Errata:

Folks I am sorry, but three gremlins have crept in…

1. On page 22, there are three photos at the bottom of the page, next to each other. The one on the far left has the heptagon incorrectly labelled as a hexagon. It’s pretty obvious that it is the heptagon (as the two adjacent photos are of the same view and are correctly labelled). I didn’t want to send out an update for such a small typo :)

2. On page 13: The instructions for the Square motif. The chart is correct. The written instructions have an omission. Round 4 should read as follows:

“ Round 4: Ch1 (counts as the first sc). Sc into each of the dc’s of this cluster. Make one long dc into Round 2 of the motif. Sc into each of the 7 dc’s of the next cluster. . Make one long dc into Round 2 of the motif. Repeat these steps for the remaining two clusters. Join with a slip stitch to the ch1 at the beginning of the round. (4 sets of 7 sc’s, separated by long dc’s)

1. on pg 23:

The instruction at the very bottom of the page, reads: “Join a heptagon to the right hand side of the body as seen in the photo far left, on THREE SIDES.”… it should read:

“Join a heptagon to the right hand side of the body as seen in the photo far left, on FOUR SIDES.”

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Please note: This listing is for a downloadable PDF of the pattern instructions for making Puff …there is no hard copy of the pattern available, nor a finished item. The pattern is available only in English :)

Puff the magic Stegosaurus is the latest of my patterns using the african flower motif. He is magic, because, well, he is here with us in the present even though he is millions of years old :) He is called Puff because, well, he is kinda like a dragon, fierce, scaly and strong!

I know that little hands and minds love dinos of any kind and I am hoping that he will be part of a series that I aim to release this year..my hope is that he will be enjoyed by many an imaginative little person as they play their way through discovering the wonders of paleontology :)**

x Heidi

Puff the Magic Stegosaurus is the twelfth of my patterns that makes use of the African Flower hexagon crochet motif and variations thereof, joined in a specific order to make a recognizable 3D item. I love this African Flower pattern and the creative possibilities of using it to make 3D items :) Puff is an excellent stash buster project, as you only need to use very small amounts of leftover sock yarn to make a motif.

So, let’s take a look at the important points and how you will start to make your own little steggie :)

:: Steps to making your own Puff the Steggie ::

1. NB: First read the whole pattern through properly, so you have a good overview.

2. Make sure you know how to crochet the African Flower hexagon crochet motif. I have included both written and charted instructions for the African Flower hexagon in this pattern. If you are a visual learner, you can see a step by step photo tutorial on my blog: http://heidibearscreative.blogspot.com/2010/05/african-fl...

3. Make sure you are able to crochet an African Flower pentagon, octagon, heptagon, square and triangle… for clarity: the pentagon has five petals and five sides and the heptagon has seven petals and seven sides, the octagon has eight petals and eight sides and so on…. The difference is simply the number of “petal” repeats that you crochet…pentagons, octagons and heptagons etc are therefore equally easy to crochet. I have included written and charted instructions in this pattern on how to crochet an African Flower Pentagon (as well as all the other motifs). I have also posted a fully explained pentagon tutorial, on my blog, which can be found here:

http://heidibearscreative.blogspot.com/2011/09/african-fl...

1. Make sure you have gone through and practiced the join-as-you-go technique. This has been explained and illustrated in the PDF named Appendix : Joining Tutorials. Since the joining method is really very important to the success of the project, I strongly suggest that you practice joining on scrap yarn motifs before starting the project. If you would prefer to sew your motifs together, you won’t need to practice the join-as-you-go technique, but will need to be confident in your neat sewing ability. I have not included instructions on how to sew stuff together…there are plenty resources available on the internet…

2. Either choose your yarn for this project or use the sock yarn that you have left over from other projects. Make all the required motifs for your steggie BUT only up to Round 4 of the African Flower motif if you are doing a join-as-you-go method, or the full motif up to Round 5 if you are sewing up the motifs.

: : Materials Requirements : :

The steggie that has been crocheted for this pattern, was made using sock weight/fingering/#1 weight yarn. Using this weight yarn will give you a steggie measuring approximately 45cm measured from tip of tail to nose, and approximately 24cm from tips of plates to toes.

ALL THE CROCHET STITCHES USED IN THIS PATTERN ARE BASED ON AMERICAN CROCHET TERMS

Abbreviations : sc = single crochet , dc = double crochet,

Sock weight / Fingering weight yarn/ #1 in colors of your choice… this little steggie is a great stash busting project as you can use small amounts of sock yarn for each motif, and the more colourful the prettier :) . Although I can’t tell you how much yardage of each color I used I can tell you that the total weight of yarn for the steggie was around 210g (unstuffed).

I use sock weight yarns from both www.colourspun.com and www.nurturingfibres.com. Both indie dyers are awesome, amazing ladies who are incredibly talented!

The yardage for the sock yarn I used is around 320m/100g (350yds/100g). It is a superwash merino yarn, but you can use any alternative fingering weight yarn you like…I suggest that animal fibre yarns would be preferable, as they have more stretch, making the stuffing and shaping of the steggie easier. Try use a yarn with a similar yardage per 100g.

Crochet Hook 1.75mm

If you are planning to make your steggie in a heavier weight yarn, adjust your hook size accordingly…however, use the smallest hook size possible for the weight of yarn that you can manage. Since the steggie is stuffed, your stitch density will need to be tighter than usual to prevent the stuffing from popping out. Make a test motif in your chosen yarn and hook to see which would be the best size to use.

Polyester toy stuffing Haemostats (optional for stuffing)
Scissors Tapestry Needle used for sewing in ends Sewing Pins
Sewing needle Doll Making Needle or long tapestry needle
Eyes (plastic safety eyes or glass looped eyes). PLEASE NOTE THAT ATTACHED EYES ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR TOYS CREATED FOR CHILDREN! They can be a suffocation hazard. If you are making this toy for a child, rather embroider the eyes using embroidery thread! I would still suggest sculpting the eye sockets before embroidering the eyes…it adds a lovely realistic element :) I have used 10mm wire looped glass eyes. These can easily be sourced from sellers on eBay and Etsy.

: : Skills Requirements : :

Basic Crocheting Skills: Chain stitch (ch) , Single Crochet (sc), Double Crochet (dc), Slip Stitch (sl st), joining a chain to make a ring, joining in a new color

Join-as-you-go motif joining: This pattern will require that you join the crocheted motifs each stitch to each stitch. This is necessary to prevent the stuffing popping out of the steggie. It is imperative that you are confident in your join-as-you-go ability. The method I use is explained in the Appendix pages found at the end of the pattern. These tutorials are illustrated by using motif chart illustrations with explanatory notes. This cuts down on printing :)

However, if you are scared witless by the thought of doing a join-as-you-go joining method, all is not lost…you can simply make all your motifs in full (including Round 5), then sew them together. The order of motif placement and the number of sides needing to be joined stays exactly the same whether you join-as-you-go or sew up.

Basic sewing skills Sewing the plates to the body