#FASTEN Growlithe!

Why, hello there! You weren't expecting to hear from me so soon, right? Things are a little crazy all over the world right now! Where I live is no exception; schools are currently closed for Spring Break over here in Toronto, Canada. However, they will remain closed for an additional 2 weeks in an attempt to slow the spread of covid-19. I hope you guys are all staying safe and practicing Social Distancing!!


While it definitely sucks being cooped up at home, it also means I get tons of time to crochet! And, well? Crochet I have! This Growlithe is a project that I will be exchanging with another local artist! I won't go into too much detail now (as I will be making an official post/announcement very soon), but there are some really exciting things to come for the blog/Instagram!!!

I have been working on Growlithe all week and I'm simply over the moon about the way he turned out. :) This Growlithe's pattern is the brainchild of the amazing aphid777 on Deviant Art (or @evwin7565 on Instagram). She is crazy talented and one of my favourite crochet/amigurumi artists for SURE. Her projects are always SO detailed and beautiful, so do make sure you check out her awesome work!!! If you want to see what aphid777's original Baby Growlithe looks like, click here.


I made a couple of changes to my Growlithe. For starters, I decided to give Growlithe some happy eyes and smile. To be completely honest with you all, I was hella intimidated to try and needle felt the eyes the same way that aphid777 did. The original eyes are absolutely stunning, but they require the utmost patience and attention to detail, too. I'm not super duper confident in my needle felting abilities yet, so I tend to avoid shapes that require lots of symmetry.


I also decided to crochet Growlithe's muzzle instead of needle felting it on. The needle felting in aphid777's original looks incredible and adds so much shape and personality to her finished work.I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to do the source material justice, so I crocheted it instead! I actually like the way that Growlithe turned out with the crocheted muzzle!


To make up for my fear of failure for the muzzle and eyes, I decided to needle felt a little smile, because why not?! He looks so happy, it makes me happy seeing him grin :')


Aphid777 didn't release a complete pattern for Baby Growlithe per se. What I ended up doing was following this pattern for Baby Bulbasaur for Growlithe's head, body, and legs. Then, I went ahead and designed/crocheted the ears and muzzle on my own. Scroll down if you're interested in seeing the pattern for both of these parts!

Please note that the original pattern (and all credit) belongs to Aphid777! Here are just some adaptations that I've made for my own Growlithe <3. Enjoy!

Muzzle

1 ch 17

2 16 sc, 3 sc into the next stitch (do NOT turn your work)

3 14 sc, 3 sc into the next stitch

4 3 dc, hdc, 2 sc, 4 tc, 2 sc, hdc, 3 dc, sc, 3 sc into the next stitch

5 3 sc, hdc, 8 dc, hdc, 3sc, 3 sc into the next stitch

6 19 sc, 3 sc into the next stitch

7 18 sc

8 slst into the next stitch and FO.

Ears (make 2)

1 ch 6

2 4 sc, 3 sc into the next stitch (do NOT turn your work)

3 3 sc, 3 sc into the next stitch

4 sc around (12)

5 sc around (12)

6 4 sc, dec x 2 (10)

7 flatten piece. Crocheting through 2 layers, sc (5) across

8 FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing. 

For round 2, please a stitch marker in the
2nd sc of your increase. (Green stitch marker)

For round 3, place a stitch marker in the
2nd sc of your increase. (Red stitch marker)

Starting with round 4, place a stitch marker in
the first stitch of each round.

For round 7, flatten your piece. Then, do 5 sc
across to close up the ears. Do not stuff.

Thanks for checking the post! Don't forget to check out Aphid777's incredible gallery on Deviant Art! Stay safe, stay indoors & crochet your way through this tough time! <3

Cindy.