Desperandum Ursi

A couple of times now I have created 3D knitted objects based on a picture. It's a fun exercise for me -  no pattern provided, nor do I create one. I just think about the shape I want to achieve, and dive in.

I made an "anxiety demon" at Christmas time that proved extraordinarily hard to photograph, since it was unrelievedly black, and complicated. Since it was important to the thing's personality that its mouth open and close, I inserted a binder clip, well-wrapped in yarn, into the head as I stuffed it. Worked pretty well.

Now I've just finished a "despair bear" as a gift for a fan of that comic. I had a pretty good picture to work from, although constantly looking at it eventually creeped me out.

My first issue was matching the incredibly dark purple, a shade which is to purple what navy blue is to blue. Knit Picks Brava Worsted in Eggplant was the answer. I used stash acrylic worsted in Snow for the white areas, which were done in duplicate stitch except for the snout.

The second issue I could foresee was that, the head, being out of proportion to the body, was going to make it difficult for the thing to stand. I made the base of the feet flat and added a chenille stick armature before stuffing to help with that. I did not look ahead to realize that the ears were going to need help to stand up, and had to add chenille sticks after the fact, which was fiddly.

And finally, the thing has glow in the dark eyes. So does mine, thanks to an old glow-in-the-dark super-ball and a sharp knife. I sewed on dark purple buttons, then glued the hemispheres to the buttons. I had to work some interior shaping with tied yarn to keep them back far enough in its head.

I was not averse to borrowing known shapes as I went along. I used this for the head shaping, and this for the snout.

I hear the recipient was pleased, and put the scary eyes to good use. Well done, sir, well done.