chemistry flavored meal

(US) Abbreviations + Tutorials

These are the main stitches/techniques used in this pattern, nothing too hard for a beginner to learn :)

mc: magic circle sc: single crochet stitch inc: increase stitch dec: decrease stitch ch: chain sl st: slip stitch hdc: half double crochet dc: double crochet BLO: back loop only pic: picot stitch

And here's some tutorials to learn how to do them! (I looked at first results, but there are absolutely more out there haha)

Working in the round (magic circle)

Basic stitches (ch, sl st, sc, hdc, dc)

Increase + Decrease stitches

Back Loop Only

Picot Stitch

The Head

Round 1: 5sc in mc (5 stitches)

Round 2: inc around (10)

Round 3: (sc, inc) x5 (15)

Round 4: BLO around (15)

Rounds 5-7: sc around (15)

Round 8: (sc, dec) x5 (10)

Round 9: dec x5 (5)

Slip stitch, tie off end.

The Body

Round 1: 5sc in mc (5)

Round 2: inc around (10)

Round 3: (sc, inc) x5 (15)

Round 4: BLO around (15)

Rounds 5-9: sc around (15)

Round 10: (sc, dec) x5 (10)

Slip stitch, tie off and leave a long yarn tail to be used to attach the body to the head.

The Tail

Start by chaining 8.

Starting in the 2nd stitch from the hook, 4hdc and 3dc to the end. Tie off, leaving a long yarn tail to attach the tail to the body.

For the colored fin edge on the tail + back:

Join at one end of the base of the tail, hdc around, chain 12, and sc back under the chain. (Image in the assembly section of what this piece should look like.)

Legs (x4)

Chain 6, turn and sc back. Tie off, leaving a tail for sewing.

For the toes, 3 picot in mc, tie off and weave ends through arm.

Frills (x2)

Chain 3 in magic circle, sc back and slip stitch into mc. Repeat twice (to make three points) and tie off, leaving a tail for sewing.

Assembly

When you have finished making the pieces, they should look something like this, ignoring the frills and eye pieces.

(Image from this pattern I based mine off of. I did not purchase the pattern and plagiarize it, I only looked at the pictures and experimented until I made something I liked, but if you want to buy a professional pattern with better images/instructions, there you go lol)

A lot of this assembly is intuitive/based on vibes alone. If something doesn't look right, try something else and see if it looks better! Have fun with it. Make it silly :)

First, sew the body and head together. Use a dark thread or other eye color to wrap around a few stitches to make eyes in front. Attach the frills to the sides of the head.

Sew the tail on the back so the back fin can go up and get sew along the back. Put the legs wherever feels right.

Tuck all the yarn tails from sewing into the body, or leave them hanging out so it looks like an eldritch string monster.