Update: There’s a typo in the text box outlining the number of motifs required for Plod. Please ignore the “ Shoop” typo :) The motifs are for Plod, NOT Shoop! I have updated the pattern.

Plod the Triceratops is the twentieth of my patterns that makes use of the African Flower hexagon crochet motif and variations thereof, joined in a specific order to make a recognizable 3D item. Plod is an excellent stash buster project, as you only need to use very small amounts of leftover sock yarn to make a motif.

Please note: This listing is for a downloadable PDF of the pattern instructions for making Plod …there is no hard copy of the pattern available, nor a finished item. The pattern is available only in English :)

There are 33 pages in this pattern.

So, let’s take a look at the important points and how to start to make your own adorable triceratops!

:: Steps to making your own Plod ::

1. NB: First read the whole pattern through properly, so you have a good overview. I cannot emphasize this enough!

2. Make sure you know how to crochet the African Flower hexagon crochet motif. I have included both written and charted instructions for the African Flower hexagon in this pattern. If you are a visual learner, you can see a step by step photo tutorial on my blog: http://heidibearscreative.blogspot.com/2010/05/african-fl...

3. Make sure you are able to crochet an African Flower pentagon, octagon, heptagon and square. For clarity: the pentagon has five petals and five sides and the heptagon has seven petals and seven sides, the octagon has eight petals and eight sides and so on…. The difference is simply the number of “petal” repeats that you crochet…pentagons, octagons and heptagons etc are therefor equally easy to crochet. I have included written and charted instructions in this pattern on how to crochet an African Flower Pentagon (as well as all the other motifs). I have also posted a fully explained pentagon tutorial, on my blog, which can be found here: http://heidibearscreative.blogspot.com/2011/09/african-fl...

4. Make sure you have gone through and practiced the join-as-you-go technique. This has been explained and illustrated at the end of the pattern in a section titled “Appendix : Joining Tutorials”. Since the joining method is really very important to the success of the project, I strongly suggest that you practice joining on scrap yarn motifs before starting the project. If you would prefer to sew your motifs together, you won’t need to practice the join-as-you-go technique, but will need to be confident in your neat sewing ability. I have not included instructions on how to sew stuff together…there are plenty resources available on the internet…

5. Either choose your yarn for this project or use the sock yarn that you have left over from other projects. Make all the required motifs for your dino, BUT only up to Round 4 of the African Flower motif if you are doing a join-as-you-go method (JAYG), or the full motif up to Round 5 if you are sewing up the motifs.

: : Materials Requirements : :

The dino that was crocheted for this pattern, was made using sock weight/fingering/#1 weight yarn. Using this weight yarn will give you a triceratops measuring approximately 30cm measured from tail to nose, and approximately 14cm from the top of the back to feet.

ALL OF THE CROCHET STITCHES USED IN THIS PATTERN ARE BASED ON AMERICAN CROCHET TERMS

Sock weight / Fingering weight yarn/ #1 in colors of your choice… this little dino is a great stash busting project as you can use small amounts of sock yarn for each motif, and the more colourful the prettier. Although I can’t tell you how much yardage of each color I used I can tell you that the total weight of yarn for the dino was around 170 g (unstuffed).

The yardage for the sock yarn I used is around 320m/100g (350yds/100g). It is a superwash merino yarn, but you can use any alternative fingering weight yarn you like…I suggest that animal fibre yarns would be preferable, as they have more stretch, making the stuffing and shaping of the dino easier. Try to use a yarn with a similar yardage per 100g. If you use a heavier weight yarn and a larger hook, the dino will be bigger than the one made in sock yarn, and you will obviously need more polyester stuffing.

Crochet Hook 1.75mm
If you are planning to make your dino in a heavier weight yarn, adjust your hook size accordingly…however, use the smallest hook size possible for the weight of yarn that you can manage. Note that the hook size recommended by the yarn manufacturer would not be the correct size to use for this project…Since the dino is stuffed, your stitch density will need to be tighter than usual to prevent the stuffing from popping out. Make a test motif in your chosen yarn and hook to see which would be the best size to use.

Polyester toy stuffing Haemostats (optional for stuffing)
Scissors Tapestry Needle used for sewing in ends Sewing Pins
Sewing needle Curved sewing needle Long tapestry needle

Eyes** (plastic safety eyes or glass wire-looped eyes). PLEASE NOTE THAT ATTACHED EYES ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR TOYS CREATED FOR CHILDREN! They can be a suffocation hazard. If you are making this toy for a child, rather embroider the eyes using embroidery thread! I would still suggest sculpting the eye sockets before embroidering the eyes…it adds a lovely realistic element. I have used 14mm wire looped glass eyes. These can easily be sourced from sellers on eBay and Etsy.

: : Skills Requirements : :

Basic Crocheting Skills: Chain stitch (ch) , Single Crochet (sc), Double Crochet (dc), Slip Stitch (sl st), joining a chain to make a ring, joining in a new color

Join-as-you-go motif joining: This pattern will require that you join the crocheted motifs each stitch to each stitch. This is necessary to prevent the stuffing popping out of the dino. It is imperative that you are confident in your join-as-you-go ability. The method I use is explained in the Appendix pages found at the end of the pattern. These tutorials are illustrated by using motif chart illustrations with explanatory notes. This cuts down on printing :)

However, if you are scared witless by the thought of doing a join-as-you-go joining method, all is not lost…you can simply make all your motifs in full (including Round 5), then sew them together. The order of motif placement and the number of sides needing to be joined stays exactly the same whether you join-as-you-go or sew up.

Basic sewing skills Sewing the frill and horns to the head.