Baby Monster Rattler - Beginners Project

Hi all,

This instructable is a very good first project for a crochet beginner.

It can be a great gift for friends who just had a new-born.

Note that the design options for this pattern are E-N-D-L-E-S-S ! I wil llist the detailed instructions for the green monster but all other designs use the same basic body pattern and the only difference betweeen them is the color choices and the details.

For those of you, more experienced with crochet I uploaded a .pdf file for download.

It is also available on my ravlery page

Sooooo lets begin!

Downloads

Rattle_Monster.pdf

Materials

First thing you need to do is gather your materials

Materials

3.5mm hook Light green yarn
Yarn needle
Black yarn
White yarn
Light blue yarn
Small plastic container(about the size of a medium egg)
Uncooked rice/ uncooked popcorn
Duct tape

The Basics

Magic Ring for Crochet (right-handed version)

Next we need to define some common language.

The instructions will be given out as a pattern using abbreviations. So, if the pattern lists Sc this means you need to do a "Single Crochet" stitch.

I made this list of abbreviatons for you :

Abbreviations:

Rnd – round
St - stitch
Sc – singlecrochet
Scdec – single crochet decrease
Dc – double crochet
Sl st – slip stitch
F/O – fasten off

Now, if you dont know what all of these mean - DO NOT BE ALARMD.

There are numerous youtube videos explaining and showing exactly how to do each of them. I added links for some videos i liked.

I added one detailing how to do a magic ring - which is our first step. Credit to June Gilbank.

Noise Maker

Insert the rice/popcorn into the plastic container.

Seal the container using duct tape.

Make sure the container is secured and cannot open.

I like to wrap the duct tape around several times. A baby is probably going to play with thi srattler. even though h\she does not have direct access to the noise maker you wouldnt want the noise maker to open up (choking hazard - use at your own responsibility).

Body

Now lets start making the body.

Body
Rnd 1: (with green) 6sc in magic ring (6)

Rnd 2: 2sc around (12)

Rnd 3: *sc in first st, 2sc in next st* repeat around (18)

Rnd 4: *sc in first 2 st, 2sc in next st* repeat around (24)

Rnd 5: *sc in first 3 st, 2sc in next st* repeat around (30)

Rnd 6: *sc in first 4 st, 2sc in next st* repeat around (36)

Rnds 7-11: sc in each st around (36)

Rnd 12: *sc in first 4 st, scDec in next 2 st* repeat around (30)

Rnd 13: *sc in first 3 st, scdec in next 2 st* repeat around (24) Insert the noise maker.

Rnd 14: *sc in first 2 st, scdec in next 2 st* repeat around (18)

Rnd 15: *sc in first 1 st, scdec in next 2 st* repeat around (12)

Rnds 16: sc in external loops only in each st around Stuff head firmly

Rnd 17-32: sc in each st around (12) Stuff handle firmly

Rnd 33: scdec in each stitch around (6)

Rnd 34: scdec in each stitch around (3) F/O

Detail - the Monster Eye

Eye

Rnd 1: (with black) 6sc in magic ring, change color to blue and join with sl st, ch1 (6)

Rnd2 : 2sc around, change color to white and join with sl st, ch2 (12)

Rnd 3: 2DC around, join with sl st (24)

F/O leaving long tail for sowing

Sew
Sew the eye onto the head using the yarn needle, place the eye slightly above the sphere shape center.

Final Notes and Tips

Basically if you got this far you are basically done. However i feel like its important to give some some notes and tips so you can play around some more

You can try to use a plastic tube\ wooden rod instead of stuffing the handle for a more rigid handle
You can use a different color for the body.
You can make two smaller eyes by using thinner yarn and reducing the number of stitches for the eyes.
You can purchase safety eyes and use them of a flat circular eye (simply dont change the colors in the eye instructions).
You can give it hair ! Check out this link for a video instructions on how you can do it. its fairly simple but takes a while

Enjoy !