Crocheted marble fiddle friend

Super-galactic travelling friends,

last week I wanted to make myself a quick little fidget style toy to have in my pocket while travelling to visit my parents. Waiting around for your next train can be boring, I didn't really want to get a book out to read, and my tickets were on my phone, so I didn't want to use it too much because it's getting old and the battery isn't as good as it used to be. Also I have general anxiety, so sometimes having a little thing to fiddle with can be nice, and help get my mind off whatever is bothering me.

And so I went onto Pinterest to get some ideas, and came across marble fidget toys. There were some simple ones, and some cute ones, so I decided to take these two styles and combine them to make my very own marble fidget friend.

I played around with some ideas, but in the end decided to go for a poppet style design. I liked the idea I was transferring any and all of my boredom, anxiety, or stress into the little doll. Also, I love spooky stuff as you know!

And this is how my little guy turned out:

I love my little poppet pal so much, and he was soo easy to make.

Using a 3.5 mm hook I did five single crochets in a magic circle, then the next round single crocheted in each previous single crochet twice so I had ten single crochets, then carried on doing ten per round until it was the length I wanted. I popped the marble in then closed the bottom using single crochet and cut the yarn and fastened off, pulling any excess tail into the poppet.

For the arms I chained to the desired length, used a yarn needle to pull it through the poppet, then knotted each end of the chain to make the hands so I could pull the arms back and forth without them being pulled out. I then did the same with the legs, sewed on the face and heart, and with that my poppet was ready to go.

I ended up using it a lot while travelling, fiddling with it when I was watching tv rather than being on my phone, a couple times I felt a tad anxious, and also while thinking stuff through as it has helped me to focus on my thoughts. So all in all, my poppet was a success! 

I see myself making some more for fun in the future, plus my Mum asked me to make her one as well, so keep an eye out for a future post with a possible army of little poppet pal fiddle friends 😄