70s Grover

One of the projects I picked up at the Hugathon was this, Grover! Isn't he amazing? There were a number of Sesame Street stuffies that were donated by a woman, who's mom had them in her basement from back in the 70s. 

This kit had everything you needed to make the toy: pattern, needle, hook, stuffing, and yarn in various colours.

The needle, however, was rusted in a couple of spots so I didn't use it!

There wasn't enough red to make the mouth, so I used a darker red that I had on hand. The pattern itself was a little confusing, especially the head. They had instructions on how to make his mouth and lining, but I think it could be simplified. The head and neck join is fairly unstable too, and could be easily adapted to use an amigurumi join. I'll try and write up some notes to make it a bit more clear.

I guess polyfibre stuffing was not the norm back in the day, so the stuffing that it came with was wool. It was SUPER heavy and dense, so Grover is stuffed quite substantially and he's pretty heavy too. Also, the acrylic yarn has not aged well and is quite scratchy.

Despite all that, look at how CUTE he is!! I wish I had grabbed a couple more patterns, there was Big Bird and Cookie Monster too. 

I had to get a close up of his big monster feet and hands. 

I'll scan a copy of the pattern for the ladies at the society so they can use him again. I will certainly make Grover again, but with softer yarn. I love him and I'm so glad he'll go to a child in need. 

And hey - did you know Grover's name in French is Gustave?? Adorable!