Crochet Eyeball Eating Monster

Meet Gurgle,
He's the one on the left caught with his monstery claws inside the eyeball jar. Standing at just 6 inches he's a tiny beast with a big heart! He likes eyeballs but aside from that  he's perfectly harmless. His zipper works but please do not let that part scare you. It's actually pretty easy the way I sew this on and I have a step by step video to help you do it!

I first brought Gurgle to life in September this year. He is a bit plain compared to Weasel, his twin brother pictured below. 

Weasel,
He is Gurgle's brother. He looks just like Gurgle but has fuller hair and big warty spots. Weasel is the Monster you see me putting together in the video tutorials.

Video Tutorial,
There are 3 videos that will help you put together all the parts of the monster, links provided in the pattern below. For your convenience  I added time stamps in the description box of each video so be sure to look for those!

Supplies:
worsted weight acrylic yarn.
I used Bernat Premium in green for the body.
A 7ounce package made 2 monsters with lots of yarn left over.
a small amount of orange and yellow for the alternate color and eyes.
3.75mm hook - you can use a larger hook, it will result in a slightly larger monster.
blunt end yarn needle for sewing
scissors
polyester stuffing
plastic mesh sheet
zipper - you can find zippers in your local fabric store also look in a thrift store, any length over 8 inches.
sewing thread in the same color you use for the body and 1 medium to large sewing needle.
craft felt sheets. I used black and red.

Abbreviations:
st = stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
ch1 = chain one
sl st = slip stitch
2tog = crochet 2 stitches together
f/o = finish off

How to read the rows:
Add a marker into the last stitch of row 2 then move that marker at the end of each row. Each row has a sequence. Example: 1sc then 2sc in next st means repeat that sequence 1sc then 2sc in next st followed by 1sc then 2sc in next st over and over to the end of that particular row. The number inside the parentheses ( ~ ) is the number of stitches you should have at the end of that particular row.

How to print the pattern,
Use the free print friendly service here

~> Please see the section "How to read rows" before starting this pattern. I do not use the word "repeat" in my patterns. 

Head: using green
1) magic circle with 6sc (6)
2) 2sc in each st (12)
3) 1sc then 2sc in next st (18)
4) 1sc in next 2st then 2sc in next st (24)
5) 1sc in next 3st then 2sc in next st (30)
6) 1sc in next 4st then 2sc in next st (36)
7) 1sc in next 5st then 2sc in next st (42)
8-15) 1sc in each st for 8 rows
sl st next st and f/o leaving a long tail for sewing. You will use this yarn tail to sew the head and body together. The head and body are not sewn together until the very end.

Body: using green
1) magic circle with 6sc (6)
2) 2sc in each st (12)
3) 1sc then 2sc in next st (18)
4) 1sc in next 2st then 2sc in next st (24)
5) 1sc in next 3st then 2sc in next st (30)
6) 1sc in next 4st then 2sc in next st (36)
7) 1sc in next 5st then 2sc in next st (42)
8) 1sc in next 6st then 2sc in next st (48)
9-12) 1sc in each st for 4 rows
13) 1sc in next 6st then 2tog (42)
14-16) 1sc in each st for 3 rows
sl st next st and f/o. You can weave this yarn tail in or hide in during assembly.




Please remember there's help!
If you get stuck on any of the how to assemble and sew the eyes, nose, ears, adding the hair, closing up the arms or adding a bobble thumb, that is all shown (in order I wrote it) in part 1 of the videos Click here to view, it might be helpful to watch it before you start. Time stamps for each part are in the description box.

Eyes: using yellow
1) magic circle with 6sc (6)
2) 2sc in each st (12)
sl st next st and f/o leaving a long tail for sewing. You can glue or sew on a small round piece of black felt, or, wrap black yarn, or, add a safety eye. The last 2 options are done before sewing the eyes to the head.

Make sure you are sewing the eyes to the head piece and not the body as they are very similar and could be easily mixed up.
Also, work on the opposite side of the finishing yarn tail. You want the finishing yarn tail to be on the back of the head when you're done with the face.
The eyes are sewn just below the 7th row of the head with a bit of space between them. Sew around  the inside edge of the eye. 

Nose:
Feel free to play around with this, you can make a nose and sew it on. I decided to keep it simple and just wrap the yarn  in between the 12th and 13th row a number of times until I had a small bump for a nose.

Outer Ears: using green
1) magic circle with 6sc (6)
2) 2sc in each st (12)
3) 1sc then 2sc in next st (18)
4) 1sc in next 2st then 2sc in next st (24)
fold the wrong sides together then 1sc through both sides one time. This will hold the ear closed. 
f/o leaving a long tail for sewing

Inner Ears: using orange
1) magic circle with 6sc (6)
2) 2sc in each st (12)
sl st next st and f/o and cut the yarn tail up shorter, this will be tucked in between the inner and outer ear when they are sewn together.

Sew the inner and outer ear together.
Placing the wrong sides together, the orange fits into the green, using the green yarn tail of the outer ear, make short stitches and sew on the inside edge of the inner inner. Pull tight each time you go through to make the green disappear inside the inner ear. Once you make it around, knot off then weave the yarn tail back to the top of the closed part of the ear.

Sew the ears onto the head.
Ears are sewn just above the 7th row.

Add in hair if desired.
I knotted off individual strands of yarn around the top few rows of the head. I also split the strands to make them fuller for one of my monsters. Feel free to play around  with this part!

Arms: using green
1) magic circle with 6sc (6)
2) 2sc in each st (12)
3) 1sc then 2sc in next st (18)
4-6) 1sc in each st for 3 rows
7) 1sc then 2tog (12)
8-13) 1sc in each st for 6 rows
stuff the hand and arm
14) 1sc through both sides across to close up the arm. I show how to in part 1 of the videos.
f/o leaving a tail for sewing

Thumb: using green
insert hook in between the 5th and 6th row, pull the yarn through and ch1. Make a bobble using 5dc. When you sew the bobble in place be sure you have a right and a left.
Set arms aside, these are sewn on after the head and body are sewn together.

How to sew (and stuff) the legs and tail onto the body are shown in part 2 of the videos. Also shown in the video is how to add spikes onto the tail.  Click here to view.

Legs: using green
1) magic circle with 6sc (6)
2) 2sc in each st (12)
3) 1sc in next 3st then 2st in next st (15)
4-5) 1sc in each st for 2 rows
f/o leaving a tail for sewing. Sew the legs on either side of the center hole of row 1 of the body. Sew the leg partially in place then you can stuff it before sewing the remaining part in.

Tail: using green
1) magic circle with 8sc (8)
2-3) 1sc in each st for 2 rows
4) 1sc in next 3st then 2sc in next st (10)
5) 1sc in each st
6) 1sc in next 4st then 2sc in next st (12)
7) 1sc in each st
8) 1sc in next 5st then 2sc in next st (14)
9) 1sc in each st
10) 1sc in next 6st then 2sc in next st (16)
11) 1sc in each st
12) 1sc in next 7st then 2sc in next st (18)
13) 1sc in each st
14) 1sc in next 5st then 2sc in next st (21)
15) 1sc in each st
16) 1sc in next 6st then 2sc in next st (24)
17) 1sc in each st
sl st next st and f/o leaving a long tail for sewing. Stuff the tail after you add the spikes.

Spikes on tail: Using orange
You can play around with this part, you don't have to do the same as I did. Pull the orange through the end of the tail, on the surface and keep the hook as close to the surface as you can while crocheting up the tail. ch1 then 1sc into the same space then sl st next space up. 
For the remainder of the tail, *1sc into the next space, then ch2, then 1sc into the first ch, then 1sc into the space of the first sc you made, then sl st the next space*
Repeat from * to * until you have no more spaces left.  If you get stuck I show how to do the spikes in part 2 of the videos.

Sew the tail onto the body. The bottom edge of the tail should be sewn right behind and above the legs

Final Assembly:
I did not write out the instructions for steps 4-7 as it's too difficult for me to explain in written form. 

Steps 1-2 are shown in part 2 of the videos. Click here to view.
Steps 3-7 are shown in part 3 of the videos. Click here to view

This is the order in which the final assembly should be done:
1) Cut a piece of the plastic mesh that will fit in the fatter part of the tummy. Trace the outline of the body then cut on the outside of that line so the plastic is a bit bigger than the last row of the body.

This gets sewn to row 10 of the belly. Once you have a piece that will fit, use it as a template to cut out the felt piece.

Stuff the lower part of the belly then place the plastic piece on top and push down on the stuffing until the plastic piece is sitting at or about row 10. Using your sewing thread and sewing needle sew the plastic in place. Keep the sewing stitches close together on the outside of the body but they can be further apart on the inside. Be sure to go through a square of the plastic piece each time you go through the body with your needle.

1 (or 2) Glue or sew the felt on top (this can be done before or after sewing the plastic in). I give you a couple of different options for attaching the felt in part 2 of the videos.

2) Sew a ring of the plastic mesh around the belly, making sure to keep a rows distance between the top edge of the plastic and top edge of the body. You need this space to sew the zipper to. Also make the ends of the ring overlap each other.  I sewed the overlap first and made sure to add in many stitches to make this part secure. Once it was secure I added a few stitches on  3 other sections, so when it was done I had 4 spots sewn in. There's no need to sew every inch of the ring, you just want it to stay put. Sew or glue felt over  the ring.

3) Cut a piece of plastic for the head. This should be the same width as the head. Place the head upside down and trace a line around the plastic sheet that follows the edge of the head, cut on this line.

Follow the same steps for stuffing and sewing and adding the felt as you did the body. The plastic piece gets sewn just above the 14th row. Be sure you sew it above the row so you have space to sew the zipper in.

For steps 4-7 view part 3 of the videos.

4) Sew the zipper in. (add a tongue if desired)
5) Sew the head and body together.
6) Sew the arms onto the body.
7) Add in the colored spots if you want them.

Added note about the zipper:
You do not need to measure it to be exact to fit within the arms, in fact, it is better to be too long when you sew it in rather than be too short. I show you how to sew the yarn over the zipper anyway which hides both ends. So please feel free to make it longer than I did in the video.

The pattern for the eyeball that fits inside his mouth is here

I hope you enjoy your Monster!

Copyright 2019 Author: Sharon Ojala - Amigurumi To Go All rights reserved