The Babelfeesh pattern is the sixteenth 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. I love this African Flower pattern and the creative possibilities of using it to make 3D items :)
Babelfeesh are an excellent stash buster project, as you only need to use very small amounts of leftover sock yarn to make a motif.

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

:: Steps to making your own Babelfeesh ::

1. NB: First read the whole pattern through properly, so you have a good overview.

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, heptagon, and triangle… for clarity: the pentagon has five petals and five sides and the heptagon has seven petals and seven sides and so on…. The difference is simply the number of “petal” repeats that you crochet…pentagons, and heptagons etc are therefore 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...

1. I have written this pattern as a sew-up pattern not a Join-as-you-go. This is such a small project, I wanted to make it a shorter pattern and for once, cater to those who don’t want to JAYG :)

2. 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 Babelfeeshie, up to Round 5. Once they have all been completed, you will sew them together one at a time, following the instructions in the pattern.

: : Materials Requirements : :

The Babelfeesh that has been crocheted for this pattern, was made using sock weight/fingering/#1 weight yarn. Using this weight yarn will give you a fish measuring approximately 14cm measured from tip of nose to tail fins, and approximately 11cm from the top to bottom.

ALL 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 fish 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 fish was around 30g (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 fish easier. Try to use a yarn with a similar yardage per 100g. If you use a heavier weight yarn and a larger hook, the fish 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 feeshie 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 fish 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 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 13mm 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
Basic sewing skills Sewing the motifs together and sewing the fins to the body.

I hope that you will enjoy making gazillions of little Babelfeesh!
Happy crocheting!
x Heidi