February MCAL (Elephant!)

February MCAL

This is a free online pattern with a PDF available here

This pattern is still written in MCAL form but contains the finished picture at the end as well as what it is in the title.

This Mystery Crochet Along pattern has been rated advanced beginner and is free to take part in. Ensure you are happy with all the stitches and equipment to avoid disappointment. 

To join in chat and info about the test with others join this group. There is a general thread for this MCAL and a spoiler thread where you can share you pictures as you make each clue and guess what you think you are making. 

Get picking your yarn! It looks good in any colour. Mix and match as you like. Use green and red to clash or a light and dark version of the same colour. 

You will need:

• Yarn needle 
• Soft toy filling
• 8mm safety eyes
• Pipe cleaner
• 3mm crochet hook (This pattern can be made with any size yarn and hook. I recommend using a hook 1 size smaller than suggested on the yarn)
• DK Yarn – This pattern suits many colours.
• Colour One - (C1) Approx. 130m
• Colour Two - (C2) Approx. 15m

More information and tips

Stitches and abbreviations used: (US terminology is used)

• MR - Magic ring (sc unless otherwise specified)
• Ch - Chain 
• SC - Single crochet 
• DC – Double crochet
• Inc - Increase stitch (2 single crochets into one stitch)
• Dec - Decrease stitch (single crochet 2 stitches together)
• BLO – Back Loop Only
• YO – Yarn Over
• Dc2tog – work up a dc stopping at the last YO that would normally complete the stitch (this is an incomplete dc). This will leave 2 loops on your hook. Keeping that on your hook, work another incomplete dc into the next st. There will now be 3 loops on the hook. YO and pull through all 3 loops.
• Dc3tog – work up a dc stopping at the last YO that would normally complete the stitch (this is an incomplete dc). This will leave 2 loops on your hook. Keeping that on your hook, work an incomplete dc into the next 2st. There will now be 4 loops on the hook. YO and pull through all 4 loops.
• ST - Stitch                               
• SLST - Slip stitch 
• R – Round or Row
• FO - Finish Off

Other things to note....

• This is worked in continuous rounds. It is helpful to use a stitch marker to keep track.
• The number in ( ) at the end of each round indicates the total stitch count for that round.
• *  * indicates repeated series of stitches.
• Use invisible decreases for a neater finished product. This is done by using the FLO of the stitches while making the decrease.
• Changing colour - complete the stitch before the colour change by working the last yarn over of the stitch with the new colour. 
• Stitches in [ ]  are worked into one stitch.
• Remember to stuff the product little and often as you work.

Dates!

Clue 1 - Friday 16th February 

Clue 2 - Sunday 18th February 

Clue 3 - Tuesday 20th February 

Clue 4 - Thursday 22nd February 

Clue 5 - Saturday 24th February 

Clue 6 - Monday 26th February 

Assembly instructions - Wednesday 28th February

Clue 1.  – 16th feb In Colour 1    1. 6sc into MR (6) 2. *Inc * x6 (12) 3. *1sc, inc * x6 (18) 4. *2sc, inc * x6 (24) 5. *3sc, inc * x6 (30) 6. *4sc, inc * x6 (36) 7. *8sc, inc * x4 (40) 8-18. Sc (40) – (11 rounds) 19. *8sc, dec * x4 (36) 20. sc (36) 21. *7sc, dec * x4 (32) - Stuff the piece and continue stuffing until end. 22. *6sc, dec * x4 (28) 23. *5sc, dec * x4 (24) 24. *4sc, dec * x4 (20) 25. *3sc, dec * x4 (16) FO – Leaving long yarn tail.  Clue 2. Make 2  - 18th feb In Colour 1    1. 6sc into MR (6) 2. *Inc * x6 (12) 3. *1sc, inc * x6 (18) 4. *2sc, inc * x6 (24) 5. *3sc, inc * x6 (30) 6. BLO - 7sc, *change to C2 – both loops dc3tog, change to C1 BLO -1sc * x4, BLO - 7sc (22) 7. Sc (22) 8. 5sc, dec, 1sc, dec, 2sc, dec, 1sc, dec, 5sc (18) 9-19. Sc (18) – (11 rounds) - Stuff the piece and continue stuffing to end. 20. *1sc, dec * x6 (12) 21. *dec * x6 (6) FO – Close hole, leaving yarn tail. Clue 3. Make 2 – 20th feb In Colour 1  1. 6sc into MR (6) 2. *Inc * x6 (12) 3. *1sc, inc * x6 (18) 4. *2sc, inc * x6 (24) 5. BLO - 6sc, *change to C2 – both loops dc2tog, change to C1 BLO -1sc * x4, BLO – 6sc (20) 6. Sc (20) 7. 4sc, dec, 1sc, dec, 2sc, dec, 1sc, dec, 4sc (16) 8. 5sc, dec, 2sc, dec, 5sc (14) - Stuff the start of the piece firmly and the end of the piece lightly. 9-24. Sc (14) – (16 rounds) 25. *dec * x7 (7) FO – Close hole, leaving yarn tail. Clue 4. – 22nd feb In Colour 1    1. 4sc into MR (4) 2. *Inc * x4 (8) 3-13. Sc (8) - (11 rounds) - Stuff the piece and continue stuffing to end. FO – leaving yarn tail. Clue 5. Make 2 – 24th feb In Colour 1     1. 6sc into MR (6) 2. *Inc * x6 (12) 3. *1sc, inc * x6 (18) 4. *2sc, inc * x6 (24) 5. *3sc, inc * x6 (30) 6. *4sc, inc * x6 (36) 7. *5sc, inc * x6 (42) 8. *6sc, inc * x6 (48) 9-11. Sc (48) – (3 rounds) 12. 10sc, dec x2, 20sc, dec x2, 10sc (44) 13. 9sc, dec x2, 18sc, dec x2, 9sc (40) 14. 6sc, dec x4, 26sc (36) 15. *7sc, dec * x4 (32) 16. *6sc, dec * x4 (28) 17. *5sc, dec * x4 (24) 18. *4sc, dec * x4 (20) FO – leaving yarn tail. This piece is unstuffed. Clue 6.  26th feb In Colour 1     1. 4sc into MR (4) 2. *Inc * x4 (8) 3. Sc (8) 4. *3sc, inc * x2 (10) 5. BLO – sc (10) 6-7. Sc (10) 8. Inc, 9sc (11) 9-10. Sc (11) 11. Inc, 10sc (12) 12-13. Sc (12) 14. Inc, 11sc (13) 15-16. Sc (13) 17. Inc, 12sc (14) 18-19. Sc (14) 20. Inc, 13sc (15) 21-22. Sc (15) 23. Inc, 14sc (16) 24. Sc (16) 25. *3sc, inc * x4 (20) 26. Sc (20) 27. *4sc, inc * x4 (24) 28. Sc (24) 29. *3sc, inc * x6 (30) 30. *4sc, inc * x6 (36) 31. *5sc, inc * x6 (42) 32. *6sc, inc * x6 (48) 33-42. Sc (48) – (10 rounds) – add pipe cleaner and some stuffing to R1-23 to make it posable, bend over any sharp ends to prevent them from coming through. Stuff the rest of the piece and continue stuffing until end. Push the starting tip (approx. R1-4) inwards to add shape. 43. *6sc, dec * x6 (42) – Place safety eyes between R32-33 approx. 10st apart. 44. *5sc, dec * x6 (36) 45. *4sc, dec * x6 (30) 46. *3sc, dec * x6 (24) 47. *2sc, dec * x6 (18) 48. *1sc, dec * x6 (12) 49. *dec * x6 (6) FO – Close hole. CLUE 7 - 28th feb: Assembly: Using the yarn tail left from clue 1 (body), sew to clue 6 (head) between approx. R29-36 with the eyes at the top. Sew clue 3 (arms) to front sides of the body. There should be approx. 5st between the two. Position so that the MR rests on the ground and the dc2tog stitches face outwards. Sew clue 2 (legs) to either side of the body in a seated position. Between R6-9. Have the MR part of facing forwards and the dc3tog stitches pointing upwards. They are angled out so that the arms sit between them and rest on the ground. Sew clue 5 (ears) to either side of the head. Fold last round of st together using the dec sections to make the top and bottom. The bottom is where there are the extra decreases. Leave approx. 12 st between each ear (counting from the top part of the ear). Sew approx. half way between the front and back of the rounded part of the head. Sew clue 4 (tail) to the bottom back of the body. Cut strands of the C2 and attach them to the start two round of the tail. Use a crochet hook to pull them between two stitches.  For finished photos, which may also help with construction, click here.