Crocheted Illusen

To make this crochet plushie, you will need:

• a 3mm crochet hook (US size C crochet hook)
• knowledge of how to do the DC (double crochet) stitch (US single crochet - SC)
• DK (US light worsted) wool in the right colours (pale green, dark green, Illusen's skin colour, a reddy brown for the hair and black)
• a sewing needle for the finishing touches
• toy stuffing
• to know how to crochet a circle using the magic ring method (or you can just chain 4, join to make a ring, then crochet into that, but the magic ring method is neater)

Abbreviations:

• ch - chain
• dc - Double Crochet (US Single Crochet)
• dc 2 tog - DC two stitches together (decrease)
• sl st - slip stitch

Every piece is either crocheted in a spiral (so no need to join any rounds apart from the first), or crocheted flat in rows. Don't worry if you can't crochet, though - you could always pester a relation or friend to make one for you!

On to the pattern!

Body base

Using pale green, make a magic ring.

dc 6 into the ring (6 DC)

2 dc in each stitch (12 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc) repeat for one round (18 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc) repeat for one round (24 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (30 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (36 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (42 DC)

dc in the back loops only for one round (42 DC)

....this leads us on into the main body.

dc in each stitch (42 DC)

(dc 2 tog, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (36 DC)

dc in each stitch (36 DC)

(dc 2 tog, dc, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (30 DC)

I used the dark green wool as a stitch marker to help keep track of where each round starts.

dc in each stitch (30 DC)

(dc 2 tog, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (24 DC)

Change to the reddy brown wool for Illusen's belt.

These two rows can be done in the Back Loops Only, if you want a slightly textured belt.

dc in each stitch (24 DC)

(dc 2 tog, dc, dc) repeat for one round (18 DC)

Change back to green wool for the next round - don't worry if the belt doesn't looks quite level at the back - this will be covered by the wings.

dc in each stitch (18 DC)

Stuff the base, as it'll be a lot easier now than later!

dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2dc in next stitch, dc dc, 2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc (20 DC)

Change to skin colour for the rest of the body.

dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc 2 tog, dc, dc, dc 2 tog, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc (18 DC)

dc in each stitch for one round (18 DC)

Fasten off with a long tail to attach the head to the neck.

Stuff the rest of the body.

Dress frills

Using dark green wool, we need to make the frills for the top of Illusen's dress. This is quite fiddly, as there are only one or two stitches to each row, but it's worth sticking with, to make the frills look right!

ch 3

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, ch2 (1 DC & 2 CH)

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc (2 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, ch2 (1 DC & 2 CH)

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc (2 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, ch2 (1 DC & 2 CH)

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc (2 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, ch2 (1 DC & 2 CH)

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc (2 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew to the top of the dress.

Carefully stitch the frills to the top of the dress (the top of the pale green round, before the skin colour round).

Arms - make two of these.

Using skin colour wool:

Leave a long tail from the slip knot, so you can stitch the arms to the body later.

ch 6 and join to make a ring

dc in each stitch for four rounds (6 DC)

Change to pale green wool:

dc in each stitch for two rounds (6 DC)

dc 2 tog, dc, dc, dc 2 tog (4 DC)

dc in each stitch for one round (4 DC)

dc 2 tog, dc 2 tog (2 DC)

dc 2 tog (1 DC)

Fasten off and tuck the thread end into the arm.

I didn't use any stuffing in the arms at all, but you can use a little if you wish.

Glove frills - make two

Using dark green wool, we need to make the frills for the top of Illusen's gloves:

ch 3

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, ch2 (1 DC & 2 CH)

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc (2 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, ch2 (1 DC & 2 CH)

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc (2 DC)

turn, ch1, dc, skip last stitch (1 DC)

turn, ch1, dc (1 DC)

Fasten off with a long tail, and use that tail to sew the frills to the top of the gloves (where the arms change to pale green).

Head

Using skin tone wool, make a magic ring.

dc 6 into the ring (6 DC)

2 dc in each stitch (12 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc) repeat for one round (18 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc) repeat for one round (24 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (30 DC)

dc in each stitch for four rounds (30 DC)

(dc 2 tog, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (24 DC)

(dc 2 tog, dc, dc) repeat for one round (18 DC)

Stuff the head now, and stitch on eyes, eyebrows & mouth.

(dc 2 tog, dc) repeat for one round (12 DC)

(dc 2 tog) repeat for one round (6 DC)

Fasten off with a long tail to attach it to the neck.

Hair

Using the reddy brown wool, make a magic ring.

dc 6 into the ring (6 DC)

2 dc in each stitch (12 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc) repeat for one round (18 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc) repeat for one round (24 DC)

(2 dc in next stitch, dc, dc, dc) repeat for one round (30 DC)

dc in each stitch for two rounds (30 DC)

We now start to work in rows, to make the hair look right - otherwise we won't be able to see Illusen's face!

dc 25 stitches around (ignoring the rest) for one round (25 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 2 tog, dc 22 stitches around, ignoring the last stitch (23 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 2 tog, dc 20 stitches around, ignoring the last stitch (21 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 2 tog, dc 18 stitches around, ignoring the last stitch (19 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 2 tog, dc 16 stitches around, ignoring the last stitch (17 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 17 stitches across (17 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 17 stitches across (17 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 17 stitches across (17 DC)

turn, ch1, dc 17 stitches across (17 DC)

Leaving a long tail of the reddy brown wool (so you can attach it to the head), change to dark green.

dc in each stitch around the front

Fasten off.

Wings #1 - make two.

Using pale green wool

ch 16

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc 14 stitches across, 3 dc in next stitch, dc 14 stitches across the other side of the chain (31 DC)

This might sound complicated if you're not used to the method used, but if you look at the picture and compare that to your chain row, it should become clear.

For the next two rows, the 3 dc should be in the middle stitch:

turn, ch1, skip the first stitch, dc 14 stitches across, 3 dc in next stitch, dc 14 stitches across, skip last stitch (31 DC)

turn, ch1, skip the first stitch, dc 14 stitches across, 3 dc in next stitch, dc 14 stitches across, skip last stitch (31 DC)

Change to dark green.

turn, ch1, skip the first stitch, dc 29 stitches around, skip the last stitch (29 DC)

Fasten off, and weave in ends.

Wings #2 - make two

Using pale green wool

ch 10

turn, dc in second stitch from hook, dc 8 stitches across, 3 dc in next stitch, dc 8 stitches across the other side of the chain (19 DC)

As with Wings #1, the next row has the 3 dc in the middle stitch:

turn, ch1, skip the first stitch, dc 8 stitches across, 3 dc in next stitch, dc 8 stitches across, skip last stitch (19 DC)

Change to dark green.

turn, ch1, skip the first stitch, dc 19 stitches around, skip the last stitch (19 DC)

Fasten off, and weave in ends.

To Make Up

Stitch the neck to the base of the head (the hair will cover part of the neck at the back, so don't worry if your stitches are a bit messy!

Make sure the hair is lined up correctly and carefully stitch it to the head, leaving the base parts of the hair unattached to look more natural.

Stitch the arms to the body.

And last but by no means least, Illusen needs her wings! This is quite fiddly, so make sure you leave plenty of time to get this right.

Line up wing #1 and wing #2 so they look right, and stitch them together. Do the same with the other two wing parts (for the opposite wing).

Line up both wings to either side of the centre of Illusen's back, and carefully stitch them to the body.

Ensure that all the wool ends are weaved in, and there you have it - a completed Illusen crocheted plushie!