FO Friday - another secret project sees the light of day

Hooray! Another birthday has been and gone, and I can now reveal yet another secret project I've been sitting on for weeks.

This time, it was for my Dad. You may remember the Secret Birthday Shawl I made for my Mum's 60th earlier this year. Well, this week it was Dad's turn to reach that particular milestone, so a little while ago I put my thinking cap on and tried to find a project for him that would be just as awesome.

My first thought would be a nice hat/gloves combo he could wear to rugby games in the winter, when the rain is lashing down and the winds are howling, a nice hand-knit woolly hat and gloves would keep him lovely and warm. Sadly, my knitting fu is still weak, so that will have to wait. Also, who wants to receive a big woolly hat and gloves as a present in July? Maybe he can have those for Christmas. Next year. If he's lucky*.

So I thought I'd do something a little sillier, and hopefully put a smile on his face.

Pattern: Amigurumi Basic Doll by Beth Ann Webber

Yarn: Sirdar Bonus DK

Hook: 3.5mm

Quite clearly, I've made a fair few adjustments to the basic pattern. I modelled my design on a photograph of one of Wales's most hardworking rugby players - Colin Charvis.

I did the shoes and socks by replacing the skin colour with black and white respectively, crocheting into the back loops only when I reached the top of the socks to try and create a ridge at the top of the sock, to make it look like they were on the outside. I think it worked.

The shorts and top I improvised, worked flat then sewn together around the body. The shorts are sewn to the body, but the shirt is not. I was foolish, and attached the head before doing the shirt - if I did this again, I would make the shirt in the round first, put it on the doll like you would dress a person, then attach the head.

The hair is made by crocheting the first half of the head pattern in the hair colour to make a wig cap. I used the loop stitch to create the effect of Colin's curly hair. The eyes are just small rounds of white with a small black safety eye in the centre.

The three feathers would have been a bit tricky to embroider, so I improvised with three white lines on his left breast.

This is a proper sized rugby ball, for size comparison.
Yes, it's signed by the 2005 Grand Slam winning Wales team.

Dad had the cheek to ask me why he didn't have a number or name on his back, or any advertising on the front of his shirt!

You know the drill, more FOs over at Tami's!

*That sounds really uncharitable, but in my family we do have a tradition of not giving each other gifts; I'm only making the exception for birthdays this year because they're all hitting milestones. Both parents turned 60, and my brother is turning 30 in a couple of weeks!