the owly method because it looks hard. If you have found a better method please tell me. Also I was wondering about her cute mark and eyes how did you make them thank you

Re: Rarity

[hooked_on_anime]

Sadly I haven't found a new method for Rarity's mane or tail yet; I've been a bit tied up with other crochet projects and family business. I'm not sure when I'll find the time, either :(

I will say that the Owly method is really pretty simple, just tedious. I have got a method I'm planning to try sometime if you want to give that a shot, though it relies rather heavily on hot glue. I'll map out the details here:

First crochet the 'cloth' base for Rarity's mane and tail. Then use the fringe method to make a second all string mane and tail to go over those; make sure the individual pieces of yarn are as long as the cloth piece you're gluing them to, and that the fringe you make is as wide as the cloth piece.

Very carefully, glue the fringe down to the cloth one side at a time. You can space out the lines of hot glue probably at least an inch/3cm apart. Wax paper will probably be helpful in pressing the yarn down for a good hold without singeing your hands.

In the places you want her mane and tail to curl, try to leave the outside yarn a little loose (maybe an extra quarter inch or half a centimeter of yarn to every inch or three cm between lines - no need to be exact, though) and the reverse for the inside. This will help the yarn lay flat and not get chunky when you do your finishing touches.

When all the yarn is glued down on both sides of the fabric, you can add the curls manually. You can either glue the ends in place and do spot gluing of individual places to help the curls stay in place, or sew them in place.

Again, I've not tested that method, but I think it will work. Be careful if you go for that method! And if you do try it out, if you would be kind enough to share the results with me, I would be very grateful :) I'd love to know if I can recommend it to other folks who want to make Rarity as well.


As for her cutie mark and eyes, first I sketched them out on paper (one of each for uniformity); then I cut them out to make sure they were about the right size. It took me a couple of tries to get a size that looked right. When I got sizes that worked, I used them as a pattern and cut out white felt in the same shape and size. I then hand-painted the felt with acrylic paint and glued them in place. You can find fabric paint at just about any craft store, though the acrylic paint that comes in the rows of six little tubs with lids also works pretty well.

If you don't want to go to that trouble or don't feel to good about your drawing or painting skills, you can look up pictures of her eyes and cutie mark online and then print them out until you get the right size. Once you've gotten them the right size, print them out again on image-to-cloth transfer paper and iron them onto some thick white cotton fabric. Then cut them out and glue them in place.


I hope that helps and wasn't way too tl;dr ^^a Good luck with Rarity! She's my favorite, too :)

[(Anonymous)]

This is a wonderful base pattern for Ponies! Thank you so much for providing it. However, I seem to be having a lot of trouble getting things to turn out as they appear in your pictures.

When I follow the pattern exactly as written for the head, in dc stitches, I end up with an egg shape, not the more spherical one that is visible in your other amigurumi, especially Rainbow Dash. There ends up being nowhere to sew the nose on, and working the closing rounds in dc ends up with a long "point" off the back. Working the final decreasing rounds in dc seems to have evened things out, but the overall shape is still very egg-like.

Additionally, when I work the initial rounds for a male nose, I don't end up with a flat front. Instead I get a deep cup shape, with an awkward dent produced when I try to work the sc round. Were those initial rounds also supposed to be worked in sc, and not dc? Also, in your picture of the male nose, it looks like you did the written sc round BLO (producing the visible ridge running around the outside), but you have it written in your pattern as FLO.

I'm doing some modifications to make a Big Macintosh plush, but these are issues I've noticed in general. Am I supposed to be working using British terms rather than US ones? Your ponies all turn out looking so lovely, and yet when I follow the pattern -- and I'm not an inexperienced crocheter by any means, or new to amis -- they just look completely different.

I'm wondering if there's just something that I'm missing, since yours are turning out so well.

[hooked_on_anime]

Hmm; I'm not entirely sure what's going on with all of this, but I'll do my best!

I typically end up with a bit of a point at the starting end of both the head and the body; I tend to hide the point on the head under the pony's nose and the one on the body under the tail. It's somewhat more effective under the nose, since the tail can, you know, MOVE, but the tail does the trick well enough. I also tend to shape things a lot with the actual stuffing; how you stuff it in, and even the 'shape' of the stuffing before you stuff it, can really influence the shape of the thing you stuff, I've found.

I'm otherwise not sure what's going on with the egg-shape you're describing. I do have a couple of pictures of 'blank' Fluttershy, which might help(?): side, front. Other than that, the only thing I can think of suggesting is moving to a smaller hook; that should help reduce stitch length, I think. Though it sound like you've already found something that works for you - decrease at the end with SC instead of DC, I think you meant?

As far as the male nose, I've been making more male ponies recently and have noticed the same thing with the bowl-shape. I'm pretty sure it's a flaw in the initial pattern that I'm going to have to address and re-write. Frankly, how I got the original to look so good is a source of much confusion for me; I've still got it and have double-checked the stitches at least three times, but it matches the pattern I have written. Either I somehow did something magical and wonky the first time I made it, or it's a product of not stuffing it for the pics (though there is a stuffed female nose hiding behind it).

I was planning to re-work the male nose pattern into something that actually stays flat on its own sometime, but now that I know someone else is having the same problem, I'll bump 'sometime' up to 'this afternoon'. In the mean time, as a possible temporary fix you can use the starting end of the yarn to pull the bowl of the nose more flat by securing it to the head through the stuffing.

I'm not actually sure what problem you're having with the flo/blo there? I crocheted into the same loop for the nose as I did to add the edge to the hooves, though the nose becomes wider while the hooves/legs stay the same and then become more narrow.

I'm actually a mostly feral crocheter; I do use US terms, but I may not have picked up the right names for everything, and I'm certainly still learning. I know enough to make what I want and to write down how I did it, but not always how to make it work for someone else. I hope that some of this was at least a little helpful, and if it wasn't, I'm willing to study and learn and re-work things until I can help, which is about the best I can offer for now. So, uh, let me know what doesn't work and I'll see what I can do about it.

Fabric paint

[(Anonymous)]

What type of paint did you use on the felt for the eyes?

Re: Fabric paint

[hooked_on_anime]

You know those little connected tubs of six colors of paint you can find really cheap sometimes? That's what I originally used.

There's also the little (or larger) squeezy tubes of "3D" fabric paint; I use some of that as well for the colors I use the most of (black and white, typically).

Basically any type of acrylic paint should work fine, I'm pretty sure, but you can check the label for fabric compatibility if you're worried.

Another option suggested to me by Lea Hernandez was to use some thick white cotton fabric and iron-on transfer paper. Print the cutie marks and eyes on the transfer paper, iron it onto the cotton fabric, cut them out and glue them on.

Selling?

[(Anonymous)]

So I'm working on my own MLP ami pattern (I'm about halfway through) and I Googled reference images for head-to-body ratios. I came across your lovely pattern, and I was wondering if you had a policy for selling things based on your pattern. I'm making mine to sell, and if I could use this pattern, it'd be a lot easier, but I don't want to use it if you're not cool with it. I would give full credit (and provide a link) to you if anyone asks about the pattern. Thanks!

Re: Selling?

[hooked_on_anime]

Sorry for the late reply! I've had a bit of a busy weekend, what with US Thanksgiving and all.

I actually haven't figured out a policy yet, but this seems like the perfect excuse! Full credit and a link would be very much appreciated, but since you're also potentially making money off of it, would you consider donating a few dollars to me for every pony you sell? Or maybe just a one-time donation of twenty dollars or something. (Er, USD. Need to watch my countryism.) Do either of those sound reasonable to you?

OMG Awesome!

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you so much for this pattern! I knew someone out there could do it!!! Off to make ponies!

Re: OMG Awesome!

[hooked_on_anime]

My pleasure ^_^ I hope you enjoy yourself!

Yarn and hook size

[(Anonymous)]

Hi.

I just found this patterne yesterday, and I am so happy, I can't get my arms down ;)
However. I started working on it, and I find it actually fairly easy to make, except, when I'm done doing one part, and i wanna stuff it, it's like the wholes between stitches are too big. I murdered a cheep pillow from IKEA to use for stuffing, and the wholes between every stich is big eneough so I could easily pick the stuffing. That's not really cool hehe...
So, I was wondering if maybe I'm using a mutch differen yarn and hooksize than you do?

I do'nt know the right terms of sizes where you are from, but here in DK my cotton yarn is labelled 8/4 and the hook size recommenden for that is 2,50 - 3,00. Im using a 2,50 hook, so it should be fairly tight. Or at least I thaught so.
Is it the wrong size or something? I am fairly new at crochetting, but I learn very easily on these things, so after consulting you tube videoes, I'm pretty sure I did all the stitches right. And that is why I think maybe my hook or yarn size is different from yours.

Would it be possible for you to help me out, just by telling what kind of sizes you are using?

I'm sorry, if I made alot of spelling mistakes, It's been a while since I left school, so I do'nt practice my english mutch anymore.....

If you do see this, and decide to answer me, would you then mind doing so on my e-mail? Mariamiss6 @ hotmail. com (do'nt forget to take out the spaces ;) )

Abbreviations... u_u;;

[(Anonymous)]

I don't quite understand what "dc 2 in 1, dc 1, 2, etc." means. :C

Re: Abbreviations... u_u;;

[hooked_on_anime]

My apologies for the delay; 'tis the season, I'm afraid ^^a

Dc 2 in 1 is for increasing; it's when you stitch twice in one place, or two stitches into one stitch. The number after it is how many stitches you make before your next increase.

Neck

[(Anonymous)]

For some reason, the only way I could get the neck to be the proper length was to replace every sc and dc with an fl sc/fl dc.

Re: Neck

[hooked_on_anime]

Huh; I could see needing to replace every dc with tc, but replacing them with fl stitches baffles me a bit, except if you're trying to add more of a curve.

I'm sorry I'm not of more help!

wings

[(Anonymous)]

i was wondering if you had pics of the 2 different wing styles? im just about to that point and while i was reading the patter nit started to confuse me

Re: wings

[hooked_on_anime]

Right, no problem; there's pictures of the folded-style wings on their own in the post itself, but I'll include links in this comment as well :) There's also the unfolded-style wings attached to Fluttershy up there (and I'll be linking some of those as well), but if that's not quite what you had in mind, I'll see about making an extra wing and taking some photos of that.

Folded wing 1 Folded wing 2
Unfolded wing 1 Unfolded wing 2

For the unfolded wings, it's basically an unstuffed sphere. I added the feather pattern with a tapestry needle and an extra length of yarn: three large loops spanning the wing about a third of the way down, and then three lines of yarn from the middle of each loop to the end of the wing.

For the folded wing, while I normally add an sc and a sl st to the end of edged finished pieces (the legs, the nose, etc), I left the individual feathers intentionally jagged (stopped at the final dc, nothing after that). Then, when attaching the next feather to the whole wing piece, I started crocheting in the spot where the next stitch would have gone in the feather, like lining up Tetris blocks. Though it's a bit of a pain, this attaches the feathers completely and near seamlessly to the rest of the wing. I've found I end up with larger gaps than I'd like between feathers, but I can use the ends of the yarn from making them to tie the gaps up.

I hope that helped some. If you need higher contrast images for any of these, let me know and I'll make it happen!

Will post SC version soon!

[sanrenei]

This is a great pattern. I made my first Fluttershy in about three days. The only thing I didn't like about the pattern was the double crochet stitches. Though they worked up very quickly, you can see a lot of the stuffing. The stitches just feel too loose.

So, I'm working on a single crochet version for you guys! ^_^

I've got the foreleg, hindleg, nose, and ear done so far. Just need to do the head, body, and wings and we're all set.

I'll post a link here when I'm finished.

Thanks for the great pattern!!! <3

Re: Will post SC version soon!

[hooked_on_anime]

Oh, that's wonderful! A whole bunch of people have been wanting a single crochet version (as I'm sure you've already noticed in comments and such), so I'll be delighted to have one to link to ♥ Would you mind if I passed the link on to Equestria Daily as well?

Thank you likewise for working out a single crochet version, and I'm glad you were able to work with my pattern :)

I'm a Little Confused

[(Anonymous)]

Hi! I was very excited when I found your pattern, and I almost immediately started to work on my own plush. I have a question, however. On the pattern, you have "dc 2 in 1, dc 1." Does that go in a looped pattern all around the beginning circle? Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question.

Re: I'm a Little Confused

[hooked_on_anime]

That's the pattern of increases and regular stitches to repeat until you get to the next round. Dc 2 in 1 is the increase, 'cuz you're making two stitches in one place, and then dc 1 (or whatever number) is the number of stitches before you increase again/repeat the pattern. I hope that clears things up! If not, I'll try again.

sc version/rainbow dash

[(Anonymous)]

i just finished her last night. hopefully my link works. still working on the pattern to get it all nice and pretty. already had someone order a rainbow dash last nite from my freinds cousin because she saw the pics

Re: sc version/rainbow dash

[(Anonymous)]

oops forgot to post the link http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2906153743227.2144623.1542041264&type=3#!/photo.php?fbid=2906156263290&set=a.2906153743227.2144623.1542041264&type=3&theater