I Made Elmo!

My nephew turns two this week. He’s my only nephew (on my siblings side; my husband’s sister has a son), and he lives all the way across the country in California. I wanted to make him something special.

First I made him this snake:

I had a lot of fun learning how to do the stitches so he bent each way to look like he is slithering!

Then I got an email from my brother saying he was having an Elmo birthday party. So I decided to make him another gift, a big pillow shaped like Elmo’s face.

First, I used fuzzy red yarn:

I ran out of yarn right as I started on the decrease rows. And while I loved the size and fuzzyness of the yarn, I thought the color was too dark and dull. So I made him a giant red head using some Homespun yarn that I had.

But I still thought the head was too dark. So I went to Wal-Mart the next day, and bought some bright red Bernat Softee Chunky. Here’s what I made (the color is much brighter than it looks):

The color is much brighter and truer to Elmo than the Homespun version. But I thought it was too small. And I really love how soft and huggable the Homespun yarn is. So I went back to the Homespun version and decided to add a body.

Here’s the final product:

Here’s a picture of the three Elmos that I started in different yarns. It’s hard to see the difference in the pictures, but I think I made the right choice.

Here are two more pictures of Elmo:

Holding the movie Elmo in Grouchland

Sitting in my daughter’s booster seat

I really don’t like crocheting without a pattern. I kept wanting him to look better, and I made his nose and eyes (and sewed them on) several times. I know he could still be better. But he’s going in the mail tomorrow! Happy Birthday, Teddy.

p.s. I sent the snake to my other nephew. He’s almost three, and I know he’ll be loved. But now my kids all want a snake in their favorite colors! So I’ll be working on those after I finish a few other WIPs.