Giraffe Photo Prop

How amazing is it when you can take a single motif and transform it into a bunch of different animals!!

I’ve taken the same motif and turned it into a turtle, a ladybug, a bee, and now a giraffe!

Materials required for pentagon:

• Hook sizes G and E
• tapestry needle
• Red Heart Super Saver in Coffee and Gold

Note: To make this prop larger, you would need to size your hook up. For each hook size up, you can add an approximate half to three quarters of an inch to the finished project.

Pentagon Motif: Make 6

Stitches used:

• sl st (slip stitch),
• ch (chain),
• dc (double crochet),
• fpdc (front post double crochet: complete the stitch around the post of the next indicated stitch by inserting the hook from front to back to front around the post),
• v-st (v-stitch: [dc, ch 1, dc] in same space).

Using Coffee, Ch 3, sl st to 1^st ch to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc), v-st 4 times in ring, dc in ring, ch 1, sl st to top of ch 3. (10 dc)

Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as dc), fpdc around ch 3 from round 1, fpdc around next dc, *v-st in next ch 1 sp, fpdc around next dc, fpdc around next dc, rep from * around to 1^st ch 1 space, dc in 1^st ch 1 sp, ch 1, sl st to top of ch 3. (10 fpdc, 10 dc)

Change color to Gold. Round 3: Ch 3 (counts as dc), fpdc around ch 3 from round 2, fpdc around next dc, fpdc around next dc, fpdc around next dc, *v-st in next ch 1 sp, fpdc around next dc, fpdc around next dc, fpdc around next dc, fpdc around next dc, rep from * around to 1^st ch 1 space, dc in 1^st ch 1 sp, ch 1, sl st to top of ch 3. Finish off. (20 fpdc, 10 dc)

Round 4: Ch 3 (counts as dc), fpdc around ch 3 from round 3, fpdc around next 5 dc, *v-st in next ch 1 sp,  fpdc around next 6 dc, rep from * around to 1^st ch 1 space, dc in 1^st ch 1 sp, ch 1, sl st to top of ch 3. Finish off. (30 fpdc, 10 dc)

Weave in all tails before moving on to next motif.

Assembly:

Start with your center motif. Arrange the other 5 motifs around the center and prepare to assemble.

You will be working the assembly with only your center motif. All flanking motifs will be joined by one side to the center first, (we will join the rest later).

Take your center motif and any flanking motif and place them wrong sides together.

Note: Keep in mind that your two motifs will be places wrong sides together, so the back loops will be the two loops closest to each other.

Using an E hook and your gold yarn, join in ch 1 space of both motifs. Working back loops only, *sl st across to next ch 1 sp. Sl st in ch 1 space and arrange your next flanking motif—wrong sides together, with the center motif. Sl st in ch 1 space of new motif and center motif. Continue from * until all flanking motifs are joined by one side to center motif.

Just like with the ladybug prop, the next thing we will need to do is to sew up the rest of the seams between each flanking motif.

There are two ways you can do this. Remember: when you join your motifs you want to make sure you are holding them wrong sides together.

The hard way: Since your yarn is already attached to your hook, simply sl st that first seam between the flanking pentagons closed–taking care to hold the motifs wrong sides together, finish off. Insert your hook into both ch 1 spaces at the base (close to the center pentagon) of the next two flanking pentagons. Attach your contrasting yarn with a sl st, sl st in the back loops only to the end of the pentagons and finish off. Continue around until all seams have been slip stitched closed. Weave in all those loose ends.

The easy way: The other way you could do it would involve a tapestry needle. Since your yarn is already attached to your hook, sl st that first seam between the flanking pentagons closed, finish off. Thread your tapestry needle with a long length of contrasting yarn and simply whip stitch the rest of your seams shut–taking care to whip-stitch in the back loops only and making sure that all of your motifs are being held wrong sides together. In order to move your needle, simply thread it under your project, hiding the extra yarn in the undersides of your stitches.

If you’ve joined your motifs the hard way, now would be a good time to weave in all those loose tails in the center. Don’t worry about the loose tails that are to the outside of the shell because we’ll crochet right over them when we do the border.

Now we’re on the home stretch! The only thing left to do with this blanket is the border and the neck.

In order to put a border around our motifs, we’ll need to join red with a sl st in any ch 1 space located in a point of a pentagon (in other words, NOT in a valley portion where you have two ch 1 spaces side by side), ch 2,  dc in the same space as join, *dc all the way across to the next ch 1 space (8 dc), 2 dc in the ch 1 space, 2 dc in the next ch 1 sp, dc all the way across to the next ch 1 space (8 dc),  2 dc in the next ch 1 sp, continue from * around, join in the top of the ch 2. Finish off and weave in any remaining tails.

To create the neck portion of this blanket, you need to find the top pentagon and count the top most 8 stitches.

Sl st in the 8th stitch, ch 3, dc across the next 7 sts, ch 3, turn.

dc across the next 7 sts, ch 3, turn.

dc across the next 7 sts, finish off and weave in tail.

The last part of this giraffe is really what takes the entire prop to another level. It’s the hat!

Giraffe Photo Prop Hat (Pattern by Michelle Doolittle)

Materials used-

• Red Heart Super Saver, Gold( less than 1/4 of the skein)
• Red Heart Super Saver, Coffee( very small amount)
• Small amount of stuffing for horns
• Crochet Hook size H/8 (5mm)
• Yarn needle

Stiches used-

• Double crochet (dc)
• Single crochet (sc)
• Single crochet decrease (sc dec)
• Slip Stitch (sl)
• Chain (ch)
• Magic ring

*Please note*-

For the horns and ears I chose not to join rounds, I worked them in a spiral using a marker to keep track of rounds. If you would like to join rounds you can do so by joining with a slip stich and chaining 1. For the Beanie the chain 2 at the beginning of each round does not count as a stitch.

Beanie with cuff:

with Gold

Rnd 1: make a magic ring, ch 2, 10 dc into the magic ring, pull tight, join with a sl st to the top of the 1st dc.

Rnd 2: ch 2, 2 dc in each st around, join. (20 dc)

Rnd 3: ch 2, dc in first st, 2 dc in next st, * dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, repeat from* around, join. (30 dc)

Rnd 4: ch 2, dc in first 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, *dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, repeat from* around, join. (40 dc)

Rnds 5- 10: ch 2, dc in each st around, join. (40 dc)

Rnd 11: ch 1, turn. (work this round in back loops only) sc in each st around, join. (40 sc)

Rnds 12-14: ch 1, sc in each stitch around, join and finish off. (40 sc)

Horns: make 2

with Coffee

Rnd 1: make a magic ring, ch 1, 6 sc in magic ring, pull tight, join with a sl st to the top of the 1st sc.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around. (12 sc)

Rnd 3: sc in first st, 2 sc in next st, *sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* around. (18 sc)

Rnd 4: sc in each st around. (18 sc)

Rnd 5: sc in first st, sc dec, * sc in next st, sc dec, repeat from* around. (12 sc)

Rnd 6: sc in each st around changing to gold in last st. (12 sc)

Rnd 7-10: sc in each st around, at the end of rnd 10 sl st to next st, finish off leaving a long tail for sewing to the hat.

Ears: make 2

with Gold

Rnd 1: make a magic ring, ch 1, 6 sc in magic ring, pull tight, join with a sl st to the top of the 1st sc.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in st around. (12 sc)

Rnd 3: sc in each st around. (12 sc)

Rnd 4: sc in first st, 2 sc in next st, * sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* around. (18 sc)

Rnd 5: sc in each st around. (18 sc)

Rnd 6: sc in each of the first 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, * sc in each each of the next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, Repeat from* around. (24 sc)

Rnds 7-10: sc in each st around. (24 sc)

Rnd 11: sc in first 2 sts, sc dec, * sc in next 2 sts, sc dec, Reapeat from* around. (18 sc)

Rnd 12: sc in each st around. (18 sc)

Rnd 13: sc in first st, sc dec, * sc in next st, sc dec, repeat from* around. (12 sc)

Rnd 14: sc in each st around, sl st to next st, finish off leaving a long tail for sewing to hat.

Finishing:

Lightly stuff each horn and sew to hat close to the top using photo as a guide for placement.

Flatten ears and sew to hat using photo as a guide for placement.

Weave in all end securely and enjoy!

Tagged: Crochet Fashions, Hat Patterns, HodgePodge Crochet, Pentagon Motif, photo prop, Shop HodgePodge Crochet, Textured Stitch, Tutorial