Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe it’s 2016 already. Stay tuned for more of Unraveled next Saturday. Today I’m super excited to share a new crochet pattern with y’all!

A couple weeks ago I watched Star Wars for the first time. I know, I know, I’ve been living under a rock. The good news is I absolutely loved the movies, prequels included*, so I went to see The Force Awakens. No spoilers here, but I cried buckets and came home wanting to crochet everything Star Wars-related. So here we are!

I didn’t think I would become so fond of BB-8, to be honest. I was quite attached to R2-D2, after his large role in episodes 1-6, so I didn’t expect to like another droid nearly as much. R2 is still my favorite, but there’s something quite endearing about BB-8. I looked at a bunch of crochet patterns, but eventually I decided to create my own. I hope you enjoy it, and maybe you’ll consider crocheting your own – this is the droid you’re looking for.

And as usual – free pattern, this is. 😉

*What’s the deal with people hating the prequels? I respect your opinion, of course, but I honestly don’t see why so many people dislike them. I still prefer the originals, but I enjoyed the prequels too; devil’s advocate I guess. Or maybe I’m on the dark side. 😉

Materials

• Worsted weight yarn in the following colors: white, gray, black, and orange. I used a mix of Red Heart Super Saver, Red Heart Soft, and I Love This Yarn. As long as your yarns are the same weight, you’ll be fine. I used silver Patons Metallic for the gray color changes, which I think makes BB-8 look more droid-like. It’s on the thinner side but it worked fine for me.
• G (4.00 MM) crochet hook
• stitch marker

Notes

1. Most of the pieces are worked in unjoined rounds, in a spiral, so use a stitch marker to keep track of the beginning of each round.
2. Feel free to substitute your own color-changing techniques. If you have a perfect jogless join, go ahead and use that. Or you can follow what I did.
3. Spike single crochet (spike sc) = Insert hook into stitch two rows below, pull up a long loop, and yarn over & pull through two loops. See pictures below.

Body

Using white yarn for the whole thing:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in a magic ring OR ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hk

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around

Rnd 3: *2 sc in next st, sc 1* around

Rnd 4: *2 sc in next st, sc 2* around

Rnd 5: *2 sc in next st, sc 3* around

Rnd 6: *2 sc in next st, sc 4* around

Rnd 7: *2 sc in next st, sc 5* around

Rnd 8: *2 sc in next st, sc 6* around

Rnd 9: *2 sc in next st, sc 7* around

Rnd 10-18: sc in each st around

Rnd 19: *sc 7, sc2tog* around

Rnd 20: *sc 6, sc2tog* around

Rnd 21: *sc 5, sc2tog* around

Rnd 22: *sc 4, sc2tog* around

Rnd 23: *sc 3, sc2tog* around. Stuff.

Rnd 24: *sc 2, sc2tog* around

Rnd 25: *sc 1, sc2tog* around. Add more stuffing.

Rnd 26: sc2tog around

Fasten off, sew hole closed, first adding more stuffing if necessary.

Head

Starting with white yarn:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in a magic ring OR ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hk

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around

Rnd 3: *2 sc in next st, sc 1* around. Sl st to next st, changing to gray. Don’t cut the white yarn, you can carry it up the back to minimize weaving in ends.

Rnd 4: * 2 sc in next st, sc 2* around. Make the last sc where you slip stitched in the last round to hide the color changes.

Rnd 5: *2 sc in next st, sc 3* around. Sl st to next st, changing to white. Fasten off gray.

Rnd 6: *2 sc in next st, sc 4* around. Make the last sc where you slip stitched in the last round. Sl st to next st, changing to orange. Again, don’t cut the white yarn.

Rnd 7: *2 sc in next st, sc 11* around. Make the last sc where you slip stitched in the last round. Sl st to next st, changing back to white. Fasten off orange.

Rnd 8-12: Sc in each st around

Rnd 13: In back loops only, *sc 8, sc2tog* around until you have 9 sts remaining, sc 9

Rnd 14: *sc 4, sc2tog* around

Rnd 15: *sc 3, sc2tog* around

Rnd 16: *sc 2, sc2tog* around

Rnd 17: *sc 1, sc2tog* around. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the head onto the body, matching Rnd 17 from the head to Rnd 25 from the body. Weave in ends.

Cut a long piece of gray yarn and backstitch a line around Rnd 12 all the way around the head. Then backstitch a line of orange above that, but leave a space of about 10 stitches blank.

Sensors

I’m not sure what to call these – they’re the two black eye-like things on BB-8’s head. I’m not well versed in droid terminology. 😉

Large Sensor:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in a magic ring OR ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hk

Rnd 2:  2 sc in each st around

Fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing. Sew to head.

Small Sensor:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in a magic ring OR ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hk

Fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing. I used an invisible join. Sew to head.

Cut a piece of white yarn and split it in half, so you have a thinner piece of yarn (2 plies). Backstitch a smaller white circle on the small sensor. Weave in ends.

Circles (make 4)

Again, not sure what to call these, but they’re the decorative parts on BB-8’s ‘body.’ If anyone knows what these things are supposed to be called…help! This is worked in joined rounds, and the chain never counts as a stitch.

Rnd 1: With white, make 6 sc in a magic ring OR ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hk. Sl st to first sc, changing to silver.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, make 2 sc in each st around, sl st to join. Change to white.

Rnd 3: Ch 1. Starting in same st, *sc 1, 2 sc in next st* around. Sl st to join.

Rnd 4: Ch 1. Starting in same st, *sc 2, 2 sc in next st* around. Sl st to join, changing to orange.

Rnd 5: Ch 1. Starting in same st, *sc 3, spike sc two rows below, sc in next st on current row* around. You’re basically repeating the increase round, but sticking a spike single crochet in there. Sl st to join.

Rnd 6: Ch 1. Starting in same st, *sc 4, 2 sc in next st* around. Sl st to join. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Sew circles to body, spacing them evenly around.

What are your thoughts on the new Star Wars movie? (I’ll be editing comments to remove spoilers; please think before you post in case one of my followers hasn’t seen it yet!) Do you have a favorite episode? Any thoughts on what character I should crochet next?

May the force be with you!

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Disclaimer stuff: I’m not affiliated with Disney or Lucasfilm in any way, unfortunately, because that would be super cool. Please don’t sell items you make from this pattern, since neither you or I own the rights to BB-8. (Unless you do, in which case do whatever you want.) Star Wars and everything is copyrighted and I’m not making any claim otherwise. I crocheted BB-8 and wanted to share the pattern to show my (newly discovered) love for Star Wars and not for any monetary gain or Dark Side purposes. Cheers!