#FASTEN Tika the Chihuahua!
Hi friends! Since I've been spending a great deal of time at home (as we all are, I'm sure), I have been banging out my #pinsforpals projects super quickly! Yesterday, I finished sewing together my latest project: Tika the Chihuahua!!
The artist I'm trading with this time around is @lstreasurechest! She's a local artist who makes custom jewelry! She's also a super talented baker and makes custom cakes, too! Check out some of her offerings on Etsy or her custom cakes here at @sweet_cakes424.
Anywho, @lstreasurechest has an adorable 8-year-old Chihuahua named Tika and she asked me to make an amigurumi version of her. I was really excited to do it because I've never really worked on a project like this before! I love making plushies, but I usually do fictional characters. This would be my first attempt at making a semi-realistic animal. It would also provide a bit of a challenge by way of colour changes. I am not the most proficient colour-changer. In fact, I'd say I try to avoid it at all costs when I can! Tika's got a beautiful black and tan colouring, so I knew I couldn't escape it 😂!
I made Tika using a lovely pattern by Doriyumi! She has a free Chihuahua pattern on her website called Lucky the Chihuahua! If you are a dog lover or have a chihuahua at home, it's the perfect pattern to help you get started. Do check out her work and show her some love! I also recommended checking out Ravelry to see people's projects using this pattern. Some of the projects are painfully cute!!!
As usual, I've made a few changes to the original pattern to help capture Tika's essence a bit more. If you're interested in seeing these pattern changes, scroll on down and let's get started!
Please note that the original pattern (and all credit) belongs to Doriyumi! For the original pattern, check out Doriyumi's blog post. Here are just some modifications that I made for Tika.
Yarn used
Red Heart Super Saver in BLACK
Impeccable Yarn Solid in HEATHER
Impeccable Yarn Solid in SOFT TAUPE
Major Modifications
These are portions of Tika's body that I redesigned!
Eyebrows (Make 2)
With heather yarn,
1 MC, 4 sc (4)
2 sc, inc x 2 (6)
slst into the next stitch and FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing.
slst into the next stitch and FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing.
With black yarn,
1 MC, 4 sc (4)
2 sc, inc x 2 (6)
3 sc around (6)
4 2 sc, inc x 2 (8)
5 sc around (8)
6 3 sc, inc x 2 (10)
7 sc around (10)
8 4 sc, inc x 2 (12)
9 5 sc, inc x 2 (14)
10 sc around (14)
FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing.
5 sc around (8)
6 3 sc, inc x 2 (10)
7 sc around (10)
8 4 sc, inc x 2 (12)
9 5 sc, inc x 2 (14)
10 sc around (14)
FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing.
Inner Ear Details (Make 2)
With soft taupe yarn,
1 ch 5, TURN
2 3 sc, 5 sc in the next stitch
- DO NOT TURN - Working your way around the foundation chain,
- DO NOT TURN - Working your way around the foundation chain,
3 3 sc, sc into the first stitch of the previous round
FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing.
Snout (Make 1)
With heather yarn,
Hind Legs (Make 2) |
| 5 sc into the last stitch of round 2 as shown in the photo (with the stitch marker). |
 |
| Don't forget to single crochet into the first stitch of round 2. This will give your ear detail a tear-drop shape! |
With heather yarn,
1 MC, 6 sc (6)
2 inc x 6 (12)
3 sc around (12)
4 2 sc, inc, sc
- change to black yarn -
sc, inc
- change to heather yarn -
2 sc, inc, 2 sc, inc (16)
5 6 sc
- change to black yarn -
3 sc
- change to heather yarn -
7 sc
slst into the next stitch and FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing
3 sc around (12)
4 2 sc, inc, sc
- change to black yarn -
sc, inc
- change to heather yarn -
2 sc, inc, 2 sc, inc (16)
5 6 sc
- change to black yarn -
3 sc
- change to heather yarn -
7 sc
slst into the next stitch and FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing
With Heather yarn,
1 MC, 5 sc (5)
2 inc x 5 (10)
3 sc around (10)
4 3 sc, dec x 2 (8)
5 sc around (8)
6 3 sc
- change to black yarn -
2 sc
- change to heather yarn -
3 sc (8)
7 2 sc, inc
- change to black yarn -
3 inc, 2 sc (12)
8 2 sc, 8 inc, 2 sc (20)
9-11 sc around for 3 rounds (20)
12 3 sc, dec x 4 (16)
14 dec x 8 (8)
15 dec x 4 (4)
FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing.
Minor Modifications
I followed a majority of the original pattern for these portions of the body. Since this is not my pattern, I will only share the colour mapping and NOT the actual pattern instructions. To see the full pattern instructions, please visit Doriyumi's original blogpost.
I did not use typical crochet conventions for my colour mapping. Here is a table to help you better navigate my notes:
Head
Rounds 1-11 are crocheted in black yarn. The light-coloured accents are in the colour Heather. For rounds 12-19, here is the colour scheme I used:
Body
Rounds 1-12 are crocheted in black yarn. The light-coloured accents are in the colour Heather. For rounds 12-19, here is the colour scheme I used:
Front legs
Rounds 1-7 are crocheted in Heather yarn. The light-coloured accents are in the colour Heather. For rounds 8-11, here is the colour scheme I used:
ROUND 8
Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my pattern modifications. Be sure to drop by Doriyumi's blog and say hello! :) I'll see y'all soon for #PINSforPALS 4!
6 3 sc
- change to black yarn -
2 sc
- change to heather yarn -
3 sc (8)
7 2 sc, inc
- change to black yarn -
3 inc, 2 sc (12)
8 2 sc, 8 inc, 2 sc (20)
9-11 sc around for 3 rounds (20)
12 3 sc, dec x 4 (16)
14 dec x 8 (8)
15 dec x 4 (4)
FO, leaving a yarn tail for sewing.
Minor Modifications
I followed a majority of the original pattern for these portions of the body. Since this is not my pattern, I will only share the colour mapping and NOT the actual pattern instructions. To see the full pattern instructions, please visit Doriyumi's original blogpost.
I did not use typical crochet conventions for my colour mapping. Here is a table to help you better navigate my notes:
Shorthand
|
Meaning
|
| x | single crochet |
| n | increase |
| v | invisible decrease |
| | | the middle of the piece |
Rounds 1-11 are crocheted in black yarn. The light-coloured accents are in the colour Heather. For rounds 12-19, here is the colour scheme I used:
ROUND 12
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 13
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x | v | x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 14
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x | x | x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 15
x x x v x v x v x v x v x | x | x v x v x v x v x v x x x
ROUND 16
x x x x v x v x v x | v x v x v x v x x x
ROUND 17
x x x x x v x v | x v x v x x x x
ROUND 18
x x v x x v x x v x x v
ROUND 19
v v v v v v
Rounds 1-12 are crocheted in black yarn. The light-coloured accents are in the colour Heather. For rounds 12-19, here is the colour scheme I used:
ROUND 13
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 14
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 15
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 16
x x x x x x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 17
x x x x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 18
x x x v x x x v | x x x v x x x
ROUND 19
x x v x x v | x x v x x v
Rounds 1-7 are crocheted in Heather yarn. The light-coloured accents are in the colour Heather. For rounds 8-11, here is the colour scheme I used:
ROUND 8
x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 9
x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 10
x x x x x x x x x
ROUND 11
x x v x x v x
*I ended the legs with round 11*
Finishing touches
Use a pair of tweezers to remove stray poly fill on your chihuahua's body. This is especially important if you crocheted using black yarn!
Use a felting needle to gently nudge certain parts of your amigurumi into the right spot. If you find certain parts to be to bulky after sewing, giving your piece a few stabs with the felting needle will sort that out.
Use a felting needle as needed to fill in blanks to smooth out the look of your colour changes.
Finishing touches
Use a felting needle to gently nudge certain parts of your amigurumi into the right spot. If you find certain parts to be to bulky after sewing, giving your piece a few stabs with the felting needle will sort that out.
Use a felting needle as needed to fill in blanks to smooth out the look of your colour changes.
That's all there is to it!
Cindy.
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