The Dragon Crochet-a-long has begun! I’m very excited about this CAL because the pattern (Choose Your Own Dragon Adventure) has oodles of pattern combinations tucked inside… so we’re going to be seeing a lot of variations!
Today, I’ll chat about picking the combinations to make your perfect dragon!
The Options
Let’s have a look at all of the combinations that are included in the pattern:
Is it a little overwhelming? No worries! Let’s step through it by putting some dragons together… and I’ll give you some tips about combos that might be your best bet.
The Bare Bones Dragon
Following the chart above, there are a few pieces that are essential to a dragon: a body, arms, feet and snout. If we put those pieces together, here’s what the dragon will look like:
(Tomorrow we’re going to chat about color choices… but for today we’re using a blue/yellow dragon!)
Before we go on adding pieces… there’s another option you might want to take if you’re a newbie crocheter. The color changes for the tummy aren’t too tricky (and I’m going to write some upcoming blog posts about how to tackle them), but they require some attention… and the dragon looks just as adorable without them! So, if you’d like, feel free to just crochet the entire body in the main color:
(Trust me! Some folks in our Ravelry Group have already finished dragons without the tummy color change, and they’re adorable! It’s really important for you to crochet a dragon that you love- and don’t get frustrated with- and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!)
Some considerations
Okay, we have our basic dragon… now it’s time for the fun stuff: adding features! This is where your dragon will take on it’s own personality. As you can see in the chart above, there are a few features that you only pick one of (like, a dragon can only have one pair of eyes!), and the rest you can add as you like.
However, not ALL of the features fit together perfectly. Just as an example, here’s a dragon with the big horns, side frills, ears and scales… a bit much, don’t you think?
So, I recommend sticking to a few of your favorite features that you think will fit together. For example, if you’d like to add ears (which are pretty big), either pick the small horns or maybe position the ears lower than instructed so that the big horns will have room.
You know what’ll make your dragon cutest… so feel free to experiment!
Add your own touches
If you’ve taken my Design Your Own Monster Class, then you’re familiar with designing your own pieces… but you don’t need a full class to come up with your own touches!
Did you know that you can make any piece longer by just working more plain (non-increasing) rounds?
Would long arms or SUPER tall horns (maybe with pipe-cleaners inside so they stick up?) make your dragon rock? Then do it!
Share your plans!
I want to hear what you’re planning! I’ll show you my sketch (although I’m keeping the colors under wraps until tomorrow!):
You like him? What are your plans?
Oh, this is soooo cute. Almost makes me wish I had some little ones to crochet for. Almost. :)
So many choices and so much fun! I have my ideas in my head but now going to draw them out like you did – thanks for inspiring!
I think I’m going with floppy ears the smallest of horns and large wings. I love this!
@Sara: Sounds great!
I’m making two dragon’s, both will have buggy eyes, standard tail, scales and floppy ears. And the first dragon with an H hook will have big horns, 18mm amber eyes, and the second dragon with an C hook will have little horns, 12mm shimmer eyes of orange.
@Joan- Sounds like a fabulous plan! Can’t wait to see them both!
Greetings from Norway!! :)
Haven’t decided on the horns yet, but I will have plain eyes, standard tail (I think) and also might add some scales. Started on the body on friday, but haven’t had time to crochet during the weekend.
Can’t wait until it’s done so I can see how it turns out! :)
@Line- Can’t wait to see it!
I might make more than one just so I can play around with the combinations.
@Richard- LOVE it! Do it :)
The first one I made I used worsted weight yarn, this one I’m going with a sport/fingering weight to make it a bit smaller.
@Karen- Oooh, I just love changing-up the size of a dragon!!!
the first two dragons i made had opposite features and my daughter seemed to gravitate to the arrow tail and wings… SO since the dragon i’m doing this time around is for her i think i’m going to give it “medium” horns, big wings, and an arrow tail. i may try to add a couple of spikes to the head but i’m afraid it’ll get too busy up there so i’ll have to see :)
@Meredith- Oooh, I love the idea of spikes! I think if you add them to the back-half of the head, you could probably keep it from getting too busy… sounds like a fab idea!
I still haven’t decided. I just got the pattern and printed it out so I just need to decide colors, etc.