Nicola the Sturgeon was originally a self drafted crochet design, made and gifted to my sturgeon loving youngest son one Christmas, many moons ago. After all the lovely comments and encouragement from my friends and via social media, I gave her a bit of a refresh and finally wrote the pattern!

Please note, this pattern is written in British crochet terminology – the English ‘double crochet’ (dc) is the same as the American ‘single crochet’ (sc)

The pattern contains full sewing up instructions, including anatomical reference photographs detailing exactly where all the different elements are sewn on.

Nicola the Sturgeon is designed to be worked in DK weight yarn on a 3mm crochet hook, however due to the nature of the amigurumi style of crochet, this pattern can be scaled up and down simply by altering your yarn and hook size – please note yardages are only given for a DK sized project.

Please check your tension before starting, you should not be able to see any stuffing through the fabric of your project. If you can, you may need to go down a hook size. The yarn allowances for this project are generous, but in my experience, crochet tension and yarn usage can greatly vary from one person to the next.

Use a piece of contrast yarns as a running stitch marker to mark the start of each new round. The stitch marker will follow the spiral of your work and travel to the right – this is normal.

Dimensions:
Length approx. 42cm/16.5”.
Height approx. 10cm/4”

Gauge:
10 sts / 11.5 rounds to 5cm in pattern (for full stitches this works out at (6 sts / 7 rounds to 3cm)

Suggested hooks:
3mm crochet hook (or hook to obtain gauge).

Yarn:
DK weight yarn in medium and light grey plus approx. 50cm/19.5” length of black yarn for eyes and dark grey yarn for gills.
75-100g of medium grey yarn and 15-20g light grey yarn.
Suggest yarn:

• Drops Lima in grey and pearl grey (100m/50g)
• Toft DK in shale and silver (225m/100g)
• Yarnsmiths Merino DK in medium grey and silver (110m/50g)

Other equipment:
Scissors, tapestry needle, dress making pins, toy stuffing, locking stitch markers, a piece of contrasting yarn to use as a running stitch marker.

Though the original design does not use safety eyes, full instructions are given as to when you should place these, if you wish to do so. The size of safety eyes used is up to the personal preference of the crocheter.

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