Crochet a Yip Yip Alien

The Yip-Yips are characters from vintage Sesame Street. They're not as well known as many other Muppets, but they're some of the funniest characters, and also one of the simplest shapes. The originals were little more than a tube of furry fabric with eyeballs and antennae. If you crochet, it's easy to make your own miniature yip-yip.

Steps

  1. Choose a brightly colored yarn, in a medium to slender weight. This project is perfect for using up a bit of leftover acrylic in a bright color. Also choose a suitable hook.
  2. Make a slip knot. Chain about two and a half to three inches' worth of stitches (7-7.5cm) for whatever yarn and hook you are using, perhaps 20-25 stitches. The length is more important than the number of stitches. The objective is to end up with a tube about an inch in diameter, or maybe a little bit more.
  3. Join the end of the chain to the beginning, with a slip stitch, to form a loop. Do avoid twisting the chain.
  4. Single crochet around this loop for several rows, until you have a tube that's about as tall as the loop is big around. That is, if the loop was about 1 inch (2.5cm) around, you should make it about 1 inch (2.5cm) tall. You're aiming for a rough proportion here, not any specific number of rows. It's all right to join rows, so that this part is a spiral.
  5. Single crochet three or four rows across just one half of the tube. However, do not crochet a turning chain. Each consecutive row will therefore decrease. If you know how to do a single crochet decrease, you can decrease even more. Tie off the colorful yarn, but leave the tails for now. Here again, the exact proportions are not critical.
  6. Look ahead a few steps to see how these decreasing rows will be gathered together form the face of the yip-yip. Pinch the face together as you go to see how it will look.
  7. Make some yarn eyeballs to go with your yip-yip. They'll take a little bit of extra time, but they have a bit more style and a better shape than anything you'll buy in the store. Leave the tails attached on the side of the eyeball and neatly tie off and trim the tails extending from the back.
  8. Locate the eyes and thread them into the face. Use a large tapestry needle. You will want the face open at this stage so that you can reach inside to stitch the eyes to the inside of the fabric and tie a knot, but you can pinch it closed with your fingers to see where the eyes should go.
    • The eyes go very close to the top of the face. They are basically symmetrical, but this is a goofy looking alien, so it's all right if they're a little lopsided.
    • Tie the loose ends tightly. You can even tie them to one another. Then trim them close so they don't show through the mouth.
  9. Stitch the face together using the yarn tail, down the front. Make sure all the tails inside are covered up, and tie in and trim any remaining loose ends of the tail.
  10. Cut a number of lengths of the colorful yarn. You may wish to cut one or two pieces first to get the length right. Four feet (1.2m) is a good length to start with.
  11. Add a fringe. On the end opposite the face, which is to say the bottom end, put a hook through any loop from the starting chain. Fold one of the cut lengths of yarn in half and grab the middle with your hook. Pull it through.
  12. With your hook in the loop you just pulled through, grab both of the loose tails and pull them through the loop. This creates a Larks Head knot, as shown in the first four photos under Steps in this article. You should now have two long tails with loose ends.
  13. Put your hook through the original starting chain and pull only one of the two tails through. Leave your hook in this loop.
  14. Chain the tail for 20-25 chain stitches. Make them fairly tight stitches; you want them to curl and you won't be crocheting into them. You may even want to use a hook that is a size or two smaller than the one you used for the rest of the body.
  15. Tie a tight knot when you reach the end of the chain.
  16. Trim off the excess as close to the knot as you're comfortable cutting it. This is one tentacle. Chain a tentacle from the second loose end. Continue adding tentacles all the way around the base of the body. You can also chain the bottom tail from making the initial tube, rather than tying it in. It will camouflage with the rest.
    • It helps to make the tentacles all about the same length. You can eyeball it or count the chain stitches in a tentacle you like and do about that many stitches in the other tentacles.
    • The tentacles should be longer than the rest of the body is tall, by two to three times.
    • Don't do too few tentacles
  17. Attach a loop of the body color yarn on the back of the head if you wish to hang the yip-yip. Done.

Tips

  • The exact proportions of this project are not important. Adjust them to suit your yarn, hook, and style.
  • Yip-yips traditionally also have antennae. You could add antennae easily with more yarn or with a craft wire and a couple of seed beads. Don't add antennae, especially wire ones, if you expect this creature to end up anywhere near children or pets.
  • Aim for one pair of tentacles for each stitch in the starting chain. It will take some time to chain them all, but with enough tentacles, the yip-yip can stand up on its own.
  • Search for pictures or videos of "yip-yip alien" for reference, to see what the originals looked like.

Warnings

  • These creatures are probably not appropriate for very young children.
  • Cats and dogs may also see these creatures as toys.
  • Handle scissors and needles with appropriate care.

Things You'll Need

  • Brightly colored yarn
  • A crochet hook of a size that will match the yarn
  • Optional: a smaller crochet hook, for working tighter tentacles.
  • White yarn
  • Black yarn or string
  • A plastic soda straw
  • A tapestry needle
  • Scissors

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