More
than 3 years after I created my elephant
hot air balloon mobile (currently my most popular pattern by a
LONG way) I have decided to return to the world of baby mobiles and
create this night time mobile.
Difficulty:
Easy - medium
You will need:
- 4.5mm crochet hook
- 2.5mm crochet hook
- dk yarn in brown, white, black and yellow. You may want to use slightly different shades of brown to make the owl and the balloon.
- Aran weight yarn in cream and dark blue (or whatever colour you want to make the balloon)
- darning needle to sew up
- toy stuffing
- 8" embroidery hoop
- black paint (I used poster paint with a little bit of PVA mixed in to help it stick but acrylic should work as well)
Note:
"sc5" is shorthand for "sc in each of the next 5sts"
"sc5" is shorthand for "sc in each of the next 5sts"
For
the basket:
With
brown yarn and 2.5mm hook:
Make
a magic loop with 6 sc
Round
1: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round
2: sc in first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
Round
3: sc in first 2 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (24sc)
Round
4: sc in first 3 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (30sc)
Round
5: sc in first 4 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (36sc)
Round
6: sc in first 5 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (42sc)
Rounds
7 - 16:(10 rounds) sc in each sc (42sc)
Round
17: ch3, dc in 2nd sc from base of chain, (ch1, skip 1 st,
dc in next st) rep to end, ch1, slip the 2nd chain st of
first ch3 you made
Fasten
off
For
the base:
Make
a magic loop with 6 sc
Round
1: 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round
2: sc in first st, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
Round
3: sc in first 2 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (24sc)
Round
4: sc in first 3 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (30sc)
Round
5: sc in first 4 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (36sc)
Round
6: sc in first 5 sts, 2sc in the next st, rep to end (42sc)
Cut
out a circle of card the same diameter as the base of the basket and
place it in the bottom to keep it rigid. Place this inside the bottom
of the basket, then place the base section on top of this before
sewing it in place.
To
make the cords which connect the basket to the balloon make a slip st
into one of the chain sts (Not chain spaces otherwise it is likely to
come undone) around the top of the basket. Ch15, then fasten off,
leaving a long tail to sew onto balloon.
Repeat
this at equal intervals around the top edge of the basket. There
should be 4 chain spaces in between each of the cords, except for at
the front of the basket, where there will be 5.
For the double coloured balloon (Make 3 in dark blue and three in cream):
With
aran yarn and a 4.5mm hook ch5
Row
1: sc in the 2nd chain st from hook, then sc in every following chain
st to end . ch1, turn
Row
2 - 4: (3 rows): sc in each st, ch1, turn (4sc)
Row
5: sc in next st, sc2 in next st , sc both rem sts, ch1, turn (5sc)
Row
6: sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, sc in rem 2 sts ch1, turn (6sc)
Row
7: sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, sc in rem 3 sts ch1, turn (7sc)
Row
8: sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next st, sc in rem 3 sts ch1, turn (8sc)
Row
9: sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next st, sc in rem 4 sts, ch1, turn (9sc)
Rows
10 - 17: (8 rows) sc in each st, ch1, turn (9sc)
Row
18: sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog in next st, sc in rem 3 sts, ch1, turn
(8sc)
Row
19: sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog in next st, sc in rem 3 sts, ch1, turn
(7sc)
Row
20: sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog in next st, sc in rem 2 sts, ch1, turn
(6sc)
Row
21: sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog in next st, sc in rem 2 sts, ch1, turn
(5sc)
Row
22: sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog in next st, sc in rem st, ch1, turn
(4sc)
Row
23: sc in next st, sc2tog in next st, sc in rem st, ch1, turn (3sc)
Row
24: sc in first st, sc2tog in rem st, ch1, turn (2sc)
Row
25: sc2tog (1sc)
Fasten
off.
Sew
all of the long edges of these sections together, alternating the
colours. You may want to turn the balloon inside out after you have
sewn the pieces together so that the stitching isn't so visible
(depending on how you usually sew your crochet together)
For
the stars (Make 2 for each star and make 6 stars):
With
white dk yarn and a 2.5mm hook make a magic loop with 5sc
Round
1: Make 2sc in each st (10sc)
Round
2: sc in the first st, make 2sc in the next st, rep to end (15sc)
Round
3: sc in the first 2sts, make 2sc in the next st, rep to end (20sc)
Round
4: (Sc, ch1, hdc, ch1, sc, slip1) 5 times (30sts (including chain
sts))
Round
5: (Sc2, ch1, hdc, ch1, sc2, slip1)5 times (40sts)
Round
6: (Slip1, sc2, ch1, hdc, ch1, sc2, slip2) 5 times (50sts)
Fasten
off
Sew
the start shapes together in pairs and stuff them firmly
For the owl:
Use
a 2.5mm hook and brown dk yarn unless otherwise specified
For
the body:
Make
a magic loop with 6sc
Round
1: male 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round
2: sc in the first st, then make 2sc in the next st (18sc)
Round
3: sc in the first 2 sts, then make 2sc in the next st (24sc)
Round
4: sc in the first 3 sts, then make 2sc in the next st (30sc)
Rounds
5 - 8: (4 rounds) sc in each st
Round
9: sc in the first 8 sts,sc2tog, rep 3 times to end (27sc)
Rounds
10 - 12: (3 rounds) sc in each st
Round
13: sc in the first 7sts, sc2tog, rep 3 times to end (24sc)
Rounds
14 - 15: (2 rounds) sc in each st
Fasten
off
For
the head:
Make
a magic loop with 6sc
Round
1: male 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round
2: sc in the first st, then make 2sc in the next st (18sc)
Round
3: sc in the first 2 sts, then make 2sc in the next st (24sc)
Round
4: sc in the first 3 sts, then make 2sc in the next st (30sc)
Round
5: sc in the first 4 sts, then make 2sc in the next st (36sc)
Rounds
6 - 12: (7 rounds) sc in each st
Round
13: sc in the first 4sts, sc2tog, rep to end (30sc)
Round
14: sc in the first 3sts, sc2tog, rep to end (24sc)
Round
15: sc in the first 2sts, sc2tog, rep to end (18sc)
Round
16: sc in the first st, sc2tog, rep to end (12sc)
Stuff
Round
17: sc2tog 6 times to end (6sc)
Fasten
off
Stuff
the head and body and sew them together
For the eyes (make 2):
With
white make a magic loop with 6sc
Round
1: Make 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round
2: sc in the first st, make 2sc in the next st, rep to end (18sc)
FAsten
off
For
the pupils (make 2):
With black make a magic loop with 6sc
With black make a magic loop with 6sc
Fasten off
Sew the pupils to the centre of the whites of the eyes, then sew the eyes to the head of the owl
For the ears:
With brown dk yarn ch8
Round 1: sc in teh first chain st you made, then sc in each of the following chain sts to end (8sc)
Round 2: (sc in the first 2sts, sc2tog)twice (6sc)
Round 3: (sc in the first st, sc2tog) twice (4sc)
Fasten
off
Sew these to the top of the head
For the beak:
With
yellow dk yarn make a magic loop with 6sc
Round
1 - 3: (3 rounds) sc in each st
Round
4: (sc in the first st, sc2tog) twice (4sc)
Round
5: Sc in each st
Round
6: (this is less than 1 round) Sc2tog
Fasten
off
Stuff this and sew it to the face between the eyes
For the wings:
Make
a magic loop with 6sc
Round
1: male 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round
2: sc in the first st, then make 2sc in the next st (18sc)
Rounds
3 - 7: (5 rounds) sc in each st
Round
8: sc in the first 4sts, sc2tog, rep to end (15sc)
Round
9: sc in the first 3sts, sc2tog, rep to end (12sc)
Round
10: sc in the first 2sts, sc2tog, rep to end (9sc)
Round
11: sc in each st
Fasten
off
Sew
the wings to the body of the owl, attaching the 'cast off' edge just
below the neck
For
the feet (make 2):
Use
yellow dk yarn throughout
For
the toes (make 3 for each foot):
Make
a magic loop with 4sc
Round
1: sc in each st
Fasten
off neatly
Rejoin
yarn to one of the sts of one of these toes.
Round
2: Sc in this st and the next 3sts. sc in one st of one of the other
toes, then sc3 around the other toe. Skip the following st on the
previous toe you crocheted into, then sc in the next st .These last
8sts form a new round (8sc)
Rounds
4 -5: (2 rounds) Sc in each st
Round
6: (Sc, sc2tog) twice (6sc)
Fasten
off
Sew these feet to the base of this owl
To make up:
Take out the middle of the embroidery hoop and paint it black. You will need to paint at least two coats to cover it evenly. When it's completely dry attach the balloon underneath it. To do this you will need to tie three lengths of the black yarn to the edge of the hoop at equal intervals and then secure them in the centre. Try to make it as secure as possible by using lots of knots. Tie another length of yarn to where they meet and sew this to the top of the balloon.
Sew the ends of the cords of the basket to the base of the balloon so that it hangs evenly and place the elephant in the basket. Tie another length of yarn to the centre of the mobile (the same place where the three lengths of yarn meet and where the baloon hangs from), then loop the other end of the yarn around and tie it so that it forms a loop that you can use to hang up the balloon.
Tie six more lengths of yarn to the hoop so that they hang at equal intervals. Sew the other lengths of these to each of the stars, varying the length of the yarn they hang from so that their length increases by an equal amount as you go around the balloon.
 |
| This is what the mobile should look like after you've tied the first 3 lengths of yarn onto it (except black instead of white) |
And that's all! I hope you have enjoyed this pattern, please let me know if there's anything you didn't understand and I will make sure to answer your question the best I can :). You can contact me wither by leaving a comment below or via my Ravelry or Instagram pages.
You are very welcome to sell finished products but I do ask that you don't re-post this pattern or claim it as your own. Thank you!
