Cheerio my dears! If you are a fan of the delightfully macabre Edgar Allan Poe, then today’s books are sure to have you quivering with excitement! Recently we managed to get our paws on some books that have been on our TBR list for a while and just as we suspected, they were a hit with the shelf-denizens AND the mini-fleshlings! 
I speak of the Edgar series of books, part of the Babylit range by Jennifer Adams, that introduces the tiniest of fleshlings to literary classics. While most of this range are in the form of primers, the Edgar series bumps things up a bit, with more text, a story loosely based on the originals and a gorgeous pair of protagonists that you can’t help but fall in love with….and of course, recreate in yarnful glory.
The first book in the series is Edgar Gets Ready for Bed, inspired by Poe’s famous poem, The Raven. Following on from this we have Edgar and the Tattle-Tale Heart and most recently, Edgar and the Fall of the Tree House of Usher…I’m pretty sure you can guess the titles of the poems upon which these last two are based.
Sadly for us, our library only had the second two books in the series, so we’re still hanging out to read about Edgar and getting ready for bed (“Nevermore!”) but the second two books were hugely enjoyable. The older mini-fleshling particularly loved the Tree House of Usher with its initial “No Girls Allowed” theme, while the younger mini-fleshling enjoyed seeing Lenore (Edgar’s younger sister) finally receive the recognition that she deserved.
Even if you haven’t read the original poems (in which camp I fully admit to sitting), the stories stand well in their own right. For those who are more familiar with Poe’s work however, you will find plenty of motifs in both the text and Ron Stucki’s darling illustrations. The books are available in paperback and hardback as well as board book (our favourite!) formats, so there will be a perfect edition for mini-fleshlings of any age. We’d definitely recommend Poe fans and Poe fans-to-be check these out (either with your eyes, or from the library – we did both!) at your earliest convenience!
Edgar quickly found a bust on which to perch
Now, on to the crochet pattern! I will admit that this pattern may have a few small errors in it, as I tried to render Edgar’s head and body in one single piece, rather than attaching a beak separately. The pattern is written in US crochet terms because that’s how I learned first.
What you will need:
Black yarn
Small amount of white yarn
3.5mm crochet hook
Stitch marker
Pipe cleaners or thin wire
Scissors
Yarn needle
Head, beak and body
Using black yarn, make a magic ring and crochet 6 sc in the ring
2sc in each sc around (12)
*2sc in the next sc, sc* repeat x 6 (18)
Sc in the next 6 sc; 2sc in the next 6 sc; sc in the next 6 sc (24)
Sc in the next 8 sc; ch 1, turn (8)
Repeat round 4 (8)
Repeat round 4 (8)
Sc in next 8 sc, then continue in the round sc in the next 16 sc (24)
Sc2tog; sc in the next 4sc; sc2tog, ch 1, turn (6)
Sc in next 6 sc, ch 1 turn (6)
Repeat round 9 (6)
Sc in next 6 sc, then continue in the round sc in the next 14 sc (20)
Sc2tog, sc in the next 2 sc, Sc2tog, ch 1, turn (4)
Sc in the next 4 sc, ch1, turn (4)
Repeat round 13 (4)
Sc2tog, sc2tog, ch1, turn (2)
Sc in the next 2 sc, ch 1, turn 90 degrees (2)
Sc down the edge of the beak and continue with 1 sc in each sc and back up the beak, back to the point of the beak
Repeat round 17
Repeat round 17
Repeat round 17
. Sc in the next 8 sc (place a stitch marker here!), sc in the next 18 sc, SKIP the stitches that make up the beak, slip stitch in the sc with the stitch marker. Stuff the head a little here if you wish. (26)
2sc in the SAME sc, sc in the next st; *2sc in next sc, sc in the next sc* repeat 5 times (27)
*2sc in the next st, sc in the next sc* repeat 6 times (41)
Sc in each sc around (41)
Repeat round 24
Repeat round 24
Repeat round 24
Repeat round 24
*Sc2tog, sc in the next sc* repeat 6 times (27)
*Sc2tog, sc in the next sc* repeat 6 times (18)
*Sc2tog, sc in the next sc* repeat 6 times (12)
Stuff the body and head here.
Sc2tog repeat 6 times (6)
Sc around (6)
Fasten off leaving a long tail. Using the yarn needle, weave the tail through the last round of sc, pull tight, knot and snip remaining tail off.
Finishing the beak
Using the yarn needle and black yarn, whip stitch the open stitches at the bottom of the beak together. Tie off and snip remaining yarn away.
Tail
Using black yarn, make a magic ring and crochet 6 sc in the ring.
Sc in each sc around (6)
Repeat round 1 eight more times
Flatten the tail, fasten off leaving a long tail and attach to the back of Edgar’s body at a jaunty angle.
Wings (Make 2)
Using black yarn, make a magic ring and crochet 6 sc in the ring.
2sc in each sc around (12)
Repeat round 1, three more times
Flatten, and sc across the opening
*Ch 6, sl st in the next sc* repeat 3 times
Fasten off and attach to Edgar’s body, with chains facing tail.
Eyes (make 2)
Using white yarn, make a magic ring and crochet 6sc in the ring. Sl st into the first sc. Close the ring tight, fasten off and stitch onto Edgar’s face. Use black yarn to embroider pupils.
Hair
Using two short strands of black yarn, surface slip stitch to the top of Edgar’s head. Knot and pull tight.
Legs (Make 2)
Cut your pipe cleaner or wire into two short sections of about 1.5cm.
Using black yarn, ch 1, sc over the pipe cleaner until your pipe cleaner is covered in sc stitches.
Ch 6, attach to the final sc on the pipe cleaner with a sl st. Repeat twice more.
Fasten off and attach leg to Edgar’s body firmly.
I hope that these instructions are easy enough to follow. Of course, if you’d like to make a little Lenore to keep Edgar company (as well as to keep a beady eye on him!) you can follow the pattern above and just add a small bow to the head.
Until we meet again, I am,
Yours in yarn,
Mad Martha