January 19, 2008

Chain Chomp Scarf Pattern

I knit up the Chain Chomp Scarf last year before the Super Bowl, and I've only now gotten around to typing up the pattern I used, since my friend knit this guy. Now you can have a Chain Chomp on your head AND your neck!

This is a little ghetto and I'm sure somebody out there who's far more talented than I am can create a different pattern with more civilized knitting techniques, but because I started knitting because I love scarves and therefore only knit scarves, and thusly only knit on straight needles (my DPKs and circs are sitting in my needle jar, unloved) this is what I did. If you're a beginner or just don't like to use DPKs, you can use this pattern.

Because Chompy was knit on straight, I had to come up with a way to create the whole thing - a circle (or several) - on straights. Think of it like a pizza, or a pie. You're knitting a triangle shaped slice of the pie, and they're all joined up. You need 7 slices of the pie to form the full circle.

You'll need:
US Size 10 Needles
A crochet hook or an embroidery needle for weaving in ends - my favourite all-purpose crochet hook happens to be pink and reads only 5.5mm on it, and that is what I used.
Two colours of yarn - for a proper Chompy, use black (MC) and white. (CC)
Note:I use Red Heart Super Saver, because not only am I cheap and allergic to a lot of wools so I'm afraid to buy the more expensive stuff, acrylic holds a nice, stiff shape fairly well, so your chains will stay pretty stiff and loopy, and your chomp head won't curl up or fold in on himself. HOWEVER, you can use whatever colours of yarn and kind of yarn you prefer... it really is up to you.
I apologize for not knowing exactly how much yarn you need, but it's not a heck of a lot. If you're using something that you don't have a lot of or are worried you won't have enough of, make SURE you knit your Chompy's head first... then if you need to skimp on extra chain links, it's not such a big deal.


Chomp Head:
In MC, CO 10.
*K1, turn. K1, turn.
K2, turn. K2, turn.
Repeat, adding 1 each time until...
K10, turn.
Last row - slip 1, K9.
Repeat from * until circle is formed (6 more times.)
Weave in ends.

Eyes: (Knit two)
In CC, CO4.
K1, turn. K1, turn.
Repeat in pattern as above; repeat into circle (3 times.)

Pupils: (Knit two)
In MC, CO3.
K2, turn. K2.
K3, turn.
BO.

Chain: I knit 25 links for my scarf, but you can make as many or as few as you'd like!
CO 21 in MC (long tail)
Work 2 rows in knit stitch.
BO.
Alt- I like to stretch mine out widthwise to make them flatter; you could also work 4 rows for wider chains.

Knit individual links, and then seam (weave in) the ends of the links through each other to get them linked up.

Big Teeth: (x4)
CO6 in CC.
K6.
K1, D1, K4.
K5.
K1, D1, K3.
K4.
K1, D1, K2.
K3.
K1, D1, K1.
K2.
K1, D1, BO.

Small Teeth: (x8)
CO4 in CC.
K4.
K1, D1, K2.
K3.
K1, D1, K1.
K2.
K1, D1, BO.


Place all your little parts (white eye, pupil, and six teeth per side - two of the big teeth on the outer edges, four small teeth making up the inner teeth) together on the Chompy head. Put them where you think they look right, and use duplicate stitch to "sew" them to the head. Try to be symmetrical, but it's not really that important - just make sure your duplicate stitching doesn't show through incorrectly on the other side! The teeth look a little funny at times, so try to use your duplicate stitches to stretch them into a real triangle shape.

Alternatively, you could just duplicate stitch teeth and eyes to the head, or make them out of felt instead!

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