Video Transcript:
My name is Jess from jesshuff.com, and this is part eight of my Sage the Sheep crochet along.
At this point you should have all the pieces of your sheep crocheted. In this video, we’ll be doing the assembly.
You can find a link to the full written pattern, and everything you need to know about this crochet along in the video description below. Let’s get started.
Step 1: Attaching the Head to the Body
We’ll start by attaching the head to the body. Start by making sure you have a really long tail on your body. I like to make sure mine is about as long as my arm span, which is roughly 5 feet.
Next, make sure to have a disappearing ink marker. You can buy this at any craft store in the sewing section.
Finally, find an object with a circular base that has the same circumference as the opening of your body. I like to use this shot glass that I found at the dollar store.
Step 1.1 – Tracing a Circular Guide
The first part of step 1 is tracing a circular guide. Start by aligning the shot glass from a side view.
We want our finished sheep to be looking straight forward, so don’t align the shot glass too far forward or too far back. Centered below the ear is about right.
Then without losing your front-to-back position, turn the head so you’re viewing it from the front.
Adjust the head side-to-side to make sure the shot glass is centered below the eyes and ears.
Once you’ve ensured your shot glass is centered both front-to-back and side-to-side, grab your disappearing ink marker and trace around the base of the glass.
Step 1.2 – Sewing on the Head
The second part of step 1 is sewing on the head. Thread the tail of the body through a yarn needle.
Lay the body on top of the head over your traced circle, with the tail centered on the back of the head.
Start attaching the head to the body, leaving some slack in your stitches. This part is kind of tricky because it’s not an exact science.
Just make sure the distance you’ve gone around the circle on the body is about equal with the circle on the head. Make adjustments as you go.
It’s okay to pull out some stitches and redo them to ensure things are staying even. Leave your last couple stitches open.
Once you’re fairly sure the head is on straight, we’re going to tighten all our stitching with a yarn needle.
Use your yarn needle to pull a strand, then pull it tight with your fingers. Tight stitching and proper stuffing ensure you won’t end up with a wobbly head.
Step 1.3 – Adding Extra Stuffing
The third part of step 1 is adding extra stuffing. When you get to the end of the round, add additional stuffing until the neck is nice and firm. There shouldn’t be any slack or empty space between the top of the body and the head.
The final step of attaching the head is closing up the remaining hole. Once you’re finished stuffing, close up those last couple stitches and pull them tight. Secure with a knot and hide the yarn tail inside the work.
Lay the animal on its back. Make sure the head is centered, not tilted slightly left or right, so the eyes are pointed straight toward the ceiling.
Step 2: Attaching the legs to the body
Next, grab one of your legs, and align the top on the base of the body. The inside corner should be touching the outside of that first bobble round on the body.
Use your disappearing ink marker to draw a line on the body roughly the same width as the top of your leg. The line should be centered horizontally on the body and parallel with the eyes and ears. Thread the tail on the leg through a yarn needle.
Work through a spot on the body, then through one of the slip stitches at the top of the leg.
Continue attaching the leg to the body, through every slip stitch on the leg. Leave your stitching a bit loose in case you need to make any adjustments.
View the animal from all angles to make sure the legs are on straight. When you’re satisfied with the look, we can go ahead and tighten these stitches, then secure them with a knot.
Hide the tail inside the work. Repeat this process for the other leg.
Step 3: Attaching the arms to the body
Align the arm centered below the ear, between the last two rounds of bobble stitches.
Grab your disappearing ink marker and trace a line roughly the same width as the top of the arm.
Thread the tail through a yarn needle. Attach the arm to the body, through each slip stitch at the top of the arm.
Fasten off with a knot and hide the tail inside the work. Repeat this process for the other arm. The last step of our project will be attaching the tail to the body.
We’re going to attach the tail between the 4th and 5th bobble rounds on the body.
Grab your disappearing ink marker, and trace a line roughly the same width as the top of the tail.
Thread the tail through a yarn needle, and attach the tail to the body, going through each slip stitch at the top of the tail. Fasten off with a knot and hide the tail inside the work.
Congratulations! You’ve just finished my Sage the Sheep crochet along. I’d love to see how your project turned out, so if you post a photo on social media, be sure to tag me so I can find it.
If you haven’t already, please do me a big favor by hitting the like button on this video and subscribing to my channel. See you next time!