Knitted Scrake Plush Project: Version 2

V2 Overview

This is the original concept art that Tripwire Interactive sent me when I first asked about if they would produce Scrake plushies. Once I finished making my pattern-adapted version of the Scrake, I used all the techniques I'd learned to make one from scratch. The design is not as complex as the first set, so it went faster... and I think it would be a good beginner project!

Materials

All the same materials were used for this version of the Scrake, with a couple of additions:

Red, White, and Black felt squares.
E6000 Super Glue.
Red, White, and Black thread matching the felt squares.
Sewing pins and needle

Head, Eyes, & Face Mask

Head

Cast-on 6 stitches with Judy's magic cast on.
k all
kfb all
*k1, kfb*
*k2, kfb*
k all
*k3, kfb*
*k4, kfb*
k all
k all
*k5, kfb*
k all
*k6, kfb*
k all
*k7, kfb*
k all
k all
*k8, kfb*
k all
k all
*k9, kfb*
k all for 8 rows
*k9, k2tog*
k all
*k8, k2tog*
k all
*k7, k2tog*
k all
*k6, k2tog*
k all
*k5, k2tog*
k all
*k4, k2tog*
*k3, k2tog*
*k2, k2tog*
*** stuff the head before continuing
*k1, k2tog*
*k2tog*
With 6 stitches remaining, cut yarn and pull tail through the final six stitches.

A finished round head!

Eyes on the face!

Eyes

I made the eyes with layers of felt fabric squares, cut to appropriate shape. I used colored pencils and markers to draw the shapes onto the felt before I cut them out. It took a couple of tries to get the sizing right, and I pretty much eyeballed it (pun intended). The eyes ended up about 3.5 inches across the whole thing-- both eyes.

After cutting out the shapes, I used the super glue to glue the layers and pieces together one-by-one. The glue was more like a first-step to make sure the pieces would stay in the right place while I sewed them together. So once the glue had dried, I used matching thread to sew the pieces together.

Finally, after also knitting and placing the medical face mask, I sewed the eyes onto the Scrake's face!

An early attempt at the felt eyes—these were WAY too big and looked hilarious on the head.

See? Hilarious. It looks like a hipster Scrake.

Smaller, much better!

The pieces were glued together first.

Making sure the eyes were sized right for the face again.

After the glue dried, I sewed the pieces together as well to make sure they stayed.

I used the thread matching each layer. Here's a shot of the back of the eyes.

I pinned the eyes to the head to make sewing easier. I didn't want to glue them to the head to hold them in place like I had done with the individual layers, so I used sewing pins instead.

I sewed the eyes onto the Scrake's face after adding the medical mask (see below) to make sure I got the placement right.

Face Mask

Use sized-up needles for the mask.

cast on 20 stitches
knit
purl
purl
purl
knit
purl
purl
purl
knit
purl
purl
purl
knit
bind off and weave in ends

Face masks in progress (from the inside side).

Face masks sewn to the faces, with the eyes ready to be added.

Body

Body

Knit from the top-down.

Cast-on 28 stitches, join in the round.
k all
*k3, kfb* (35 st)
k all
k all
*k4, kfb* (42 st)
k all
k all
k all
*k5, kfb* (49 st)
k all
k all
k all
k all
*k6, kfb* (56 st)
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
*k7, kfb* (63 st)
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
*k8, kfb* (70 st)
k all
k all
k all
k all, switch to pants color yarn
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
k all
*k8, k2tog*
k all
*k7, k2tog*
k all
*k6, k2tog*
k all
*k5, k2tog*
k all
*k4, k2tog*
k all
*k3, k2tog*
k all
*k2, k2tog*
*k1, k2tog*
*k2tog*
Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches.
Stuff the body.

The two Scrake heads and bodies in-progress.

Head and body before being sewn together.

Arms & Chainsaw

Left Arm (no chainsaw):

Cast on 24 stitches in flesh color
k 20 rows
switch to glove color
k 16 rows
start decrease
k2, k2tog
k all
k1, k2tog
k2tog
Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches. Stuff the arm.

The arm without the chainsaw is a pretty basic shape.

Right Arm (chainsaw):

Cast on 24 stitches in flesh color.

k 20 rows
switch to chainsaw color
k all
*kfb, k4, kfb*
split the 32 stitches evenly among 4 dpns, 8 stitches on each one.
Knit each needle separately, switching from working in the round to knitting flat. For each needle, turn and begin WS (inside facing you).
4x times: For each needle's set of 8 stitches, knit 19 rows in garter stitch, then bind off.
For the top, pick up on 8 stitches from one side, then knit about 12 rows.
Using single crochet, seam together the sides of the chainsaw pieces, starting from the "top", or the portion not attached to the arm. Then seam the top together using the same method.

Saw

Cast on 16 stitches and
Join in the round and knit 20 rows in the following pattern: knit 7, purl 1, knit 7, purl 1
Row 21: K2tog all the way around
Row 22: Knit
Cut yarn and pull through the remaining stitches. Turn inside out. While inside out, the knit rows (the ones you purled) will have a nice outer edging that looks like a chainsaw's chain blade thing. The purl rows (that you knitted won't curl because you turned it inside out.
Cut a little bit of cardboard to match the shape of the blade and put it inside the blade before sewing it to the chainsaw.

Handle

Cast on 3 stitches to a double-point needle.
Knit 3 inches of i-cord.
Sew to chainsaw.

The arms with the chainsaws and the i-cords ready to be sewn to be the handles. I ended up adding this accent to the original Scrake dolls after I made them for the Concept Art version because they looked pretty cool!

Chainsaws prior to having the i-cord handle added.

Legs

Legs

Make 2. Knit from the top-down.

cast on 28 in pants color
knit 30 rows
switch to sock
k 6 rounds
start decrease
k2, k2tog
k all
k1, k2tog
k2tog

The legs are a very simple shape. The only techniques needed for these are knitting in the round and switching yarn colors for the socks.

An in-progress leg from the top-down.

Four legs for two Scrakes. I wanted to send the devs one of these Scrakes as well as one of the first dolls I'd made.

An in-progress leg, compared against the torso and head to verify the length was proportional.

Sewing Everything Together

Before I could make the shirt so that it would fit the Scrake correctly, I had to sew all the parts together. Here are some progress shots.

Concept Art Scrake 1 assembled!

Concept Art Scrake 2 assembled!

Shirt

Shirt Body

Knit from the bottom-up.

Cast on 88 stitches
K2P2 for 5 rows.
K all for 5 rows.
Start increase: split stitches evenly between two dpns or circulars (44 stitches on each set).
M1R, place 1st heel marker, k to end of first needle, place 2nd heel marker on that needle, M1L; k to end of round.
knit all
Row 1 (RS): Knit to 1 st before second heel marker, wrap and turn.
Row 2 (WS): Purl to 1 st before first marker, wrap and turn.
Row 3 (RS): Knit until 1 stitch before marker, work an ssk on the final stitch together with its wrap AND the gusset stitch. Turn.
Row 4 (WS): Purl until 1 stitch before marker, work an p2tog on the final stitch together with its wrap AND the gusset stitch. Turn.
K all
K all
K all
K all
K all
K all
K all
K all
K all
decrease: *k9, k2tog* (80 st)
k all
k all
decrease: *k8, k2tog* (72 st)
k all
decrease: *k7, k2tog* (64 st)
k all

Ready to knit the seams together.

Seamed together at the shoulders, looking good!

Arm-hole & Neck Shaping

Switch to size 6 needles. Split stitches evenly, either on stitch holders or 2 sets of circulars. There should be 32 stitches on each set.
Begin knitting the second half, which is the front (the opposite side from where the gusset/rear was knit). Slip the first stitch of every row to obtain a smooth edge. (The slipped stitch acts as the first stitch of each row. For example, if the pattern says k2p2, you slip 1 stitch, knit one, then purl 2).

Front Half (2 inches)

WS: b/o 2, p all (30 st)
RS: b/o 2, k all (28 st)
WS: switch to sized-down needles, this is the first ribbed row: p1, p2tog, k2p2 until last 5 stitches, k2, p2tog, p1 (26 st)
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: k2p2k2, bind off fourteen stitches, k2p2k2
On each side (separately), knit one more ribbed row, from the outwards in. End both rows with the yarn tail hanging inwards.
Put on stitch holders (these will be seamed to the backside later).

Back Half (3 inches)

RS: b/o 2, k all (30 st)
WS: b/o 2, p all (28 st)
RS: k1, k2tog, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1 (26 st)
WS: p all
RS: switch to sized-down needles, this is the first ribbed row: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: *k2p2* till last 2 stitches, k2
WS: *p2k2* till last 2 stitches, p2
RS: k2p2k2, bind off fourteen stitches, k2p2k2
On each side (separately), knit three more ribbed rows, from the outwards in. End both rows with the yarn tail hanging inwards.
Put the shirt onto the Scrake. The seams must happen while he's wearing the shirt or it will be really difficult to get it on because of the chainsaw.
For each side, perform three-needle-bind-off, starting from the inside.