Stretch the Giraffe

I’m in love with this sweet giraffe designed by my favorite stuffed animal designer – Stacey Trock of freshstitches.  This is from her book Crocheted Softies which I got as a very generous “extra” in my swap package in a secret pal swap among people in Stacey’s Ravelry fan group.

Usually I make amigurumi out of standard acrylic yarn (or from 100% wool if it is from a kit I get from Stacey, since she likes to use the nice stuff).  But this time I tried something different.  I used a very soft cotton/acrylic blend from Knit Picks called Comfy.  I also crocheted this guy at a much looser gauge than I usually crochet my stuffies at (used a J hook vs. an H).  All this resulted in a very soft, extra squishy, huggable, adorable giraffe!  Yay!

yarn details
Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Creme Brulee and Doe
worsted weight
75% pima cotton, 25% acrylic
machine wash and dry
109 yards/50 grams @ $2.99 per ball

findings
12mm safety eyes
polyfill stuffing

project details
pattern: Stretch the Giraffe by Stacey Trock in the book Crocheted Softies
hook: J (6.0 mm)
gauge: looser than usual
yarn used: 1.1 balls of yellow and 0.43 balls of brown
finished size: 8” high – not including horns
duration: May 9 – August 16, 2014

notes

• I ran out of the yellow Comfy yarn with just a few rows left on the head, so I subbed in some Shine Worsted in the same colorway that I happened to have.  You really can’t tell, thank goodness! 
• I like how this guy is floppier than my usual stuffies, but I feel like you can kind of see the stuffing through the fabric. I think I will probably go back to using an H hook for my freshstitches amigurumi.