Hippocampeon

For the past few months, I've been obsessing with Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series... I know, I know! It's a tad late. Actually, I'm so behind with the latest in trending books that I'm just finishing up Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, and the Kane Chronicles. Yikes! It's like I'm a century out of date. O_O But it's better late than never right? Besides, I'm doing double time with my reading so I'm picking up a pretty good pace in crossing out books in my reading list. Right now I'm 37 down with infinity more to go... Yah, I have a very long list. Hehehe!

Anyway, going back to Percy Jackson... I finished all five books and

going gaga over Greek myths and monsters. Apart from the main characters, one of the creatures that got my attention is the Hippocampus. The Hippocampi are sea creatures that are half horse and half fish... Kinda like a mer-horse, to put in simply. First time they've been mentioned is in book 2 (Sea of Monsters) and after that , they became staple characters up until the fifth and final book (The Last Olympian). I loved the fact that one of them is named Rainbow. So adorable!

With the Percy Jackson fever, I adapted the Hippocampus to make my entry for the amigurumi-making contest in Amigurumi-Challenge last August. The contest is to adapt Evelyn Pham's baby eeveelution patterns and make up your own eevee evolution. So for my entry, of course I used the baby Vaporeon pattern. How else could you make a half horse half fish looking eevee? ^^

BABY VAPOREON

(Click for Pattern)

HIPPOCAMPEON

Materials:
Monaco Yarn Shade #46 - Ocean (2-3 skeins)
Monaco Yarn Shade #242 - Mint (1 skein)
Monaco Yarn Shade #247 - Cloud (1 skein)
Monaco Yarn Shade #31 - Flamingo (1 skein)
Monaco Yarn Shade #26 - Periwinkle (1 skein)
Crochet Hook - F5 (3.75 mm)
Felt cloth:
           - White
           - Black
Marker pens
Lacquer spray paint
Fiberfill stuffing
*dcinc = 2dc in 1st
*1sc1dc = sc then dc in same st
*1dc1hdc = dc then hdc in same st

I adapted most of the parts except for the ears. I also added side fins and a furry neck collar.

EARS-TOP (2x)
(Mint)
2ch
Row 1: sc on 2nd ch from hook, ch1-turn (1)
Row 2: inc, ch1-turn (2)
Row 3: inc, 1sc, ch1-turn (3)
Row 4: 2sc, inc, ch1-turn (4)
Row 5-10: sc across, ch1-turn (4)
FO, leave tail for sewing

EARS-MIDDLE (2x)
(Mint)
2ch
Row 1: sc on 2nd ch from hook, ch1-turn (1)
Row 2: inc, ch1-turn (2)
Row 3: inc, 1sc, ch1-turn (3)
Row 4-8: sc across, ch1-turn (3)
FO, weave in ends

EARS-BOTTOM (2x)
(Mint)
2ch
Row 1: sc on 2nd ch from hook, ch1-turn (1)
Row 2: inc, ch1-turn (2)
Row 3-6: sc across, ch1-turn (2)
FO, weave in ends

*After completing all ear parts, stitch the three together and with Mint, sc around to clean up the borders
* Use Ocean to crochet the top part of the ear. No need to go around

Phew! I hope that's not too confusing. Hahaha! ^^

For the side fins, I adjusted the original ears pattern and made it smaller. Just enough to fit on the sides. Noticeable but not distracting. ^^ 

SIDE FINS (2x)
(Mint)
3ch
Row 1: dc on 2nd ch from hook, 1sc, ch1-turn (2)
Row 2: sc across, ch1-turn (2)
Row 3: 1dc1hdc, 1sc, ch1-turn (3)
Row 4: 2sc, 1sc1dc, ch1-turn (4)
Row 5: dcinc, 3sc, ch1-turn (5)
(Ocean)
Row 6: [dc, 2sc, 3sl] *repeat in reverse for other fin (6)
FO, weave in ends
*Attach to the sides of the body, a little above and in between the arms and legs

NECK COLLAR
*I used Evelyn Pham's technique in her baby eevee pattern

BABY EEVEE

(Click for Pattern)

*To get that purplish pink shade, I combined Periwinkle, Flamingo, and Cloud
*It'll look ridiculous while attaching it so don't be discouraged. After going though the pet brushing and ironing, I guarantee it'll look perfect ^^
*Make spontaneous trims to make the fur more natural

EYES (2x)
*Cut out a piece of white felt cloth and spray it with a thin coat of transparent lacquer. It makes drawing on it considerably easier, minimizing the fuzziness
*Sketch the eyes then use the marker pens for outline and color
*Set it aside for a few minutes just to make sure the marker's dried then spray again a thin coat of transparent lacquer
*let it dry then cut it out and glue on the head

NOSE
*Cut out a small piece of black felt in the shape of an inverted triangle
*Glue it a little below and between the eyes 

Voila! My Hippocampeon was born. ^^
      
===> So I submitted this entry last Aug. 31... Yah, last minute and almost didn't make it. Wow. Such suspense. Very much crochet. Hahaha! ^^ Anyway, the winners were announced today and... I wasn't one of them. Aww! XD But that's okay, the main winner was really deserving. Her flying type eevee was out of this world. Oh well, better luck next time. ^3^ 



Copyright: Hippocampeon is an original pattern written by Duchess Gala with adaptation from Evelyn Pham's Vaporeon pattern. You may do whatever you want with the finished product but please do not sell or claim the pattern as your own. Also, do not post the pattern directly to your website. Just link it to this blog. ^^ 

Disclaimer: Some of the images are not mine and can be searched online