Happy New Year with BB-8! FREE pattern

*** The pattern for Rey is now available! She comes with a PDF for BB-8 too! Available in my Etsy shop and on Ravelry!

I'll tell you a secret. Until I had a nephew, I had never seen Star Wars. I knew the major characters, but nothing about the plot and never had an urge to watch. I grew up in a family of girls, so maybe that's why? I was more interested in Cabbage Patch Kids than Ewoks. I started watching the movies and now with three boys of my own, I've seen them all many many times. It was exciting to see the prequels in the theater, but nothing earth-shattering. I guess the letdown lots of people felt with those movies made the anticipation for the newest movie, "The Force Awakens", even greater. We knew the characters months before the movie was released, and BB-8 was super cute in the trailer. It was pretty much a no-brainer that I'd crochet him. 

To celebrate the dawning of a new year (welcome, 2016!), I've written a pattern for BB-8! He is now FREE for good! I had a lot of requests as soon as I took the pattern down and I had planned on putting it in my Etsy and Ravelry shops, but hey everyone likes free stuff, right?

BB-8

Materials:

White worsted weight yarn (A)

Gray worsted weight yarn (B)

Orange worsted weight yarn (C)

12 mm black safety eye

5 mm black safety eye

Gray felt

Black thread

Red, Blue, Gray embroidery floss

White round elastic cord

20mm doll joint

Craft glue

Tools/Notions:

E Hook 

Yarn needle

Embroidery needle

Black permanent marker

Key:

ch: Chain

sc: single crochet

st: stitch

invdec: single crochet 2 st together

Body:

Rnd 1: Starting at the top of the Body, with yarn A and E hook, make an adjustable ring, ch 1, sc 6 into ring. Pull tail to close hole, but leave a tiny hole. (You will insert the doll joint here and need a little opening to make it fit easily) (6 sts)

Rnd 2: 2 Sc in each st (12 sts)

Rnd 3: *(2 Sc in next st, sc in next st), rep from * to end of rnd (18 sts)

Rnd 4: *(2 Sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts), rep from * to end of rnd (24 sts)

Rnd 5: *(2 Sc in next st, sc in next 3 sts), rep from * to end of rnd (30 sts)

Rnds 6-11: Sc in each st around.

Rnd 12: *(Invdec, sc in next 3 sts), rep from * to end of rnd (24 sts)

Rnd 13: *(Invdec, sc in next 2 sts), rep from * to end of rnd (18 sts)

Insert a stitch marker to hold your place. From the inside of the Body, insert the post of the doll joint through the beginning hole in Rnd 1. Stuff Body firmly. Continue adding stuffing as necessary as you work the final rounds.

Rnd 14: *(Invdec, sc in next st), rep from * to end of rnd (12 sts)

Rnd 15: Invdec around (6 sts)

Fasten off and leave a long tail. Weave tail through the final round and pull to close the hole. Weave in ends.

Top of Head: 

Rnd 1: With yarn A (white) and E hook, make an adjustable ring, ch 1, sc 6 into ring (6 sts)

Change to yarn B (gray) at last st of Rnd 1.

Rnd 2: 2 Sc in each st (12 sts)

Change to yarn A (white) at last st of Rnd 2.

Rnd 3: *(2 Sc in next st, sc in next st), rep from * to end of rnd (18 sts)

Rnd 4: 2 Sc in first st, sc in each st around (19 sts)

Rnd 5: Sc in next 12 sts, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 6 sts (20 sts)

Rnd 6: Sc in next 10 sts, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 9 sts (21 sts)

Rnd 7: Sc in each st.

Change to yarn B (gray) at last st of Rnd 7.

Rnd 8: Work a sl st into each st around. Keep the stitches relatively loose so they won't pull the last round tight. 

Fasten off and cut tail. Weave in white and gray ends. With gray felt, cut a 12 mm diameter circle. Cut a tiny slit in the center and insert the post of the 5mm eye.  Insert the 12 mm eye between Rnds 4 and 5, and insert the 5mm/gray felt circle eye 2 sts away and one round down, between Rnds 5 and 6. Set Top of Head aside.

Head Base:

Rnds 1-3: Repeat as for Top of Head, all in yarn A. Keep the beginning Rnd 1 loose to leave an opening in the center for the doll join post to fit through, as you did in the Body. Fasten off. Leave a long tail for sewing.

Construction:

Align Head Base over doll joint post sticking out of Rnd 1 of the Body. Push post through the hole all the way. Place flat washer over the post, then place locking washer over the flat washer. This should lock the doll joint mechanism into place. 

Sew Top of Head to Head Base with yarn tail and a yarn needle. Stuff as you sew up the last few stitches, making sure not to overstuff. You want the Head Base to be as flat as possible. Weave in ends. Make sure not to weave any ends through Head and Body or the Head will not turn. 

Body Decoration:

Orange Rings (make 6):

With yarn C, ch 20. Fasten off and leave a long tail.

With yarn tails, stitch rings into place. Place them equidistant from each other, one on each of four sides, and one on "top" and “bottom". I like to pin them all in place first (see above) so I can see where I arranged them (slightly askew as you can see in the photo), but placement is up to you. As in the construction, make sure you don't weave tail through to the Head or it won't turn fully. With yarn C and a yarn needle, stitch short stitches from the outside toward the center of the circle. (see below)

With gray felt, cut shapes to put into the centers of the Orange Rings. I cut them rather randomly (see below), but you can look at BB-8 photos if you want them exactly like him! For one of the rings, cut a gray circle, and cut it across in three segments. Glue gray pieces into place with craft glue (or super glue if you're careful!), or stitch with matching thread.

For the gray sliced circle panel, stitch a red French knot and a blue French knot with embroidery thread on the lower section of the circle. Refer to photo below. 

Thread an embroidery needle with one strand of black thread. Stitch long straight stitches between Orange Rings. Refer to photo above.

Also with one strand of black thread, stitch an outline around BB-8's eyes as shown. Short stitches around the top will "curve" better than longer stitches. Stitch long straight stitches around the head from top to bottom as shown.

Thread a yarn needle with orange yarn C. Stitch short straight stitches around the base of BB8's head.   Stitch a continuous ring around the top of BB-8's head one round below the gray round. Weave in ends.

With gray embroidery floss or thin yarn, embroider French knots on the Body next to each black line separating the panels, to resemble tiny screws. Weave in ends.

Antennae:

Thread a yarn needle with elastic cord. Knot one end. Insert yarn needle into Head and pull up at the spot you want the first antenna. Cut the cord. Apply a tiny bit of craft or super glue to base and tip so it won't fray or pull through. For second antenna, knot a strand of cord and color with black marker near the knot. Pull through Head and up through the top and cut, making it a little longer. Color the tip black. Apply a little craft or super glue to base and tip to hold into place and prevent fraying.

Your little BB-8 astromech droid is done! I think this project would be fun if you made him even smaller out of thread or sock-weight yarn, or even bigger with chunky yarn! The pattern will remain the same, but only the hook size needs to be changed. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about this pattern, or if you need any help.  The toys you make from this pattern may be resold as long as credit is given as “Pattern by Allison Hoffman, craftyiscool.com”.  Thanks!

Yarns Used in this Project:

A: Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn — White

B: Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn — Gray

C: Hobby Lobby’s Crafter’s Secret — Orange 

*If you would like to sell the items you make from this pattern or any of my patterns, please feel free, but on your listings make sure to include "Pattern by Allison Hoffman/craftyiscool.com"  Thanks!

Watch for BB-8's friend Rey coming soon in my Etsy shop and Ravelry store!