Scalemate Pattern (Small)

[hooked_on_anime]

I'm just going to sit here and pretend this is a few days after AnimeIowa rather than a week and a day past. That work for you? Okay then.

For those of you who made it to AI, this was the pattern I used for Senator Lemonsnout. I started out trying to find out whether the dc pattern I made for Pyralspite would translate to a smaller scalemate just by switching to sc - and then found it it didn't. Good to know for future me/present me!

Sooner or later, I'll have up Pyralspite's pattern (AKA the Large Scalemate Pattern). Hopefully I'll also eventually have a Medium Scalemate Pattern, though who knows when that'll happen exactly. (Future me, obviously.) In the mean time, I hope anyone who wishes to can overpopulate their respiteblocks with scalemates of various colors and identities will be satisfied with this.

First, though, pictures for those who haven't seen the end result yet:




BONUS: Sneak peak at a possible future for Plush Sleuth!


I mean, I have to make a new one for Plush Sleuth, since the three I had materials for left AI to join the witness protection program and escape Terezis everywhere find better homes, but still! 8Dbb


Pattern time!

What you need to know for this pattern: How to crochet in a round (spiral); single crochet (sc); increasing ([stitch] 2 in 1); decreasing ([stitch] 2 tog); back loop crochet (bl [stitch]); slip stitch (sl st); US stitch names.
Sizing information: I used a size H/5.0mm hook with Caron Simply Soft worsted weight yarn and had a gauge of 4sc/5rows per square inch (2.5cm).

It's kind of hard to tell the spines apart once you've made them unless you mark or divide them obviously ahead of time. On the other hand, it's possible you could get away with making six of the "large" size spines and skip the "small" ones; you may not even be able to tell the difference at this scale! I have no clue.

Head
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 2, sc 2 in 1 x 3, sc 1, sc 2 in 1 x 3, sc 3 (sc 18)
Round 4: sc 2, sc 2 tog x 3, sc 1, sc 2 tog x 3, sc 3 (sc 12)
Round 5: bl sc 12
Round 6, 7: sc 12
Round 8: sc 18 (sc 1, sc 2 in 1)
Round 9: sc 18 (sc all around)
Round 10: sc 24 (sc 2, sc 2 in 1)
Round 11 thru 15: sc 24 (sc all around)
Round 16: sc 12 (sc 2 tog all around)
Round 17: sc 6 (sc 2 tog all around)
Round 18: sl st 3
Fin

Body
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 20 (sc 2 in 1 x 2, sc 1)
Round 4 thru 12: sc 20 (sc all around)
Fin

Spines (lg) (make four)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: sc 9 (sc 1, sc 2 in 1)
Round 3: sc 9 (sc all around)
Fin

Spines (sm) (make two)
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: sc 9 (sc 1, sc 2 in 1)
Round 3: sc 4 (sc into the next four stitches)
Fin

Tail
Round 1: Begin in a ring; sc 6; continue in a spiral
Round 2: sc 9 (sc 1, sc 2 in 1)
Round 3, 4: sc 9 (sc all around)
Round 5: sc 12 (sc 2, sc 2 in 1)
Round 6 thru 8: sc 12 (sc all around)

Legs (make two)
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 18 (sc 1, sc 2 in 1)
Round 4: sc 18 (sc all around)
Round 5: sc 3, sc 2 tog x 6, sc 3 (sc 12)
Round 6: sc 3, sc 2 tog x 3, sc 3 (sc 9)
Round 7 thru 10: sc 9
Fin

If you choose to make two different sizes of spines: Space the larger spines evenly around the crown of the head; the smaller spines should overlap over the head and the body to some degree.

Comments

Amount of yarn

[(Anonymous)]

Hi!

First of all, I'd like to thank you for sharing your patterns. I recently took up crocheting and I've found it to be very good for me.

I just wanted to know how much yarn it would take to make one of these.

Re: Amount of yarn

[hooked_on_anime]

That's great to hear, and it's my pleasure! If you have any other questions about my patterns or anything, I'll do my best to help out.

Hmm; I don't know the exact amount, but I used a 7oz skein of Caron Simply Soft and had plenty of yarn left over, so I'd estimate 100 yards at a gauge of - hang on, lemme check this - 4sc/5rows per inch (2.5cm). Though you might want to get more, just in case.

Re: Amount of yarn

[(Anonymous)]

Duly noted!

Two more questions:
1. What kind of stuffing should I use?
2. About how big is a small Scalemate?

Thanks so much for the help. :D

Re: Amount of yarn

[hooked_on_anime]

1. I just use regular polyfill (polyester stuffing), though in January fake snow goes on sale and works just as well. If you've got a sensitivity to polyester, you can probably find organic substitutes. You can also use cloth scraps if you do a lot of sewing, or just have some old t-shirts you want to get rid of. (Stuffing with yarn is also possible, but is much more expensive as compared.)

2. Mine turn out around three to four inches/eight to ten centimeters. I use buttons 3/8" (~5mm?) in diameter for their eyes. I do stitch the buttons to each other through the head, which makes it slightly narrower and taller.

You're quite welcome ^_^

Re: Amount of yarn

[(Anonymous)]

Well I have quite a bit of extra yarn that I got on sale (2 for $3) but it's much too small for me to handle so I think I'll use that.

Those are pretty small. I think they'll be adorable! Thanks so much for your assistance!

Re: Amount of yarn

[hooked_on_anime]

Sorry for the late reply!

Yes, that sounds like it should work admirably :)

\o/ I hope they turn out well! And my pleasure ^_^

Finished!!

[(Anonymous)]

I finished him tonight! He has yet to be named but I also put a squeaker inside him as well as made him smell like oranges. Here's a video, if you want to see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIiSQZgFDxI

Thank you so much! (Only two more [both gifts] to go now, haha.)

Re: Finished!!

[hooked_on_anime]

Oh wow, he looks great! And he sounds great - where did you get your squeaker, if I may ask? The best I managed to find were squirty/squeaky water toys at a Dollar Tree, and even the smallest of those was too big for Lemonsnout :/ They sound a lot wheezier, too.

BTW, thanks for including a link back in your video :) I really appreciate it.

Re: Finished!!

[(Anonymous)]

I went to the dollar store (Loonies and Toonies) and they had these plush dog toys with squeakers in them (they have 2 in each and are $3). It takes up a good portion of his body so I have to stand it up (the opening to the squeaker is poking out of the hole where the body begins)so it doesn't stretch the yarn.

And of course! It's a personal rule of mine to give credit where credit is due.

Spines

[(Anonymous)]

I love this pattern thank you for making it. I do have a question though, do you stuff the spines or what? I don't really understand how you attach them. Thank you again.

Re: Spines

[hooked_on_anime]

So sorry for the late reply! I've been all tied up with ADHD.

No, you don't stuff the spines; you flatten them out and then sew them on as they are.

I hope that helps, though given how late this is, you may have already figured it out ^^a

I feel like I suck at this...?

[(Anonymous)]

I've crocheted scarves and little amigirumi's before, but I feel like somehow I'm messing this up...? I counted my stitches carefully and made sure I didn't do any of my normal freestyling, but, well... The snout didn't come out quite like yours, no real nostril definition, and the top of the body looked like it could eat the head, and in fact still does look much bigger than it should. Any suggestions?

Re: I feel like I suck at this...?

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I finished Mr. Licoricetoes completely, and with some mashing and kneading he looked more like should. So, thank you for putting this pattern up. He's ridiculously cute.

Re: I feel like I suck at this...?

[hooked_on_anime]

So sorry I neglected to reply before; I was eaten by ADHD. I'll have to take another look or two at the pattern in the near future, see if I can't make anything more clear or less likely to need squishing of things. I'm glad to hear Mr. Licoricetoes turned out well, though!

Re: I feel like I suck at this...?

[(Anonymous)]

I've found that the snout comes out much better when you switch from crocheting in the back loops (in row 5) to working stitches in the front loops. Although the nostrils still take a little bit of fiddling around to get just right.

Maybe this might help some other people with this problem.

Re: I feel like I suck at this...?

[(Anonymous)]

Mine also looked strange.. I changed the three single crochet increases to half double crochet on the outsides and double crochet on the inside, with the single in the middle changed to a front post Single crochet. Hope this helps :)

Thank you for sharing this pattern!

[(Anonymous)]

I just finished making a scalemate buddy of my own using your pattern and it looks great! He doesn't look exactly like yours since I used slightly larger buttons for the eyes and I only sewed on five big spines instead of the six (because I was impatient and wanted to get it finished to show off to friends :P). I have a picture of my scalemate on my blog (in case you care where that is --> http://sanitywhatsthat.blogspot.com/2013/09/mr-wobbles.html) and I shared the link with a bunch of knitting/crafting friends via facebook.

Thanks again!

Re: Thank you for sharing this pattern!

[hooked_on_anime]

I think it looks great! (She writes almost half a year later, whoops.) Thanks for sharing a link back to this pattern ^_^

Please

[(Anonymous)]

Hey I was wondering if i could sell the scalemates I make with this pattern

Re: Please

[hooked_on_anime]

Alas, I would like to say "yes", but AH has given a very clear "no" on selling 3D stuff. I can't even do it in good conscience (read as: without the fear of a C&D/legal intervention). I mean, unless you know a lawyer who could get the Fair Use stuff straightened out for relatively cheap, in which case you'd definitely have my go-ahead.

Uuhhhmmm.....

[karcinobiologist]

I couldn't help but notIce that furr the body, you don't tIe It all together at the end, It just says 'Fin'. Is It supposed to be lIke that? :?

Re: Uuhhhmmm.....

[hooked_on_anime]

Sorry about that; I don't have assembly instructions put together for all of my patterns yet, especially the earlier ones. I honestly don't know when/if I'll get to it for this one, but if you really need them, poke me in a few days and I should be able to get over my laziness.

:D

[(Anonymous)]

I love this pattern and thanks so much for making it!
This is the first one I made
http://shadowwolf5400.deviantart.com/art/Crochet-Scalemate-485994946

Help?

[(Anonymous)]

Im still a kind of beginner and I'm trying to create one of the original scale mates from Homestuck, but I'm confused by how to start the ring you say to crochet. Is it like one of the "magic ring" I've been seeing around, or is there another way of doing it?

Re: Help?

[hooked_on_anime]

The magic ring is what I do, yes - you can see a drawing of it in my picture here. However, there are other methods. One of the easiest methods is to chain three, use the second two chain stitches as the first stitch of your first round, and make all of the rest of the stitches from the first round into the first chain. (I hope that made sense...) Another easy way to start a ring is to chain four, slip stitch through the first chain, and then make the stitches for the first round in the middle of that ring of chain stitches.

I personally learned the magic ring from the amigurumi tutorial videos at Hook and Needles (scroll down to step three - or don't, if you feel like doing a little review). I've also got some other tutorial options linked here.

I hope that helps!

Re: Help?

[(Anonymous)]

It does! Thank you so much, I was really confused about that and that clears things up for me. Thank you again!