Get Crafty with My Melody

Doesn’t learning a new skill sound super sweet? If the answer is yes, you’re in for an amazing surprise! This pattern from our guest blogger, Twinkie Chan, is a super fun tutorial which will teach you how to create your own My Melody decoration with yarn!

Hi, I’m Twinkie Chan! I’m a crochet designer and author in San Francisco who specializes in cute and food-themed crochet. I have worked with Sanrio in the past with one-of-a-kind pieces for Hello Kitty’s 35th Anniversary fashion show, Sanrio’s 50th Anniversary art show, and limited edition scarf collaboration. You can find more about me at my website, www.TwinkieChan.com, check out free crochet patterns on my blog, and watch crochet tutorials on YouTube.

Website: www.TwinkieChan.com
Blog: blog.TwinkieChan.com
Instagram: Instagram.com/twinkiechan
Facebook: Facebook.com/twinkiechan
YouTube: YouTube.com/TwinkieChanTV
Twitter: Twitter.com/twinkiechan

Let’s celebrate the New Year with our cute Sanrio friend of the month for January, My Melody! If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to be more crafty, My Melody is a perfectly pink muse for an adorable crochet project. I’ll show you how to make a My Melody applique that you can use to decorate many different parts of your life, like patches or pockets for your clothes, a small plush, pillow, or ornament, and you can also string a bunch together to make an amazing garland. I consider this a project that a beginner could handle, but if you are brand new to crochet, I suggest visiting some tutorials on YouTube first to learn some basic stitches and techniques.

What You’ll Need for 1 My Melody Applique

• approx. 15 yards of a worsted weight yarn in Pink, such as Red Heart Super Saver in Perfect Pink
• approx. 7 yards of a worsted weight yarn in White, such as Red Heart Super Saver in Soft White
• H8/5.00mm crochet hook
• small amount of black felt
• small amount of yellow felt
• scissors
• tapestry needle
• fabric glue 

Abbreviations in U.S. Crochet Terms

ch(s) – chain(s)
dc – double crochet
hdc – half double crochet
rnd(s) – round(s)
sc –single crochet
sk – skip 
sl st – slip stitch
st(s) – stitch(es)
YO – yarn over
(   ) – work everything inside the parentheses into the next stitch
[   ] –work everything inside the brackets the number of times indicated

Stitch Refresher

sl st – slip stitch – insert hook into desired stitch, YO, pull through both loops on hook.  

sc –single crochet – insert hook into desired stitch, YO, pull through 1 loop, YO pull through 2 remaining loops.

hdc – half double crochet – YO, insert hook into desired stitch, YO, pull through 1 loop, YO pull thought all 3 loops. 

dc – double crochet – YO, insert hook into desired stitch, YO, pull through 1 loop, [YO, pull through 2 loops] 2 times. 

Notes

• You’ll be working with 2 colors at the same time. When dropping one color, you will carry it along while working the other color, unless instructed otherwise. Please make note of this, as I won’t instruct you to carry the alternate color along each time.

•  The color changing in the head might seem a bit complicated, but trust the pattern, take it slow, and watch My Melody and her pink hood come to life!

Head

- With Pink, ch 9.

Rnd 1: Sk 1st 2 chs, work 6 hdc, (2 hdc, drop Pink, join White, 3 hdc) in the last ch to turn corner. Now working in opposite side of foundation ch, 5 hdc, (2 hdc, drop White, pick up Pink, 2 hdc) in last st, sl st to 1st hdc to join. – 20 sts

Rnd 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1st hdc) and hdc in same st, 5 hdc, (2 hdc) 3 times, drop Pink, pick up White, (2 hdc) times, 5 hdc, (2 hdc) 2 times, (hdc, drop White, pick up Pink, hdc), (2 hdc), sl st to top of ch 2 (1st hdc) to join. – 30 sts 

Rnd 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1st hdc), (2 hdc) in next st, 6 hdc, [(2 hdc), 1 hdc] 3 times, (hdc, drop Pink, pick up White, hdc), hdc, (2 hdc), 6 hdc, (2 hdc), 1 hdc, (2 hdc), drop White, pick up Pink, hdc, (2 hdc), hdc, (2 hdc), sl st to top of ch 2 to join. – 40 sts

Rnd 4: Ch 2 (counts 1st hdc), hdc in next st, (2 hdc), 7 hdc, [(2 hdc), 2 hdc] 4 times, drop Pink, pick up White, (2 hdc), 7 hdc, (2 hdc), 2 hdc, break off White since you don’t need it anymore, pick up Pink, [(2 hdc), 2 hdc] 2 times, (2 hdc), sl st to top of ch 2 to join. Don’t break off yet. Now you’ll work on the ears. – 50 sts  

Right Ear

Rows 2-5: Ch 2, turn. Work 7 hdc evenly across. (7 sts)

Row 6: Ch 1, turn. Sk 2 hdc, (2 dc) 3 times, sk next 1 st, sl st in last stitch. – 7 sts

• Break off and weave in ends. 

Left Ear

In next free st on the Head to the left of Right Ear, re-join Pink.

Row 1: Ch 2 (doesn’t count as first st) and hdc, 6 more hdc evenly. – 7 sts

Rows 2-6: Repeat Rows 2-6 of Right Ear.

• Break off and weave in ends. 

Flower

With White, make magic circle, OR, ch 3, sl st to 1stch to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 4 sc into ring. Sl st to 1st sc to join. – 4 sts 

Rnd 2: Ch 1, and in same st, (2 hdc, ch 1, sl st) which is one petal, [in next st, work (sl st, ch 1, 2 hdc, ch 1, sl st] 3 times for 3 more petals. 

• Break off leaving approx. 18 inches of yarn for sewing later.

• Weave in short end.

Assembly

1. Sew Flower to Head. Cut a small circle out of yellow felt and glue it to the center of the Flower.
2. Cut 2 black ovals for eyes, a small black smile, and a small yellow oval nose. Arrange on face before gluing.
3. If using My Melody as an applique, you can sew or glue to almost anything!
4. If making a plush or pillow, make 2 My Melody appliques and sew or whipstitch them together with a little stuffing inside. While sewing, use Pink yarn on the Pink portions and White yarn on the White portions so that the stitching doesn’t stand out too much.
5. If making a garland, make 5-7 My Melody appliques and string them together using any method you wish, such as mini clothes pins on a string, or crochet chains.

How lovely! Thank you so much, Twinkie Chan, for sharing this delightful tutorial with everyone! If you’d like to see more from Twinkie Chan, don’t forget to check out her website and to follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube!

Please note: Sanrio has invited, but does not necessarily endorse, the comments of this guest blogger. The contents of this blog are the copyrighted works of the guest blogger, except that Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters remain the sole intellectual property of Sanrio, and are used with permission from Sanrio. Any ideas or instructions for homemade products featuring Hello Kitty or other Sanrio characters are authorized for personal use only. A separate license from Sanrio is always required to sell or distribute any products featuring Hello Kitty or other Sanrio characters.