From the Old Toybox: Gyarados Amigurumi

Machbunny
Giant shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view
Giant shiny amigurumi Gyarados, face front view
Giant amigurumi Gyarados, front view in comparison to tiny shiny amigurumi gyarados
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view

Today, I feature one of my most recognized pieces on the internet, the giant gyarados! I made a shiny one back in 2014, and then I made a regular one in 2015. I featured it on my tumblr way back when, and I’m impressed that I can find it on google. This week, I made a tiny version!

I made the shiny gyarados for a commission back when I just finished university. I had so much time to dedicate into making each part, it was as if time was an unlimited resource; never mind the ongoing pressure to look for a job. All those hours of counting and turning over were worth it to me at the time.

Gyarados’s design took so long to wrap my head around; the way its nostrils and mouth sit on the face were a huge challenge to translate into a nice side profile. I am obsessed with getting all the angles right, so I couldn’t let it go.

Luckily pokemon x and y came out, so I was able to rotate the face in every which way I needed. After many attempts at drawing its face, I finally got comfortable and began sketching the layout for the pattern.

Gif of Gyarados model from pokemon x y, from Smogon
Amigurumi Gyarados, concept art

The layout went as such: top face, combined with bottom jaw, creating an elbow-like neck base, to attach the two-toned multi- segmented body.

Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, side view of the base pieces

Details included the mouth and tongue, teeth, lips, eyes and horns, whiskers, neck piece, fins, and beige scales. Unemployed me thought it sounded pretty straightforward to do. The face details were put onto the head before the head was attached onto the body. Check out the progression on the tiny version!

Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, side view of the base head piece
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view of the face with lips and tongue
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view of the face with lips and tongue and teeth
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view of the face with lips and tongue, teeth, and eyes
Kind of looks like a pug-faced Charizard
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view of the face with lips and tongue, teeth, eyes, and horns

Of course, it took so much time, repetition, and dedication to get it done – I didn’t think I’d want to make another one after the shiny version was completed. I also didn’t think it would become such a popular post on tumblr, which prompted me to make another one.

A lot of people asked me for the pattern; at the time, I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of selling or giving out an untested pattern to people. Maybe if I made it nicer, I could sell it? This project took a lot of effort to figure out, and it didn’t feel right to give it out if people weren’t actually committed to making it.

I thought I’d make it again to see if I remembered how it was made, and then I was planning to let my friend’s sister test it out. I managed to make the giant blue one, using the rough note patterns I wrote down; through this process, I was able to refine the terminology and digitize it into a doc file.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get back much feedback on it, and it sort of stayed in limbo ever since. People asked for the pattern and didn’t wait for an answer, which sort of put a damper on my efforts.

Nonetheless, I keep the blue gyarados as a testament to my efforts in amigurumi.

Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view with the body
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view of the face
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, side view with the body
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, back view with the body
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view of the face
Tiny shiny amigurumi Gyarados, front view of the face looking up

Thanks for reading!

29 thoughts on “From the Old Toybox: Gyarados Amigurumi”

  1. Thank you so much for posting this! I am using you photos as a reference for me making this beast. I havent been able to find a pattern for him ANYWHERE and decided to take it into my own hands. I’m super stuck on his fins, fangs, and his dorsal finnage. I’m having such a hard time. my guy is a mini and he is been in the works 2 days. i have the face shape i like, you mentioned a pug version of a charizard and i happened to have a pattern for an open mouth charizard, i modified it of course. and i made the body up on my own. but boy am i stuck on the finnage and the fangs. i can never get them to turn out right lol a lot of frogging has gone on. but thank you so much for making this epic gyarados! it gives me hope that i might be able to do him justice too!

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    1. That’s great to hear! How mini is your mini gyarados going to be?
      Incidentally, I am currently working on digitizing the pattern for the small gyarados, but it is taking me a while.
      In case you were wondering about the fangs and head fins, the fangs were either made as a tiny cone or a stubby single row of crochets. The head fin I remember being a combination of a thin tube of crocheted rounds, combined with pieces of triangular shaped crochet rows.
      I would love to see what your gyarados will look like! I’m also glad the pug description helped, hahah.

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  2. This is absolutely outstanding! I have been scouring the net for a Gyarados to make for my daughter’s birthday in November. By far this looks the best! I just finished making Stitch from Lilo and stitch for my wife’s birthday. Working on Cuebone for my boss lol. Would love to make a mega gyarados. Hats off to you I must say. If your willing to share your pattern if love to make it.

    Thanks
    Jayce Conway

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  4. This looks absolutely amazing! If you wouldn’t mind, is it possible for me to get a pattern for the mini Gyarados? It’s ok if it isn’t tested or finished, I understand.

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    1. Thanks! I am currently working on the pattern to be distributed, I just need the time to get it refined :>

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      2. This one is probably not going to be free, I’ll be trying to give it lots of detail before it is released

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    1. I’m happy to hear that there’s a lot of interest in my Gyarados pattern! I have been meaning to refine the pattern before distributing it.

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      1. Hello I am also very interested in a boss for a large gyarados, my boyfriend demands it from me and I am not able to do it myself. I hope that the model will be simple to understand because I am French and it is difficult for me to follow the patterns in English

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      2. Hello, I’m sorry, but I do not have a finished pattern to distribute – I have not been able to work on these yet.

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    1. I am currently trying to get the Mini Gyarados up and ready – I just need to fix up some details and I need to find the time to do so!

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  8. I would love to test for you! Your finished piece is amazing! I can send some other projects I have made to show skill. I have only tested once but I have been pretty good at finding mistakes in patterns.

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    1. Thanks for reaching out to me about this! I do have a lot of ideas running around in my mind, but I could definitely have my old patterns tested. I’ll have to write a post about that soon!

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  9. Ein Wahnsinn, so etwas Tolles habe ich noch nie gesehen. Der Zeitaufwand das zu häkeln und zu formen muss wohl sehr lange gewesen sein. Ich könnte so etwas niemals, obwohl ich sehr viele Polemon häkle. Gratuliere wunderschön.

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  10. Guten Abend, mein Enkelsohn ist so begeistert von diesem Garados, er ist aber auch der Schönste, den ich je gesehen habe. Könnte ich dieses Muster kaufen. Ich würde mich sehr freuen. Mein Enkel Valentin hat von mir schon fast alle Pokemons gehäkelt bekommen, aber so einen schönen hat er nicht. Es würde mich sehr freuen, die Häkelanleitung von Ihnen zu bekommen.

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    1. Hi again, I am hoping to get the mini gyarados pattern uploaded soon! I’m glad to hear that many people are interested!

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  11. Hi, I don’t know how active you still are on here but I would love to buy your gyrados pattern! My brother loves him and I would like to make him either the big one or the small one! All the other patterns I have seen for him mess up his face area. Please and thank you!

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    1. Thanks for reaching out, I am hoping to get the mini gyarados up soon – Gyarados’s face is not one that replicates easily, that’s for sure!

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  12. hi are you still active, I would love to get a copy of your pattern please, I have been asked to make a Gyarados and haven’t a clue where to start.

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    1. Hi Karen, I have been working behind the scenes lately, but I am still making projects! Currently I have the mini-gyarados available on my site; it is in the shop section if you’d like to check it out!

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  13. Hi I like your work. 🙂 I was wondering if your giving away your Gyarados pattern? My friend wants me to make her a pokemon so im just looking around and found this.

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    1. Hi Lenae, currently the mini gyarados pattern is available on this blog; the giant gyarados pattern is still in a rough state, though.

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