The origin of the amigurumi crochet pattern of Alwin Oakleaf
Do you remember him?
In my blog from Idea to Creation I had already told about him:
"And sometimes getting inspiration takes a little longer ...
I had crocheted a head with horns. But what next? I wanted to make a Mr. Tumnus of Narnia, but very different. It really took me a while to figure out for myself how I'm going to make his legs and in the meantime I was distracted by all kinds of other inspiration coming my way. In the end it came to pass: Alwin the Dreamcatcher!”
Really, this time it took a lot longer! He has been downstairs in the living room for weeks, maybe even months so that I could always have a look and maybe, just maybe, I would spontaneously know how I would continue. Later he moved into the bedroom, I could still see him, but not as often.
I crocheted it with Royal van Zeeman on crochet hook 3. The head has become quite large. My husband thought I should leave it at a head, beautiful on a wooden pedestal! 'That's also nice', I thought, 'but I still want a body.' If I made a matching body, it would be very big.
So the first idea was born: I would start again with cotton yarn and on crochet hook 2.5. But what next?
A faun or a troll as a crochet pattern?
There was already an idea in my head, that he had to become a kind of faun, a kind of Mr. Tumnus of Narnia but very different! I had already made a sketch of his head. And as you can see, I deviated slightly from that as well.
What if I made him half troll, half faun? A creation with horns, hairy legs and big bare feet! I had even found a name for him via the internet, based on his horns: Alwin Rapidhorn. Because what is a creation without a name? But names can also change...
For inspiration I started searching on the internet and I came across some very special and interesting images on Pinterest. One of them was a very interesting lady with a staff with a dreamcatcher of Bryan Syme. That would be nice for Alwin, a staff with a dreamcatcher!
Arms, legs and hair
He already had arms and legs in addition to a head. I made Alwin's hair from a piece of fur from an old coat of my grandmother. Did you know that you can do many more fun things with fake fur in combination with your crochet? You can read all about it in my blog:
Crochet and fake fur a good combination.
Alwin also had a staff but he was still sitting with a bare torso.
Fantasy figure from the forest
I really think he is a forest figure and soon I came up with the idea to make a kind of vest of leaves, of oak leaves to be precise. I crocheted another acorn and the picture was complete.
This was also the moment to change the name of Alwin.
After months of thinking and waiting for the right inspiration, Alwin Oakleaf, Catcher of Dreams, was born!
Alwin's father is a faun and his Mother is a troll. He lives in the forest near a large old oak tree. At night, he goes out to catch bad dreams. In the morning, these bad dreams slip off his dreamcatcher and dry up in the morning sun. Sometimes he leaves a magical acorn so you know he's been there...
Alwin's design process began in 2017.
The pattern was published in April 2018!
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