How To: Pattern vs Reality Review 2: The Woobles Dinosaur

Amy Reviews Crochet Patterns: The Woobles Dinosaur

The Woobles: Dinosaur Crochet Kit
Link to Pattern: Dinosaur Crochet Kit for Beginners | The Woobles
Cost of Kit: $25 w/out crochet hook, $30 with crochet hook

I bought the Fantastic Woobles & Where to Find Them bundle and did the Narwhal first.

Difficulty: Great for beginners. I would recommend it as a second or third project, might be a bit rough for your first project.
The pattern is rated as Beginner+ on their website, but I think this is doable even as your first project. Out of the three in the bundle (The Narwhal, the Dinosaur, and the Unicorn), I think this was the in the middle between the Narwhal and Unicorn in terms of difficulty. It involved more types of stitches than the narwhal did.

Stitches Used: Single Crochet, Increase Stitch, (Invisible) Decrease Stitch, Chain, Slip Stich
Time Taken: 5-10 hours
Kid-Friendly: Absolutely. You’ll want to supervise some of the sewing.

Pattern vs Reality:
This was my second project, and I think the second worst I’ve ever done. He looks super dopey. Thguy was the moment I knew that my progress was, ah, uninspiring. All because of one major mistake. Can you see what it was?

Tips:

Eyes. The biggest lesson I learned from this is to be CAREFUL WITH THE EYES. If you look closely, and see my in-progress photos, I got most of this right (mostly). But…I wasn’t careful with the eyes, and it makes my final version look pretty funky. I gave it to my partner, and he keeps it displayed showing the left side only instead of head on!

When I got more experienced, I started using pins to mark the eye placement first. Then I’d leave it alone for a few hours and come back to check and keep adjusting. My partner also was designated as my unofficial “symmetry consultant” before I finalized any eyes ever again.

I also started trying out embroidering eyes instead in my next project of the Woobles Unicorn.

Tension. You’ll notice there are holes in mine that aren’t in the Woobles demo dinosaur. This happens when your tension is inconsistent. This is really normal for beginners, though. I didn’t do anything special to fix that — I just kept practicing and doing more projects, and it got much better.

Yarn end. You’ll notice you can see “white” coming out of some of my spikes in the back. It’s because I was lazy and just cut the yarn. It’s much better to use a tapestry needle and hiding it inside the piece itself.
How to Hide Yarn Ends in Crochet | The Woobles

Amy’s Accuracy Rating: Accurate. No mistakes in pattern.
Amy’s Pattern Rating: 10/10. Easy to follow and no confusing directions.

BONUS CONTENT:
Here are examples of other Freds by other beginner crocheters out there:

Rainbrow Fred by Michele H.

“My advice about Fred is that he looks weird until he doesn’t. He’s helmet shaped before he’s Fred shaped.”

Pink Fred

First & Last Fred – One Month Apart (by @pups_and_pucks)

First Project & Seventh Project – 6 Weeks Apart by Kate Susan

First Crochet Project Ever by (@ohsnapitsli)