Introduction: Lion Brand Challenge-Lion Christmas Stocking

This is a very short slide show showing off my first crocheted Lion Christmas Stocking. I made it for my roommate this year from scratch. Now that Christmas is over we will probably stuff it and make it into a stuffed animal.

I used a fuzzy lion colored acrylic yarn for the body and then whatever random yarns I had to make the mane. The white stomach part is the same type of yarn as the body just in white.

The Head:
The face is crocheted in a circle to the desired size. You can use any sized gauge you like, it will just make minor differences in the sizes of the holes and how much yarn you will need to use. I started with small stitches, singles and got larger. The nose is made by making the circle sort of roll in on itself, then once you have the desired size, you just start crocheting again where it will lay flat. I began then using trippio stitches to make the work go faster. The back is the same as the front without the nose bump.

The Body:
The body is just a rectangle of white the desired size, with rectangles of the light brown on the sides. I used a trippio stitch for the entire body. The back is all light brown, crocheted to the same size as the front.

The Extremities:
The arms, legs and tail are just small rectangles the desired length and width. The ears are small half circles. You can just make them full circles if that is easier, and tuck away half of the circle behind the face.

Putting it Together:
To attach all the pieces I just used the crochet hook to stitch all the pieces together. Make sure when you attach the head to the body you don't go through all four pieces, but only the front pieces together, and then the back pieces together. This way the entire Lion is one big pocket.

The Mane:
To make the mane I pre-cut lengthes of each color yarn I used in lengths twice as long as the desired outcome length. I chose three yarns for this project. One was a white plain yarn, one was a dark brown also plain yarn, and the last was a multi colored fuzzy brownish yarn. I let it fray even more as it gave it that fullness you see. I then took one string from each pile and on the front face piece I began tying double knots through each loop. I went around the entire circle. If you find it is not as full as you like, just go back and add more. It can be as full or thin as you like.

The Extra Details:
The nose is just a dark brown circle that mimics the shape of the nose that protrudes a bit on the face. It just goes right on top of the bump like a skull hat fits on a head. The eyes are smaller circles in blue yarn. The mouth is made by making a thread chain and then adding one more row down it to give it just the right thickness. *Leave the tails long on the face pieces as you will use them to anchor them in place. I just used the crochet hook again to pull the yarn through the holes, tying the tails of the yarn together on the inside. I created the beard using the same method as the mane. I had an old pair of glasses that I stuck through the holes in the desired place to give it a personal touch since my roommate wears similar glasses. For the tail again just use the same yarns as the mane and tie them at the end of the tail. To make it more Christmasy I added a wreath of faux cranberries that I sewed his paw around. Then I added a Christmas Ornament as a sort of collar name plate. I used ribbon which I tied under the main to the body as opposed to tying around the head like an actual necklace. The pictures here show the ornament with the original Michael's paper in it however, I removed it and replaced it with a piece of paper cut to size with my roommate's name on it.

Stuffing It:
If you want to make it a stuffed animal you can just fill it with fluff and close the top. I would probably fill it, stuff it, close it, and then put the mane on last if I was going to go directly into making it a stuffed animal.

I got most of my supplies from Michaels, Joann Fabrics and Walmart.