Reuben the Pink Fluffy Unicorn Dancing on a Rainbow

 

(Edit: welcome visitors from the crochet pattern central, greatamigurumi blog and ravelry! (: And everywhere else, of course (: )

I'm horrified to note that, while I have made up a lot of the stuff that I knit, there is only ONE (measly) pattern on this blog. Therefore, I present to you Reuben the pink fluffy unicorn dancing on a rainbow. Netizens may recognise this theme from this video:

Yes. The strange asian guy with a big mouth and triangular eyebrows. (Somebody make a muppet of this guy already!)

To cut a long story short, due to a fortunate (or for some, unfortunate) string of events, pink unicorns became a 'thing' of a friend of mine. It soon became obvious that I had to make him a pink unicorn with an accompanying rainbow. And naturally, it had to be an amigurumi unicorn. With articulated legs. And prancing action.

Take a moment to admire his flowing mane.

Ta dah! Meet Reuben (: Reuben was crafted from the finest (read: cheapest) acrylic Boyes could offer. Boye's own brand acrylic is actually not too bad quality, and I quite like it for the bright colours. It was also fairly nice to work with, and in my opinion quite good for toy-crafting. Here are a few more pictures.

Let's pretend that my sheets are a fantastical world of clouds instead of a messy student's room...

Let us also pretend that this doesn't really, really look like a toy telephone instead of a rainbow...

Aww, look at how he hugs his rainbow buddy! I was really very pleased with this outcome. (Apart from the yellow, because the brighter version was out of stock.) Unfortunately, our gum-coloured friend has one slightly unfortunate feature:

I dub thee, CreepyNose. 

Hmmmm. Too late to do anything about that I suppose. It's kinda like Professor Quirrel and Voldemort, if Voldemort was a large nose. Still, he was greatly appreciated so I was happy.

So if you're feeling brave and don't mind the Nose, try out the pattern for yourself! It's written in US terms (since that's how I learned it, so apologies to UK friends). Also further apologies if the pattern is not written very well, I recorded it as I made it, so it's written in my own crochet shorthand. I've tried to clarify it where it may be vague, but do write with questions (charmeng89 AT gmail DOT com) AND leave a comment (so it will be helpful to others who may have the same question) if you find any mistakes or want to check an instruction.

You don't need to be a super crocheter to complete this, however more intermediate crocheters may be more comfortable than beginners. Crochet skills involved: magic loop, single crochet (US), increasing and decreasing. The sewing is a bit trickier and may be a little fiddly with the small bits, so remember to leave long yarn tails to make sewing easier.

You will need:

DK yarn in pink (100g), white (50g), and oddments of red, green, yellow, blue and black.

Crochet hook (3mm)

Tapestry needle

4 small white buttons (I didn't measure them but they were probably half-inch in diameter, refer to photo)

An amount of polyester toy stuffing (You will find the unicorn structure is fairly stiff, so I recommend stuffing fairly tightly)

A length of dental floss or waxed thread for jointing (link to tutorial included below)

A dollmaking needle (i.e. a super long needle) is useful but you could also do it with a regular needle (and lots of patience)

Here is a printable PDF version, and the link on Ravelry.

Use 3mm hook and DK yarn (gauge is not essential, but you might want to go up a hook size if you are a tight crocheter, as this pattern is already fairly tight.)

I don't have the measurements for his final size (sorry!) but the photographs at the end of this post will give you an idea.

Note: number indicates no. of stitches in that row

Body (in pink) (work in a spiral, increase evenly around by repeating the bits in brackets)

1. 8st magic ring

2. 16 (2sc in each st)

3. 24 (1sc, 2sc into every 2nd st)

4. 32 (2sc, 2sc into every 3rd st)

5. 36 (3sc, 2sc into every 4th st)

6. 40 st plain

7. continue plain for 22 more rows

end rows: decrease (steps 1-5 in reverse)

Stuff the body before you complete the last few rows. Draw the yarn end through the last few stitches and cinch it shut.

Legs (start with white)

1. 8st magic ring

2. 16 (2sc in each st)

3. 20 (3sc, 2sc in every 4th st)

4. change to pink for 15 rows, sl st in last st of last row

5. turn, ch 1, sc2tog, 6 sc, sc2tog

6. turn, ch 1, sc2tog, 4sc, sc2tog

7. turn, ch 1, sc2tog, 2sc, sc2tog

8. turn, ch 1, sc2tog twice

Leg 'caps' in pink (increase/ decrease on both ends of each row)

1. ch 2, turn, 2 sc

2. 4 (2sc in first and last st)

3. 6

4. continue plain for 4 rows

5. 4 (sc2tog at both ends)

6. 2

Stuff the legs and sew the caps on the open bit of the leg (match the pointy bits!)

Nose/ head (for this part, you stagger the increases so they are not too visible)

6st magic ring

Start with white.

12 (2sc in each st)

16 (1sc, 2sc in 2nd st, 1sc)

20 (3sc, 2sc in 4th st)

24 (2 sc, 2sc in 3rd st, 2sc)

28 (5sc, 2sc in 6th st)

32 (3sc, 2 sc in 4th st, 3sc)

36 (7sc, 2sc in 8th st)

40 (4sc, 2sc in 5th st, 4sc)

44 (9sc, 2sc in 10th st)

2 rows plain

change to pink, 2 rows plain

[dec 4st per row evenly around row, 2 rows plain], repeat [ ] until 24 st left

dec to 18

dec to 12

dec to 6

Stuff the head before completing the last rows, then draw the yarn through the last few stitches with a needle to cinch it shut.

Neck tube (in pink)

ch 2 (bottom of neck)

turn, sc 2 (incr on both ends of each row)

turn, sc 4

turn, sc 6

turn, sc 8

ch 27, join to other end of row to form a loop.

sc for 8 rows, with the last st of the 8th row a sl st instead of sc.

turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc 16, sc2tog

turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc 14, sc2tog...

Continue in this manner till

turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc 6, sc2tog. Bind off. (top of neck)

Ears (make 2 in pink)

ch 2

turn, sc 2

turn, sc 4

turn, ch 1, 2sc, sc2tog, 2sc

turn, ch 1, 2sc, sc2tog twice

turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc

turn, ch 1, sc2tog

Bind off, leaving long tail. Weave the tail through the edge (doesn't matter which) of the ear to emerge at the bottom, then pinch the base of the ear to form a crease and sew to the head.

Horn (in white)

ch 10, join to make a circle

sc 10

sc 10

sc2tog, sc 8

sc 9

sc 1, sc2tog, sc 6

sc 8

sc 2, sc2tog, sc4

sc 7

sc 3 sc2tog, sc 2

sc2tog 3 times, bind off.

Poke a little stuffing into the horn with a pencil/ chopstick.

Assembly:

Embroider a jolly face on the unicorn and sew his ears and horn on in the appropriate place. Sew the head to the top of the neck tube, matching the pointy bit to the tip of the head. Stuff the neck tube then sew to the body, matching the pointy end to the 'point' on the body. (The head will not necessarily face to the front. That is okay.)

Thread joint the legs to the body and use buttons if you like. (The linked tutorial includes both thread and button jointing techniques.)

Finally cut even lengths of white yarn and knot* to his neck and bum to make a mane and tail. The length is up to you!

*Fold the piece of yarn in half, partly draw bight through the neck along where you want the mane to be, and then pull the two ends through the bight to secure.

NOTE IF YOU ARE GIVING THIS TO A CHILD:

-Skip the buttons and sew the legs firmly onto the body instead of threadjointing. Threadjointing is not as secure as safety joints, but it is easier to repair.

-Use proper knots to do the mane and tail so the yarn cannot be easily picked out.

Cloud (make 2)

First half: 

6 sc into magic loop

12 (increase evenly for this row and next row)

18

2sc, sc 3, 2sc, 2 sc, sc 3, 2 sc, sc 3, 2 sc, 2 sc, sc 3. (24st)

sc 3, 2sc, sc 2, 2 sc, 2 sc, sc 2, 2sc, sc 4, 2 sc, sc 2, 2sc, 2sc, sc 2, 2 sc, sc 1 (32 st)

sc 6, 2sc, sc 2, 2sc, sc 12, 2sc, sc 2, 2sc, sc 6 (36st)

incr evenly 42 st (every 7 st)

48 st (every 8 st)

54 st (increase in the following manner, sc  4, [2sc, sc 9] repeat till last 5 st, 2sc, sc 4

60 st (every 10 st)

end of first half

sc 4 rows plain

Decrease (reverse order of first half)

Stuff and then leave a long tail. sew tightly around the edges with 6 large stitches to cinch them into a cloud shape.

Rainbow

ch 20 st (I can't remember if I used more than this, you may want to adjust it if it is too long or short)

crochet plain:

2 rows blue

2 rows green

2 rows yellow

4 rows red

2 rows yellow

2 rows green

2 rows blue.

Sew the blue ends together to make a tube and stuff like a cannelloni.

Whipstitch flat side of clouds to either side of the rainbow sausage. Squidge it all together to make a U shape and sew the clouds securely where they touch so it all stays put.

YAY PINK FLUFFY UNICORN DANCING ON RAINBOW!

Nat enjoying his present (: 

Messing around. 

Reuben and his other friend, Steve the Urinal Cake Dragon. Don't ask. I... have strange friends.

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This pattern is not to be used for commercial purposes. Copies can be made and shared freely as long as the source/ author is acknowledged. You may not sell the finished product unless it is for charity. The product must be labelled accordingly with pattern source.

Unicorn and Rainbow pattern by Charmaine Eng is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://crookedneedle.blogspot.sg/.