This week’s plush comes in a bit late, but I think it was worth the extra time! With the weather finally warming up, I decided to make Ho-oh.

To be honest, this pokemon has been on my mind for several weeks; I have a few more that I keep thinking back to, but I it would be better to spread them out amongst other prompts. We’re almost at the half point of this year, if you can believe it.

Like most of my projects, it has a lot of detail that I didn’t push through until the weekend. I knew there was lots to do, but it still was left until the last minute; it may also have to do with the fact that I’m trying to get back into cycling after work.

For the head and body, I tried making a colourway for the neck and stomach, using this website:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.garnstudio.com/video.php%3Fid%3D1254%26lang%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwjb4Jzm4MriAhVRMt8KHQB0A1wQwqsBMAt6BAgGEAo&usg=AOvVaw1m0ptes5m0AVx2RjT2LFpZ

Normally I would make each colour a separate piece, but with this technique, I like how it sits altogether. It’s unfortunate that some of the edges look a bit jagged, but maybe there’s another way to prevent this.

For the head, I tried making 4 pieces for the crest; however, the pieces ended up being too thick, so I used only 3 of them.

Once I was at the feet stage, I left it as a featherless two-legged dodo until this past Saturday; the amount of detail can get pretty daunting and I wanted to make the feathers all in one go.

Making the feathers felt like a project on its own; I made 6 large tail feathers, 6 smaller tail feathers, and 20 wing feathers. The red feathers were equivalent to 24 feather pieces.

First off, the tail feathers were made with a combination of flat triangular pieces on a chain, which were used as a base to make the rounds below it. Everytime I crochet into the side of a double crochet, it feels like I’m colouring in another direction.

After changing colours and finishing the rounds section, I stitched the triangles together using the yarn ends. With enough pieces made, they were stitched together and mounted onto a separate half-sphere piece for reinforcement.

After a break in between, I went for the wing feathers. First I make a chain, crochet one row, and then continue the row onto the other side of the chain to form a flattish round.

Three size groups were made for the feathers of each wing. Once they were all made, the pieces were combined into a single piece. Sandwiched between the red piece, the wings were finally completed; you can imagine that these each felt like separate creatures by the end of it.

Overall, this amigurumi was a test of patience and perseverance. The result of such test:

Thanks for reading! This week, I ask what your favourite grass starter line is.