NanoPants Dance
Brain Slug
Shown with antennae and headband.
As worn, sans antennae.
A quick note on copyright:
As the designer of this pattern, I would love to hear your comments on it. If it inspires you to try your hand at designing, so much the better--I'm an engineer, not an artist, so if I can do it, anyone can.
I would also prefer that you contact me and request permission before distributing this pattern to a large group or selling hats made with this pattern. Doesn't mean I'll say no, but I'd like to keep track of these things.
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A Futurama-style brain slug. Worn with a headband in a color that matches your hair, the effect can be startling. Knits up quick for Halloween parties and gifts.
What you'll need:
-Ability to do, or willingness to learn: Casting on, knitting, purling, working in the round, increases and decreases, intarsia, picking up stitches, duplicate stitching, I-cord knitting, and stuffed-animal construction.
-Less than 50 yards of bright green yarn
-Very small amounts (less than 5 yards) of white and black yarn. A few yards of yarn for the headband.
-double-pointed needles, a size or two smaller than recommended for your yarn. I used worsted weight yarn and size 6 needles, and knit somewhat tightly.
-Yarn needle to weave in ends.
-Stuffing. I use that cheap Polyfil stuff or scraps of yarn.
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Notes:
The cast-on should be done loosely enough to put stuffing through the hole. After stuffing, it will be sewn shut. Leave a good length of yarn at the cast on end so you can sew the hole shut.
The brainslug is constructed by knitting a flat circle for the base, then creating what is in essence a tiny hat. The legs, antennae, and headband are created by picking up stitches from the plane of flat stockinette and working perpendicularly from there.
Instructions:
Base:
Cast 8 stitches onto double-pointed needles, and connect the ends without twisting the stitches. work two rounds plain, then increase by 8 stitches every other round until there are 40 stitches. Work one round plain, then purl one round (this provides a "folding point" from which the visible portion can be worked).
Head:
Work about plain with the green yarn until what you have is slightly wider than it is tall (for me this was about 15 rows).
Now it comes time to make a choice--do you want to do the eye in duplicate stitch or intarsia? I did the white part in intarsia and the black in duplicate stitch, but if you really love stitching you may want to do both that way.
True intarsia in the round doesn't work, but there are a few ways to cheat, which can be found by searching the phrase "intarsia in the round". I chose to strand across the inside by loosely bringing the white yarn from the left side to the right when I reached the spot where I started working the white yarn. Pick your poison.
Place a marker. The descriptions below begin at this marker.
Eye:
Round 1: k3 green, k4 white, work green for the rest of the row.
Round 2: k1 green, k8 white, work green for the rest of the row.
Round 3: k4 white, k2 black, k4 white, work green for the rest of the row.
Round 4: k4 white, k2 black, k4 white, work green for the rest of the row.
Round 5: k1 green, k8 white, work green for the rest of the row.
Round 6:k3 green, k4 white, work green for the rest of the row.
Cut the white and black yarns, if you used them, and weave in the ends now because you won't be able to access them once you close up the top.
Work 2 rows plain, then decrease by 4 stitches every other row until 4 stitches remain. Cut the yarn about a foot away from the work, weave this into the last 4 stitches, and weave in the ends.
Antennae:
Pick up 3 stitches in a spot slightly to one side and towards the front of the very top. In other words, if I'm looking down at my brain slug, and the eye is at 6 o'clock, the antennae sprout out at about 4 and 8 o'clock, a little in from where the tip of the hour hand would be. (note: A variety of effects could be created depending on where you choose to place the antennae. I think of placement of facial features as being the creative component to toymaking.)
Knit these three stitches as I-cord until the antennae is long enough. To make the bobble on the end, increase once in each of the 3 stitches, leaving 6. Work one row plain, then do two triple-decreases, leaving 2 stitches. Cut the yarn about a foot away from the work, and weave these two stitches into the bottom of the bobble, making a semi-spherical bump on the top of the antennae.
Repeat this process for the second antennae.
Headband:
On one side of the brainslug's base (underneath the purled row), pick up 4 stitches, in a yarn that coordinates with your hair color. Work these 4 stitches as I-cord until it's long enough to fit around your head. Cut the yarn about a foot from the work, and weave the live stitches to the base of the brainslug opposite the side on which you started the I-cord.
Legs:
(note: I stuffed my brainslug before knitting on the legs. I found this gave me a firmer surface from which I could more easily pick up stitches, but your mileage may vary. If you would like to do this, skip to the finishing section, then come back here.)
With the green yarn, pick up 3 or 4 stitches on the outer edge of the base of the brainslug, just beneath the purled row, in a spot where you'd like a leg to be. Work these stitches as I cord for about 10 rows. Cut the yarn about 12 inches from the work, weave the yarn into the live stitches, and carefully bring the yarn down the center of the I-cord. This can seem a little fiddly at first, but it makes the legs a little stiffer, and I find I can mold I-cord slightly when I do this.
Repeat until you like the number of legs your brainslug has.
Finishing:
Stuff your brainslug via the hole created by casting on. (a tip for people new to making stuffed toys: stuffing usually compacts over time, so put in enough stuffing for your brainslug to be slightly firmer than you'd like it to be long-term. This process always uses more stuffing than you'd think.)
When your brainslug is firm enough, take the dangling yarn from the cast on and weave it through the stitches around this hole several times and pull tight to close it. Tie a knot if it doesn't seem secure.
If there is a part of the eye you didn't make using intarsia, use duplicate stitch or embroidery to put it on.
Weave in and trim any remaining ends.
Wear it with pride.
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A quick note on copyright:
As the designer of this pattern, I would love to hear your comments on it. If it inspires you to try your hand at designing, so much the better--I'm an engineer, not an artist, so if I can do it, anyone can.
I would also prefer that you contact me and request permission before distributing this pattern to a large group or selling hats made with this pattern. Doesn't mean I'll say no, but I'd like to keep track of these things.
