The Knit Dragon I Made for Morgan

My best friend's son, Morgan, just turned 9 and they'll be visiting this weekend.  I wanted to make something special for his birthday and decided to knit him a dragon.  Morgan loves dragons and I've made him several different types of dragons in the past (even a dragon trinket box).  I only had a vague idea of how I wanted this dragon to turn out when I first started knitting, and I made the pattern up as I went along.  This is definitely a one of a kind creation!  I used a combination of knitting looms in different sizes to create the body, head, and tail of the dragon. 

 

I held two strands of different shades of green and  one strand of blue yarn together as I knit the body. head and tail.  The underbelly was knit using knitting needles and yellow yarn and I just sewed it right to the belly.  At each step in the creation of this dragon I had to visual how I wanted a particular part to look, and then figure out the best method to use to achieve that look.  It was a bit like sculpting in polymer clay, actually.  I used a small knitting loom to create his haunches and knit his lower legs with needles, then sewed all the parts to the dragon, shaping as I attached them.

 

 

I needle sculpted his face to get the right shape and even knit a red tongue for him.  His oversized ears add to the whimsical look.  I want Morgan to smile every time he sees this dragon ;-)  I cut out green felt and attached the eyes through the felt.  This gives a little more definition to the eyes and also ensures that they won't pull out through the stitches in the yarn.

 

 

I knit yellow triangles for spike and for the tip of his tail.  I wanted to have a nice bright, cheerful color.  I know Morgan likes blue and green dragons (they're the good ones, according to him), and I think the yellow is a nice contrast to these colors.  

 

 

The only thing that isn't knit from yarn on the dragon are the wings.  I chose to sew them from green and blue fleece instead.  I sewed pipe cleaners between the layers of fleece to help support the wings and allow them to hold their shape.

 

 

I can attest to the fact that this dragon is a lot of fun to play with too ;-)  I can't wait to see my friend and her family, and get Morgan's reaction to his new friend!  I'm already thinking about making a knight to go with the dragon.  That might be a good gift for Christmas.  One of the many things I love about Morgan is that he really appreciated the gifts he's given, and he plays with them for years.  He still plays with the first toy I made for him!  

Thanks for joining me for another creative adventure into the land of fantasy! ;-)

 

 

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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