Grumperina

Always up to something

Stuffing

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Hello, I’m Mr. Stegs, and I’m the most unevenly stuffed dinosaur ever!

Seriously. Seaming wasn’t so bad, but why did I feel like a complete idiot when it came to stuffing the dino evenly? I’m not sure if you can tell, but he’s all lumpy and bumpy, overstretched in some areas and under-stuffed in others. Filling and shaping the neck properly was the trickiest part because the head kept drooping until I freakin’ shoved another pound of fiber fill in there.

However, I LOVE him. What a great project!

Pattern: Dinosaurs by Jennifer Thurston of Xtreme Knitting. I knit Mr. Stegs, but there’s also Bronty and Trice, which I rejected because, come on, no spiny back!

Yarn and needles: Tahki Cotton Classic, less than 1 skein, knit on Bryspun straights, US 5. As far as straight needles are concerned, Bryspuns are my faves.

Finished size: Big enough to rule the world! Rrarrrr! (i.e., 12″ long, 5″ high).

Mods: The pattern is very well thought out – I felt that it minimized seaming, and that the dinosaur’s shape was right on. So, I didn’t change a thing other than to substitute a different yarn! Oh, I didn’t attach the tail spikes – they just didn’t do it for me after the spiny back was attached in all its glory.

And now I will have a tasty Cheerios breakfast! How many Cheerios will I eat? All of them! Rrarrrr!

As you can see, I gave Mr. Stegs three teeth, and not a hint of a smile. I felt that was more appropriate to the recipient ;). I mean, VVV.

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  3. AH! I thought of him while watching Jurrasic Park III last night. Mr. Stegs could have opened a can of whoop arse on those raptors…

  12. I guess it would be inappropriate to say that he’s cute. He’s fearsome! Once the recipient gets over his or her terror, I’m sure Mr. Steg will be much loved.

  14. love him! i’m equally poor at the stuffing (although i don’t see the lumps and bumps in the pic). my mom made dolls when i was young and had all this little tools to coax stuffing here and there until it was just perfect.

  16. Spiffy dino! FYI not all stuffing is created equal. It really pays to go to the fabric store and squeeze a few bags. Some is slipperier than others, and some is lumpier. One thing that helps is to take small handfuls out of the stuffing bag and pull it apart to fluff it up before stuffing. A chopstick is also a very helpful tool when stuffing tiny parts.

    Your blog is great. I really enjoy reading it.

  19. Aaack! He’s so scary! 🙂 In the pictures, Mr. Stegs doesn’t look lumpy at all. I’m impressed that he’s actually standing up on his legs! 🙂

  23. I love him! hehehehe – but he’s missing your scary mad eyebrows from your kid pic in “100 things about me” hehehehehe I LOVE that picture! I’ve got a similar one of my 2yr old that just makes me giggle.

  24. Great, Grumpy…I open your blog just as my 5 year old dinosaur freak came over….green with orange spikes please mom….what about the Lion Brand alligator I started in August? As if I don’t have enough to do right now, moving house, SIL having a baby, my own baby….now he wants another dinosaur….

  25. Awesome. I actually can’t see the lumps in his stuffing. Great job. He’s cuddly AND fearsome… an awe-inspiring combo.

  27. Knit toys are so much fun. Using extra stuffing for stabalization is to be expected.

    After a scarf, my first real project was a stuffed pink pig. I was all of 10 and I loved that toy!

  31. Can you share tips on how you attached the limbs? I made a zebra once for my son and my attaching skills are quite lacking. He’s currently in a heap, completely decapitated. 🙁

  32. This is wonderful! Perhaps he is lumpy because he has eaten something quite large (e.g., a palm) recently and is happily digesting it.

  38. I love Mr. Stegs. Add another suffed animal to my list of ToDos.

    Stuffed animals make up about 75-80% of what I knit and you’re right, they do tend to have lots of pieces (or least the nicer looking ones do). I’m guessing that is because the many parts give the piece a very nice, complex shape. I don’t mind finishing, so I’d rather have a nice, defined shape with lots of pieces, instead of a simple amorphous shape with few.

    Wonderful facial expression. 🙂

  41. Love it! Yes – the brand of stuffing is CRUCIAL. Fairfield’s Poly-fil is the fluff of choice for many (read “a heck of a lot of smart dollmakers” here) people who make cloth dolls and animals.

  42. OH, I just LOVE them, thank you for the link..I know two little boys (my DGSs) who will be getting these for Christmas!!! Your’s is adorable!

    (((hugs)))

  45. LOVE, love, LOVE him! I like the teeth better than the smile – brontosauri (?) were my favorite dino growing up!

  46. Wow an orange Mr Stegs! He does look evenly stuffed in the photo, and I love the photo of him about to attack the cheerios! I’m glad you enjoyed the pattern 🙂

  47. Now I’m committed to making Mr. Stegs (purple), Mrs. Stegs (pink) and baby stegs (variegate). I need to teach my son to knit.

  49. I *LOVE* him! He’s perfect, with those scarier-than-thou teeth. And the cheerios are a nice touch.

    And even if he’s a little unevenly stuffed (not that he looks it!)– how like life. So am I.