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Tips & Techniques for Knitting theknittycat's Peeps and Other Toys

Monday, October 5, 2009

Sackboy / Green Lantern for Matt's Birthday!

Sackboy, the character from the PS3 videogame, LittleBigPlanet, has become so popular that I thought he'd make a nice gift for our nephew, Matt, who is a collector.

I finished my version of Sackboy for Matt recently (knit without a pattern, as usual), and presented him for his birthday.

Voila!  Sackboy Peep:

Sackboy Front View Sackboy Front View

I just barely finished in time!!   Boy was it a pain to put that working zipper in!  And I hate sewing things!  ;o)   I'm even MORE impressed with all of the amazing Sackboy's that folks have been creating after making one myself!

I used my loopy legs (flap) technique to make the mouth so I wouldn't have to sew it on.  And it worked great!  :o)

My Hub and I both liked him better before I added the decorative grey stitching, but for Matt, I wanted to be as accurate as I could, since he's a collector.  I did leave off the two vertical lines at the back of his head.  Just didn't like 'em.  But I told Matt that I'd put them in if he'd like them - and guess what... he told me last night that he WOULD!  Yep... a collector!  heh heh  So Sackboy Peep will be coming back for some cosmetic surgery!  ;o)

My Hub  is totally crazy about him, and REALLY wants me to make another one for him!  Well.... actually, he said to make another one for Matt and he'll just keep this one!!  ha ha ha!  He wouldn't do that, of course, but he just fell in love with him.

Sackboy Peep with photo reference:


Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday

He has a working zipper, and I made a felt inner body so he could be opened. (ugh!  That was a pain! And my Hub wants me to do this AGAIN!!!)  When you open his zipper, you can see his little golden heart (a stone bead that's gold with a brownish edging).  :o)





Sackboy Peep with Golden Heart:

Sackboy Peep with heart of gold for Matt's Birthday Sackboy Peep with heart of gold for Matt's Birthday



I've seen so many Sackboys that other folks have made (including the Alan Dart pattern) wearing a pom pom hat and scarf, that I figured that they must be something that Sackboy wears, so I made him a set.  We recently got the game (incredibly adorable and FUN!), but I haven't seen the hat and scarf yet.  So I dunno.  But here's




Sackboy Peep with hat and scarf:


Sackboy Peep with hat & scarf for Matt's Birthday Sackboy Peep with hat & scarf for Matt's Birthday

And since Sackboy loves to play dress-up and take on different characters, and because Matt has been very into The Green Lantern lately (new movie coming out, too!), and because GL is one of my all time favorite comic book characters... I made...

Taaa DAAAA!!!



Green Lantern Sackboy Peep!

Sackboy GL Peep recharging his ring Sackboy GL Peep recharging his ring

I like him best without the mask.  :o)

I finished his little vest (with very poorly made emblem) just in the nick of time, and my Hub and I are so pleased with it.   It's made like a little bib!  heh heh   I'm really happy I managed to squeeze in making it before Matt's birthday.

And here he is saying his official oath while charging his ring (hee hee) ....

Green Lantern Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday Green Lantern Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday

The beautiful green yarn is Bamboo Soft Spell and Bamboo Charmed from www.yarncloud.com! It's a chainette yarn, and sooo nice to work with!  Nice sheen, gorgeous colors, and has all those nice bamboo properties!  :o)

Here's a better look at his power ring:

Sackboy Peep from Side Sackboy Peep from Side



Sackboy GL Peep ring close Sackboy GL Peep ring close

I would have liked to have done a better job on the ring, but just didn't have enough TIME left!!




Green Lantern Battery for Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday 3/4 view Green Lantern Battery for Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday 3/4 view



Green Lantern Battery for Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday front Green Lantern Battery for Sackboy Peep for Matt's Birthday front

Close-ups of the Green Lantern's Power Battery...











which I'm absolutely nuts about!  If we were meanies, my Hub would keep the peep and I'd keep the Lantern Battery!!  ;o)  I put 4 golden dollar coins in the bottom to weight it (they were just the right size - and makes the battery even more valuable and powerful -  heh heh) and a chenille stem in the handle to give it strength and body.



It was fun taking a trip down comic book memory lane!  :o)


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10 comments:

  1. Thank you so much, M Carmen Santamaria! Muchas Gracias! :o)

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  2. You have the greatest handmade Sackboy I have ever seen! I'm trying to make one for my friend and was wondering if you could help me. I can knit simple things like scarfs and the patterns that I found don't look enough like Sackboy for my likings. Please help! Thanks!

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  3. Thank you so much, Cat! That's very nice of you to say! Glad you like him.
    Unfortunately, I didn't make any notes while making him, so I can't even make it easier for myself to make another one (and my Hub desperately wants one).
    I have seen folks make really great Sackboys with modifications to the excellent free pattern by Alan Dart:
    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/fun/gizmo/article2056598.ece
    and here is another knit pattern (not free, but with an open mouth):
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/50426757/sackboy-knit-pattern-with-expression
    This seller even has a kit available as well as the pattern alone:
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/36167856/sackboy-knitting-kit-wo-stuffing-color?ref=v1_other_1
    While I didn't make any notes about it, I can tell you that to make his mouth, I used my "loopy legs" technique, which you can see in the tutorial at www.theknittycat.com (scroll down to the bottom of the page for tutorials). When I reached the placement where I wanted the mouth, I made a flap with black yarn (like the leg or ear flaps in the tutorial) sewed up the sides and then tucked it inside the head. You can make a flat (unstuffed) tube for the tongue and sew it onto the back of the mouth before tucking it in.
    Good Luck! I'm sure that your friend will be delighted with whatever you make! :o)

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  4. cool sackboy you made
    Would it be possible if you can make a green lantern sackboy too

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  5. Hi Anonymous,
    Thanks very much. I’m happy you like him! :o)
    I don't quite understand your question because I did make a green lantern Sackboy. :o) This is it. :o)
    … do you mean can I make another one for sale? or make a pattern for one? Well, actually- I’m sorry to say that the answer to either is the same. I don’t sell my peeps. I only make them as gifts of love for friends and family. And I don’t have any plans to do a pattern for the Green Lantern accessories (I love GL too! I’d love to have one of those lanterns myself, but no time to make one for me). There are some very cute Sackboys for sale at Amazon and other places. :o)
    see my post here and check them out:
    http://theknittycat.blogspot.com/2010/09/cute-sackboy-for-sale-oscar-grouch.html
    and also Sackboys available on etsy.com:
    http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=sackboy&search_type=handmade

    Some etsy.com sellers will do custom orders, so you can ask. :o)

    I wish you good luck finding what you're looking for!

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    Replies
    1. Hi there,

      just stumbled over your sackboy while searching for GL knit/crochet and totally fell in love with your Green Lantern Battery! It's absolutely fab - have you found any patterns for it or did you do it freehand yourself? Would LOVE a pattern but somehow don't come up for it on google.

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    2. Hi Kat


      Thank you very much for the lovely compliment! :o) I'm so pleased that you liked the Power Battery so much! I totally loved it, being such a big GL fan myself, and it was very hard for me to give it away. Only love for my nephew could make me do it. ;o)


      Unfortunately, I do not have good news on the pattern front. I knitted it up freehand and made no notes of what I was doing. :o/ I do remember that I knitted the main, horizontal part, in one piece and then knitted the top cone and bottom cone and stitched them on. The handle was a chenille stem (pipe cleaner) that I knitted an icord around.


      The cones at top and bottom are simple shapes. The center section is more complex of course, with the concave portions where the light green is. I added 3 - dollar coins (Susan B. Anthony's as they were the perfect size) to the bottom of the bottom cone, to give it some weight.


      I'm sorry I don't have more info for you. I'd love to make another one for myself one day, but that's not very likely to happen as I don't often get around to knitting for myself. Heh heh. But if, by some remote chance I do, I'll make some notes of what I'm doing, so I can pass them on.


      Thanks again for commenting. :o)

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  6. Hello! I wonder if you Sackboy to sell and if you do them, you would like to know price and shipping to Spain.
    Thank you.

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  7. Hi ElOulet de Mateo! Thanks for the compliment, but I don't make my peeps for sale. I can't even keep up with making the peeps on my list of gifts I still have left to do for friends and family.

    However, you can buy a super cute Sackboy from other sources, such as these...

    There are some very cute Sackboys for sale at amazon.com :o)
    Please see my post about them and check them out:
    http://theknittycat.blogspot.com/2010/09/cute-sackboy-for-sale-oscar-grouch.html

    and also there are people making handmade Sackboys and selling them on etsy.com:
    http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=sackboy&search_type=handmade

    Some of these folks will do custom designs as well. :o)

    Good Luck in your search! Buena Suerte!

    ReplyDelete