Lil' Chipmunks

Change of pace and some cute little critters! One of the dialysis patients requested a chipmunk to give to his wife for Christmas, as she has been feeding a little chipmunk all summer. So I set to work finding a pattern that appealed to me, then went searching for just the right yarns to complete her. I am most pleased with the results. So pleased, I made 2 of them! 

This is a free pattern, if you are so inclined. Really cute chipmunk to crochet It is crochet. I used a 3.75 mm hook. Normally I use a larger hook for my amigurumi toys, but the yarn I found in the perfect colour was just DK, and it was not tight enough with a larger hook. The body is done in Mellowspun DK by Mary Maxim in bronze. There were many small parts to sew together, but I find when I do the sewing as I go, it is not really a big deal. Other than the body colour, the rest of the yarn was bits I had left from other projects.

The pattern calls for just a small tail, but I opted to make a longer tail. For one, I crocheted 8 stitches in a circle until it was the length required, then did a decrease row and then closed the opening. I stuffed it lightly, and after sewing the tail onto the body, I crocheted the stripes right onto the chipmunk. That is the chipmunk on the right below.

For the next chipmunk, I crocheted the tail as a rectangle, again 8 stitches wide. After the body colour was done, I went along both sides with a row of black in single crochet. I then added a row of white single crochet but I also joined the black edges together to form a tube which was then sewn onto the body. For the body stripes, this time  I crocheted a long chain of single crochet the length needed to go down the back, and up the other side. The stripes were 3 rows of single crochet .... black, white, then black again. Once the stripes were finished, I sewed them onto the body, starting just behind the ears. This is the chipmunk on the left, below.

Both ways of making the tail and the stripes gave a nice result and were about the same in difficulty to make. I embroidered the eyes by making black knots which I secured at the neck before sewing the head and body together. I also gave both chipmunks a pink bow, since the request was for girl chipmunks! :D

Maybe you would like to create a few of these very sweet little creatures for someone you know as well!