Pattern: Little Empanada

I decided to post my first pattern... I've only made it once. Methinks it needs some *slight* tweaking, but I like the way it came out on the first try... hopefully you will too :)

I made it for my boyfriend, who calls me his little empanada (excuse me, his SEXY little empanada. But whatever). I am all about the cheese, so what better than to give him a little amigurumi that would remind him of me? Or so I thought. [Was it too cheesy?? :/]

You'll need:

• Size F (3.75mm) Hook
• Golden brown worsted weight yarn (I used TMA's Easy Craft; Red Heart Super Saver or some frou frou wool yarn would suffice. I chose a golden-y brown to make a *fried* empanada. You can use a paler color for an uncooked one, or a lighter bown for a baked one. I was even thinking to make a whole wheat one for the health conscious! Heh)
• stitch marker (one for crochet, like the ones I have at my shop *shameless plug* or even a safety pin would work... as long as you can remove it as you go along. You don't wanna use a knitting one. Just trust me on this one.)
• Polyfill stuffing (or cotton, or yarn scraps...)
• 8mm safety eyes with washers (optional; you can embroider the eyes if you don't have any)
• Embroidery thread (I used bright pink for the mouth, and used pale pink to sew on the cheeks. If you want to embroider the eyes, black will be needed as well)
• light pink felt (optional if you don't want cheeks)
• about an hour of your time and a comfy place to sit :)

Pattern notes: When you see directions with "*....*" it means to repeat whatever's between the stars around until the end. This is crocheted in a continuous spiral around; DO NOT JOIN ROUNDS. The numbers in parenthesis at the end of each row denotes the correct number of stitches that should be completed at the end of that given round. 

Abbreviations used: SC= single crochet; inc.= increase (sc in same stitch twice); st= stitch; ch= chain; hdc= half double crochet; sl st= slip stitch; hdc shell = 3 hdc in same st

Ready? Set! GO!

1. Using the magic circle technique (you can look this up on YouTube for a great visual tutorial; it's where I learned it! Easy peasy!), ch 7, tighten circle. (7)
2. Increase in all st around (14)
3. *SC 1, inc 1* around (21)
4. *SC 2, inc 1* around (28)
5. *SC 3, inc 1* around  (35)
6. *SC 4, inc 1* around (42)
7. *SC 5, inc 1* around (49)
8. *SC 1, inc 1* around (73)
9. SC all around (73); when you get back to the round, fold the circle in half  (make sure the right side of the work is on the outside of the fold!) and ch 1, then sc through both thicknesses of the fold once in the corner. 

I stopped here and attached the safety eyes, embroidered the mouth and attached the cheeks. For the cheeks, I used the washers from the eyes to trace a circle... it was still a bit of a FAIL as I can't cut felt straight to save my life... *ahem* 

So finish up your face as you like... or omit it entirely to make play food that isn't as cute :P 

Onwards.... Part deux of the pattern. Get your stuffing ready.

1. Continuing with the circle folded in half, hdc shell in same space as the sc we did in part one. 
2. Skip 1 st, sl st in next st, *hdc shell, skip 1 st, sl st* 5 more times; stop here and liberally stuff your little guy. No one likes an empanada that's cheap on the filling, so STUFF!! Take care not to overstuff; you'll know you've done exactly that when little pieces of stuffing is visible through the crocheting/is squeezing out the fabric. [This is the half way point of the hdc shells :)]
3. Continue the established pattern (*hdc shell, skip 1 st, sl st*) until you have three more repeats to the end. Finish the stuffing now.
4. *hdc shell, skip 1 st, sl st* twice more. If you can squeeze a bit more stuffing in, do so. hdc shell, skip 1 st, sl st and fasten off. Weave in the end, and shazaam! You're all done :D

I ended up with 12 hdc shells. It's not an exact science; if you end up with slightly less or more than I did it's fine. I realized afterwards 73 isn't the bestest number to leave a circle at if you want something 100% symmetrical *smh*

Sorry for the loquaciousness; I hope you enjoy your empanada!

I tried to write this as I've seen zillions of crochet patterns written. If it's not clear enough/you get stuck, please feel free to email me: tastee.chaos @ gmail.com [no spaces]


Little Empanada by Deena White is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.