I have, like most of the world, caught the Star Wars bug. Ever since I first saw the movies as a child, I have been a Star Wars addict. As a teenager I mostly kept my obsession with the trilogy quiet. No one knew I watched Return of the Jedi nine times when I had the chickenpox. No one knew that I could recite most of the movies by heart. In truth, besides The Blues Brothers, the Star Wars trilogy are the only movies where I actually can recite the words.
Thanks to my brother buying me the DVD’s for Christmas (in my mid- twenties), I was able to keep my memory of the movies in check. I saw all the prequels in the theater, the third (Revenge of the Sith) I saw at the midnight showing which set me up for a long day of work the next day. And three weeks before I gave birth to my daughter, my husband upgraded my movie collection with the 25th anniversary edition Blu-rays.
When my crochet hobby became a crochet obsession, I decided that my 19 month old would be Yoda for Halloween. She has the rest of her youth to be a princess for Halloween, I wanted her to be a Jedi Master.
This has all led to my newest crochet project. A Star Wars amigurumi kit by Lucy Collin
was given to me for Christmas. And since January is the time to try something new, and I’ve always admired the animals and characters I’ve seen done in this style, I figured the Force was telling me to make another Yoda. Did I mention St. Nick gave me a Yoda ornament this year (oh, and we have a tiny fake tree dedicated to all my husband’s old Star Wars ornaments, we are obsessed as a family).
It took about 9 hours to make Yoda. I enjoyed the process of creating a small figurine (he’s only about 2 1/2 inches high), the instructions were fairly simple, and if you need a refresh on any stitches, they are explained in the beginning of the pattern manual. It was a little nerve-racking, though, because I didn’t want to screw up the limbs! The ears and arms needed to be lined up, and I didn’t want any obvious lopsidedness. Luckily, if you count your stitches from a specific point, like the edge of the eye, lining up the limbs isn’t too tough.
There was only one mistake that might be noticeable. His feet point a slightly different direction than his eyes, but he still stands on his own, so it is a minor flaw. My daughter didn’t seem to mind, and she even slept with him last night. So I think it is a win-win.
The kit, itself, is pretty cool. It comes with enough yarn to make Yoda and a Storm Trooper. But it has patterns for all the major Star Wars characters from the original movies. I definitely will be trying out a Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Han, Chewie, oh who am I kidding, I will make the entire series and display them proudly!
I encourage anyone interested in trying something new to give amigurumi a try. It is a fun craft, and I will be trying out some new figurines soon!
Happy Crocheting!
Crochet539 