Dirk the Dragon

As bub's first birthday approached, and party planning was well underway, we were struck with a conundrum: What could we give our munchkin for their first birthday?

She was well equipped for clothes, toys and books from family and friends. And experience gifts seem a little pointless at this age. So what's something that is a little special, and that she won't grow out of too quickly (one hopes)? A hand-made something.

I stumbled across some ridiculously cute amigurumi in my internet wanderings, and fell quite besotted with Lalylala's Bina the Bear. When I met Bina's friends, I knew we had to introduce bub to one of them. Dad helped to pick out Dirk, and I gave myself a crash course in crochet. Protip: There's a difference between US and UK notation for stitches.

There was a little mishap joining on the body to the legs due to my forgetting that I was crocheting left-handed, and followed the joining instructions exactly which was written right-handed, resulting in the body being joined wrong-side out. Much frogging ensued, but we were soon back on track, and this little fellow was ready to meet our little miss for her birthday (one day late).

Considering this was only my second crochet project (the first being a sphere), it was a pretty easy make. The pattern is very well written, and once you know that you're using US notation for stitches, with a little help from YouTube, you'll soon be surrounded by new stuffed friends.

Dirk was made using this pattern and Scheepjes Stone Washed 4ply from Yarns for All.

This was a bit of a gamble because bub hasn't really shown much interest in soft toys yet, but the other day she picked him up, gave him a cuddle and pat him on the back the way we do when we hold her. If ever there was a heart-eyes moment... *melts*

So glad I gave this a try, and I hope Dirk and bub become fast friends.