I was caught off guard a little while ago by a friends little one who asked me if I could make them a Star Wars R2-D2 toy, and without really thinking about it I said “yes of course, why not”. I’ve been quite busy with makes the last few weeks so I had forgotten all about it until I was reminded about my agreement by the little one – they never forget these things do they! I thought I better get started on it – how hard could it be….
It was only when I sat and actually looked up an image for ideas the sheer scale of the task dawned on me, the amount of detail to make sure he looks right is insane! What on earth have I agreed to, was one of the first things that popped into my mind and how on earth can I get out of this! However, once my initial panic subsided slightly I realised if I broke it down into sections it might not be as bad as I thought – still a mammoth task, but achievable!
So I got my wools together, cream, grey, blue and black, all of which were women’s institute DK wool, and got started. Obviously I had to start with the body first and this was the easy part (or so I thought) a giant tube with rounded top, although despite me thinking it would be the easiest bit it did give me a bit of a challenge getting the rounded top as I wanted, but finally I got there! The detailing on the head also took me a long time yo get right, there are so many different pictures of R2-D2 I didn’t know which to use so I opted to apply the details which appeared most frequently on the pictures.
Next were the legs which I split into two sections, which actually came together easier than I thought! I had a similar problem with the head detailing on the body – the details differ widely depending on what picture you look at, again I decided to apply the detail which appeared most frequently. I know all the detailing I have done is not entirely accurate to the original, but I tried my best and don’t think I have done too badly with it.
I was quite impressed with how I managed to get it to work out, and all my hard work was definitely worth while – the look on my friends little ones face was priceless. He just couldn’t believe I had managed to make one for him, he was so happy with it and it now goes everywhere with him!
Wool – DK (I used women’s institute DK from Hobbycraft)
Cream 3x 100g balls
Black 100g ball
Blue 100g ball
Red – few leftover lengths
Biscuit brown – few leftover lengths
Size:
Length (top of head to bottom of feet) – 37cm
R2-D2 pattern:
4mm hook used throughout
Head and body:
In grey,
Make a magic ring, ch1, 8dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into each stitch
Round 2: 2dc into same stitch, dc. Repeat around
Round 3: 2dc into same stitch, 2dc. Repeat around
Round 4: 2dc into same stitch, 3dc. Repeat around
Round 5: dc around
Round 6: 2dc into same stitch, 4dc. Repeat around
Round 7: 2dc into same stitch, 5dc. Repeat around
Round 8: dc around
Round 9: 2dc into same stitch, 6dc. Repeat around
Round 10: dc around
Round 11: 2dc into same stitch, 7dc. Repeat around
Round 12: 2dc into same stitch, 8dc. Repeat around
Round 13: dc around
Round 14: 2dc into same stitch, 9dc. Repeat around
Round 15: dc around
Round 16: 2dc into same stitch, 10dc. Repeat around
Round 17-30: dc around
Change to blue,
Round 31-33: dc around
Change to grey,
Round 34-37: dc around
Change to off white
Round 38-40: dc around
Round 41: 10dc dc2tog. Repeat around
Round 42-73: dc around
Round 74: in back loops only, dc2tog, 9dc. Repeat around
Stuff body, leaving an inch or so empty at the top to stuff in a few rows time.
Round 75: dc2tog, 8dc. Repeat around
Round 76: dc2tog, 7dc. Repeat around
Round 77: dc2tog, 6dc. Repeat around
Round 78: dc2tog, 5dc. Repeat around
Round 79: dc2tog, 4dc. Repeat around
Round 80: dc2tog, 3dc. Repeat around
Round 81: dc2tog, 2dc. Repeat around
Stuff the rest of the body.
Round 82: dc2tog, dc. Repeat around
Round 83-84: dc2tog, dc. Repeat around
Do one final dc2tog and fasten off.
Detail on head:
Blue top circle:
In blue,
Make a magic ring, ch1, 8dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into each dc
Round 2: 2dc into same school, dc. Repeat around
Round 3: 2dc into same stitch, 2dc. Repeat around
Fasten off, leaving long thread to attach.
Sew onto top of the head in the centre.
Blue pieces that go around under the top circle:
Make 6 of these, in blue
ch5
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along row
Row 2: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 3: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 2dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 4: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 5: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 4dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row, and continue to school all the way around the edge, putting 2dc into each corner, slip stitch into first dc to fasten off.
Sew on to the body 3 rows down from the blue circle leaving a gap of 4dc between each one
Front camera:
Blue square part:
In blue
ch8
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, do rest of row
Row 2-7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Now working in rounds around the edge:
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Round 2: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) working into back loops only, dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach
Black round camera part:
In black:
Make a magic ring, ch1, 6dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into each stitch
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach
Place small amount of stuffing into blue square and place and sew onto front of the head in the middle, then sew black round piece on to the middle of the blue square.
In grey
Make a magic ring, ch1, 6dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into each stitch
Round 2: working in back loops only, dc around
Round 3-4: dc around
Change to black
Round 5: 2dc into each stitch
Place stuffing into piece and sew onto body beneath and to the right of the blue camera part.
Red spot blue section:
In blue:
ch5
Row 1: dc into second ch from hook and dc along rest of row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach. Sew on beneath blue square with black dot
In red:
Make a magic ring, ch1. 6dc into ring
Fasten off and sew onto the blue square on the right hand side. Then sew onto the body.
Blue section next to red spot section:
ch3
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-3: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach, sew onto body next to the red spot section.
Blue section with grey and black square pieces:
ch5
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Square pieces – make 2
In black:
ch3
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Change to grey
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
Sew the blue rectangle onto the body and then sew the black and grey pieces on.
Small rectangle next to blue rectangle with black and grey square rectangles:
ch3
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1.
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach, sew onto body next to black and grey rectangle piece.
Large rectangle:
ch8
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach, sew onto body next to the small rectangle.
Larger horizontal rectangle
ch9
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach, sew onto body next to the larger rectangle
Rectangle with grey line detail:
ch6
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach, sew onto body next to the larger rectangle
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
In grey complete a line of dc surface stitches starting 1 row down, and 1dc in from the right completing 3dc in total, then turn and compete 1 surface dc down and again turn and go back along the row back to the start of the surface stitches
Sew on to body next to rectangle.
Back telescope:
In black
Make a magic ring, ch1. 8dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into each stitch
Round 2: dc around on back loops only
Round 3-4: dc around
Fasten off leaving thread to attach
Sew onto body next to rectangle with grey line detail, placing a small amount of stuffing in.
Second blue rectangle with red spot:
ch6
Row 1: dc into second ch from hook and dc along rest of row
Row 2-7: dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach. Sew on beneath blue square with black dot
In red:
Make a magic ring, ch1. 6dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into each stitch
Fasten off and sew onto the blue square onto the left middle of the rectangle. Then sew onto body next to the back telescope.
2 matching blue rectangles:
Make two of these rectangles
In blue:
ch3
Row 1: dc into second ch from hook and dc along rest of row
Row 2-7: dc along row
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around all four edges, slip stitch into top of the first ch1
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
Sew onto body next to rectangle with red spot
2 smaller blue matching rectangles:
Make two of these
In blue
ch9, then dc into second ch from hook and down the rest of the ch (8dc) then go back up the other side of the foundation ch (8dc) finishing with a slip stitch into the first dc.
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach. Sew onto body next to previous two matching rectangles.
Legs
Leg – make 2
In cream ch9
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook and along rest of row
Row 2: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into first stitch, 6dc, 2dc into last stitch
Row 3: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into first stitch, 8dc, 2dc into last stitch
Row 4: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into first stitch, 10dc, 2dc into last stitch
Row 5: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into first stitch, 12dc, 2dc into last stitch
Row 6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into first stitch, 14dc, 2dc into last stitch
Row 7-17: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 18: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc2tog, 14dc, dc2tog
Row 19: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc2tog, 12dc, dc2tog
Row 20: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc2tog, 10dc, dc2tog
Row 21: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 22: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc2tog, 8dc, dc2tog
Row 23-31: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 32: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc2tog, 6dc, dc2tog
Row 33: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 34: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc2tog, 4dc, dc2tog
Row 35: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Fasten off
Long strip to go between front and back leg pieces:
In cream
ch8
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-91: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Fasten off, leaving long thread to sew together
Sew the front and back leg pieces together by placing the long piece in between the front and back piece and sewing one side to the front piece and then the other to the back piece, ensuring you stuff the leg before fully closing it off.
Foot
Side pieces – make 2:
ch11
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook and do along row
Row 2: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 8dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 3: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 4: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 10dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 5: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 12dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 8: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 14dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 9: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 10: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 16dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 11: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 12: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 18dc, 2dc into same stitch
Fasten off
Front and back pieces – make 2:
ch9
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc rest of row
Row 2: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 6dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 3: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 4: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 8dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 5: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 10dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 7: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 8: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 12dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 9: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 10: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 14dc, 2dc into same stitch
Row 11: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Row 12: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same stitch, 16dc, 2dc into same stitch
Top piece:
ch9
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-10: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Fasten off.
Bottom piece:
ch21
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-22: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Fasten off
Sew the side pieces to the front and back pieces, then sew the top piece on, stuff the foot then sew the bottom piece on. Next sew this foot part onto the leg.
Leg detail:
Grey circle at top of leg (make 2):
Make a magic ring, ch1
Round 1: 2dc into each stitch
Round 2: 2dc into same stitch, dc. Repeat around
Round 3: 2dc into same stitch, 2dc. Repeat around
Round 4: dc around
Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
Sew grey circle onto the outside of the leg at the top.
Blue detail on side of leg (make 2):
Long strip:
8dc
Row 1: dc into second ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-18: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Fasten off
Edging:
Fasten on 8 rows down on one side, ch1 then 8dc up along the rows, then d along the top edge, and 8dc down the rows on the next side.
Turn leaving the remaining stitches unworked, ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) then dc back around the dc stitches just completed.
Fasten off.
Sew the long leg detail at the top to the edge of the dc completed around the edge of the leg detail.
Put padding into top end of blue leg detail and start to sew onto the leg at the bottom of the grey circle, then sew the rest of blue detail onto the leg.
Foot wire detail (make 4):
In a beige colour
ch6, slip stitch into first ch to make a round
Row 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around
Row 2-18: dc around
Fasten off leaving thread to attach
Sew on two to each foot, sewing one end in the middle of the foot and sewing the other end around into the inside of the foot. Sew the second just below the first.
ch40
Slip stitch into first dc to make a round
Round 1: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc around
Round 2-3: dc around
Fasten off leaving length to attach.
Sew the grey leg connector onto the leg then sew onto the body
Body detail
Front:
Blue strips on front – make three of these:
ch18
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) 2dc into same dc, dc along row, 2dc into last dc
Row 3: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc2tog, dc along row, dc2tog in the last 2dc
Fasten off leaving length to attach.
Sew each on at the top of the body in the middle beneath the grey band.
Blue panel with 2 grey square detail:
Blue panel
ch11
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-15: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along row
Fasten off, leaving length to attach
Grey squares – make 2
In cream, ch6
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Change to grey (without fastening off)
Row 2-3: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
Change back to white (without fastening off)
Row 4-5: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
Change back to grey
ch1 and dc around all 4edges, slip stitch into ch1 at start of round
Fasten off leaving thread to attach.
Sew onto the blue panel, it will be unite a tight fit so one will go very close to the top edge and one will be very close to the bottom edge with a very small gap in between.
Sew on the completed blue panel onto the front of the body just beneath (leave one row) and in the middle of the three blue stripes.
Small blue rectangle:
ch8
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-5: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
Fasten off leaving length to attach.
Sew onto body 1 row beneath and in the middle of the blue panel with grey squares
Next in grey, ch12 slip stitch into first ch to make a round. Fasten off leaving thread to attach and sew this circle onto the blue rectangle
Small grey rectangle:
ch6
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
ch1, dc around all four edges, slip stitch into ch1 at start to finish. Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
Sew on to body with the shortest side next to small blue square.
Large grey square:
ch8
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
ch1, dc around all four edges, slip stitch into ch1 at start to finish. Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
In blue hand sew five vertical lines equally spaced apart.
Sew on next to small grey square.
Grey circle detail:
Make a magic ring, ch1, 6dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into same dc. Repeat around
Round 2: 2dc into same dc, dc. Repeat around
Round 3: dc around
Fasten off leaving thread to attach.
Sew onto the body at the bottom right
Blue 6 line detail – make 6:
These lines go next to the blue panel with grey squares
ch7, fasten off leaving thread to attach
Sew onto body next to the blue panel (5dc away) with grey squares, leaving 1 row between each line
Back:
Grey circle detail:
Make a magic ring, ch1, 6dc into ring
Round 1: 2dc into same dc. Repeat around
Round 2: 2dc into same dc, dc. Repeat around
Round 3: dc around
Fasten off leaving thread to attach.
Sew onto the body at the bottom right
Grey rectangles: make 2:
ch6
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
ch1, dc around all four edges, slip stitch into ch1 at start to finish. Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
Sew one next to the small grey circle, with the long side facing the base. The second goes next to the small grey square, again with the long side facing the base.
ch8
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-6: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
ch1, dc around all four edges, slip stitch into ch1 at start to finish. Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
Sew on next to the small rectangle, with the shortest side facing the bottom.
In cream sew on one horizontal line and 4 vertical lines.
ch5
Row 1: dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc along rest of row
Row 2-4: ch1 (doesn’t count as a stitch) dc along rest of row
ch1, dc around all four edges, slip stitch into ch1 at start to finish. Fasten off leaving long thread to attach.
Sew on next to the small great rectangle.
This is so cool!!! Love R2D2!!!
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Thank you, was really pleased it worked out!
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You’ve inspired me to make a couple of special querky gifts for some of my friends. I hope it works out for me as well.
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