Hi, Knitters,
Remember this little guy? Well, the rights have just reverted back to me from Unicorn Books and I have just added the downloadable pattern for Little Dragon to my Ravelry Pattern Shop!
Little Dragon is knit in an interesting way, all in one piece from the bottom up to the tip of the nose. Then the arms, feet, tail, ears and wings are all picked up and added on. I used safety eyes but you could embroider on eyes just as easily.
Little Dragon is knit with 2 strands of Opal sock yarn held doubled throughout the project. This makes the yarn close to a worsted weight so you could use a worsted weight yarn as well.
The fun thing is that I can imagine dragons in all sorts of colors, red, purple, blue, multi, striped, handspun....
Here is some information you might like to know about Little Dragon:
Size: 6 1/4 inches tall
Needles: US size 5 dpns
Gauge: 6 sts per inch in stockinette stitch
Yarn: sock or fingering weight held doubled, about 40 grams needed
6mm safety eyes (optional)
The Little Dragon pattern is a pint-sized knitting adventure. You get to use all sorts of fun techniques and the construction may surprise you. I came up with an unusual way to get the head to turn that is very simple and effective. It keeps the head slightly mobile which gives the dragon loads of personality.
One thing I don't have a photo of is something cute you can do with Little Dragon. He looks sort of baby-ish and young already but when I was at TNNA at the Unicorn booth they showed me that you could put the arms up and tuck the nose in so it looks like the dragon is covering his eyes. I loved this and didn't even think of it. Then the dragon becomes sort of bashful and shy. I think kids would really like this.
Okay, and now for the Mini-Little Dragon! I made a much smaller version of the Little Dragon, so the Mini-Little Dragon it is. This tiny blue dragon measures about 3 3/4 inches tall and sits easily in the palm of your hand. It couldn't be any sweeter.
Friends forever, these two! I know there are so many dragon-themed books for children, teens, and adults. This little dragon would make such a sweet gift for any dragon fans out there. Little Dragon has so much personality. I just love this little guy so much.
Now for the Mini-Little Dragon! Yes, I made a mini! I am teaching the Little Dragon as a vehicle for some fantastic knitting techniques and toy knitting technique workshops all over the place. I decided to add a mini-version for the class.
I am posting the simple modifications to make a mini-version of Little Dragon here on this post only. I will put the link to this blog post on the Ravelry Project Page for the Little Dragon pattern for your reference.
Here are the modifications (to the purchased pattern) you need to make a perfect Mini-Little Dragon:
To make a Mini-Little
Dragon:
Needles:
US size 1 set of 4 dpns
Gauge:
7.5 sts per inch
Yarn:
Opal Sock Yarn Solids Series or any other fingering weight or sock yarn (yarn
is worked with 1 strand instead of 2 strands held together for the original
Little Dragon)
·
You will need approximately 15 grams of fingering weight to make the
mini-dragon.
Work
the pattern exactly the same (using 1 strand of fingering weight on US size 1
dpns) as for the original Little Dragon except for these places:
Snout:
Rnds
8-12: knit
Arms:
Knit
every round until the arm measures 1 ¼
inches from the picked up sts.
Left Wing:
Row
12: knit (leave out rows 13 and 14)
Right Wing:
Row
12: knit (leave out rows 13 and 14)
I hope you have a great weekend ahead. It is supposed to warm up a bit around here which I'm looking forward to.
best, susie
