Clown pattern sought

[Elaine Pack]

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I made her a crocheted clown doll. She loved it so much she still has it as an adult Well, she is now preggers herself and I want to make HER daughter her OWN clown I've found tons of patterns but the vast majority are those tiny amigurumi ones that I personally don't especially care for, or an occasional 18+ inch ones. What I'd like is a pattern for a female or at least generic 12+/- inch tall clown. I see a lot on various pinterest or etsy sites, but surprisingly, many don't think to show finished height, and well, so many patterns, so little time, ya know? I'm willing to buy a pattern, but as always free is GOOD

Any suggestions welcome!

Elaine

PS before anyone asks, the original pattern I had did not survive multiple moves around the country unfortunately. 

Edited September 29, 2019 by Elaine Pack

[USpolishgirl]

43 minutes ago, Elaine Pack said:

I'm sorry I wasn't trying to criticize, seriously! I appreciate everything you said! And height is just a handy thing to know in advance for anyone looking for something in particular where it might matter as this does for me. I don't crochet all that much anymore, just booties for my daughter's friends, and haven't made anything else in many years. Skills, manual and mental, do get rusty. Your point about making a swatch is helpful, thank you.

I did not thought that you were cryticizing..In fact I was sure that you did not understood what I was trying to tell you.

[Elaine Pack]

1 hour ago, USpolishgirl said:

Anyway why would you need that body to be stuffed?. That is great the way it is.

I just prefer the look, no other reason.

[Elaine Pack]

1 hour ago, USpolishgirl said:

I did not thought that you were cryticizing..In fact I was sure that you did not understood what I was trying to tell you.

Whew! Thanks. No, I fully understood but nowadays I do so relatively little work, and then on items where size isn't crucial, it's not really worth it for me to do that, frankly. There's a huge difference between a 5" toy and a 12" one, but between a 12" and a for example 10 to 14" or so due to working tight/loose, not so much, and I can live with that.

[Elaine Pack]

1 hour ago, USpolishgirl said:

As you can see on that picture, that body of that Monkey is crochet with different stitch (not sc). That stitch should not be stuffed because all that stuffing would be showing-up.  If you want to have that body stuffed you need to use sc stitch. BUT, than you need to adjust that pattern because sc stitch is a lot smaller. Anyway who knows how that Monkey's body would really look when is stuffed the way it is designed. Maybe it would not look good at all. Maybe that would need to be REDESIGN to look good when is stuffed..?

Hadn't really noticed that, frankly, but your point is well taken. If I were forced to do a new body, of course I'd use sc, I completely agree. I do have a question in to the designer about a bellied version, but if it's not available, in the end I expect I can find other clown patterns. OTOH, it's for a baby and my daughter who does not crochet, and frankly wouldn't know the difference

[USpolishgirl]

On 10/3/2019 at 1:19 PM, Elaine Pack said:

I just prefer the look, no other reason.

You like the way it looks. But you are looking for ways to change that a LOT... And that would not look the same. You would not like that.

[Elaine Pack]

On 10/3/2019 at 12:59 PM, USpolishgirl said:

Anyway why would you need that body to be stuffed?. That is great the way it is.

I don't particularly like it just flat, personal opinion, that's all, I just want it to be stuffed, and my daughter would expect it to be stuffed too, to remind her more of hers. No other reason than that. What I REALLY want is a clown, tho, so I'll go back to that rather than try to essentially "redesign a design", just to keep it simple. 

Edited October 5, 2019 by Elaine Pack

[LillyDollDesigns]

On 10/2/2019 at 6:02 AM, Elaine Pack said:

Ah, interesting on the definition, probably just coincidental the ones I looked at were all tiny. Many do, thanks, but it would be helpful if folks consistently had the approximate finished dimensions on the photos.

Agree on the hair! Hadn't thought about that yet, but easy enough to leave it off. Luckily the old pattern came hairless.

The eyes (and hat) are sewn on yarn, not metal or plastic. I probably didn't think of that back when, but luckily the pattern specifically said to crochet them and sew them onto the head. But yes, we all know now of course that babies and youngsters and tiny metal/plastic things don't mix.

elaine

I was wondering, almost all store bought stuffed animals have plastic eyes, just like crochet. So why is there a difference?

[Elaine Pack]

8 hours ago, LillyDollDesigns said:

I was wondering, almost all store bought stuffed animals have plastic eyes, just like crochet. So why is there a difference?

Not sure, but personally, if I'm doing a toy for a small child, I would do crocheted or sewn on yarn features if only because of the potential that a plastic one could be more easily pulled off and swallowed. Now that said, I haven't done a toy like this in 40 years  so maybe plastic eyes these days are different? The one I made didn't have an option, as I recall, the features were crocheted/sewn per the pattern. Maybe store bought ones are better embedded these days? Something else? I have no idea, but it's an excellent question and hopefully someone else can shed more recent light on this.

[LillyDollDesigns]

You would have to break the plastic or metal backing to remove the eye, and I don't think that a baby or toddler could do that 😕 although if they had a hammer.... 😂

[Elaine Pack]

18 minutes ago, LillyDollDesigns said:

You would have to break the plastic or metal backing to remove the eye, and I don't think that a baby or toddler could do that 😕 although if they had a hammer.... 😂

Hahaha! Glad to hear that Sounds like the manufacturers etc wised up!

[ReniC]

On the 12 inch clown already linked to this thread, it can easily be made either more girly looking or androgynous. Make the hat look "flowery", add a skirt, plus a little bit of blush on the cheeks. Oh- and omit the balloon for a baby/toddler.

And here is another pattern of a cute clown: Fooly the Clown. And of course, no "bow on a stick: or buttons for a little one.

Hope this helps.

 

Edited October 14, 2019 by ReniC

[Granny Square]

Oh wow, Fooley is wonderful, and plenty big looking at the bricks behind him/her.  I love the details, down to the fingers!  The clown hair goes either way, add a skirt (the pants become bloomers) and you are good to go.  Or pinafore, basically skirt + front panel + suspenders, like Dorothy's blue gingham outfit in the Wizard of Oz movie.

 

[ReniC]

20 hours ago, Granny Square said:

Oh wow, Fooley is wonderful, and plenty big looking at the bricks behind him/her.  I love the details, down to the fingers!  The clown hair goes either way, add a skirt (the pants become bloomers) and you are good to go.  Or pinafore, basically skirt + front panel + suspenders, like Dorothy's blue gingham outfit in the Wizard of Oz movie.

 

Yes he is cute. I hope our OP gets to see it.

[Elaine Pack]

On 9/29/2019 at 10:58 AM, Elaine Pack said:

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I made her a crocheted clown doll. She loved it so much she still has it as an adult Well, she is now preggers herself and I want to make HER daughter her OWN clown I've found tons of patterns but the vast majority are those tiny amigurumi ones that I personally don't especially care for, or an occasional 18+ inch ones. What I'd like is a pattern for a female or at least generic 12+/- inch tall clown. I see a lot on various pinterest or etsy sites, but surprisingly, many don't think to show finished height, and well, so many patterns, so little time, ya know? I'm willing to buy a pattern, but as always free is GOOD

Any suggestions welcome!

Elaine

PS before anyone asks, the original pattern I had did not survive multiple moves around the country unfortunately. 

Rightly or wrongly, I decided to go with "Cuddly Bunny Clown" (https://images.app.goo.gl/F5DwQjSau3ip33XF9) All the suggestions were great, and I thank everyone who responded! The main reason I went with this one is simplicity. Except for the ears, it's probably the closest to the original clown, and the plan is that I will use the same color combo on this one as on the original, i.e., red body and ruff, yellow arms, white "hands", face and feet, red and yellow hat. The buttons, which are not on the original, will be yellow, and I'll probably sew the hat to the head as it is on the original, but haven't decided that yet. What this gives me is a doll that will be uniquely the new baby's, yet be "tied" to the original one via color and simplicity of style. It's "officially" 38 cm (15 inches) a bit bigger than the original (although I'm not certain if the hat counts as it's not attached in this pattern, but most likely it does). Given I tend to work tight, it should run an inch or so shorter. Thank you all SO much for your comments and advice, I GREATLY appreciate it!

elaine

[Granny Square]

What a sweet pattern, little one is going to love it!

[BPokorny]

This one is a paid pattern. Maybe???

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/miss-clown

(Its 27 cm which is roughly around 10.6 inches)

Edited February 18, 2020 by BPokorny