Glow in the Dark Kodama Pattern

One day I discovered something special and unexpected. I found out that Glow-in-the-dark yarn existed! I thought it would be really fun to experiment with the yarn, and so I really racked my head to find something special to make from it. I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki. In Princess Mononoke, the Kodamas (tree spirits) appear looking ghostly yet cute at the same time. They tilt their heads around and pop it back into place making these rattling noises. The more I thought about it, the more excited I became about what I thought would be the perfect combo of the ami and the yarn.

I went into my studio and I began making 2 different versions of the Kodamas: a sitting one, and a standing one. The sitting one has a more round face and looks like its sitting with its knees up. The standing Kodama has a head more like an alien. The great thing about these Kodomas is that if you make the faces different, they look like different versions, so feel free to experiment with the faces!

If you don’t have Glow-in-the-dark yarn, you can still make them using any sort of yarn and it will still turn out quite spooky cute! With the Nighlights yarn (2 oz), I was able to make 3 different Kodamas, plus have a little bit of yarn leftover.




Check out the video here to see the Glow in the Dark Kodama in action:

Glow in the Dark Kodama Pattern is copyrighted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This pattern is for personal use only. Feel free to make this for yourself or to give as gifts to people. However any sale, reproduction, or distribution of the pattern and or dolls created from the pattern without permission is strictly prohibited.

Kodama #1 – Sitting Kodama

SKILL LEVEL: Easy

Make sure you double strand the Glow-in-the-dark Yarn!

CROCHET HOOK:
Size H (5 mm)
Size G (4 mm)

YARN:
Nightlights Glow in the Dark Yarn

NOTIONS:
Black and White Felt
Yarn Needle
Felt Glue
Polyester Fiberfill

NOTE:
If using the Nighlights Glow in the Dark Yarn, don’t forget to double strand the yarn!

HEAD
Round 1: 6 sc into adjustable ring.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around – 12 sc.
Round 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] around – 18 sc.
Round 4: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts] around – 24 sc.
Round 5-8: Sc in each st around.
Round 9: [Sc dec, sc in next 2 sts] around – 18 sc.
Round 10: [Sc dec, sc in next st] around – 12 sc.
Round 11: [Sc dec, sc in next st] around – 8 sc.
Fasten off, leaving a long tail.

BODY
Round 1: 6 sc into adjustable ring.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around – 12 sc.
Round 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] around – 18 sc.
Round 4-5: Sc in each st around.
Round 6: [Sc dec, sc in next 4 sts] around – 15 sc.
Round 7: Sc in each st around.
Round 8: [Sc dec, sc in next 3 sts] around – 12 sc.
Round 9: [Sc dec, sc in next st] around – 8 sc.
Fasten off.

LEG (make 2)
Round 1: 6 sc into adjustable ring.
Round 2-4: Sc in each st around.
Round 5: hdc in next 4 sts, sc in next 2 sts – 6 sts.
Round 6: Sc in each st around.
Fasten off, leaving a tail.

ARM (make 2)
Note: Switch to smaller size hook – Size G (4 mm)
Round 1: 5 sc into adjustable ring.
Round 2-6: Sc in each st around.
Round 7: Sc dec in next st, sl st to fasten off – 4 sts.
Do not stuff.

ASSEMBLY
Stuff the HEAD and BODY. Stuff the LEGS loosely. Do not stuff the ARMS.
Sew HEAD onto BODY. Sew LEGS into the Body 3 rows down from the top of the body. It should look as if its knees are bent and it is sitting down. Sew arms onto the side by lining it up to look like a vertical line at the side. You can sew the both hands together so they look like they’re touching or the arms can be free. See photos below. Cut 3 circles of various size from black felt for the eyes and mouth. You can also embroider French knots instead.

Hands Free

Hands Together

Kodama #2 – Standing Kodama

The standing Kodma might be a little more trickier to make because you need to join 2 different body parts by using sc. I will try and get a tutorial up on it soon.

HEAD
Round 1: 6 sc into adjustable ring.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around – 12 sc.
Round 3: [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] around – 18 sc.
Round 4: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts] around – 24 sc
Round 5: Sc in each st around.
Round 6: [Sc dec, sc in next 2 sts] around – 18 sc.
Round 7: Sc in each st around.
Round 8: [Sc dec, sc in next 4 sts] around – 15 sc.
Round 9-10: Sc in each st around.
Round 11: [Sc dec, sc in next 3 sts] around – 12 sc.
Round 12: [Sc dec, sc in next st] around – 8 sc.
Fasten off, leaving a long tail.

LEGS and BODY
Round 1: 4 sc into adjustable ring.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around – 8 sc.
Round 3-7: Sc in each st around.
Fasten off.

You have created LEG A. Repeat Rounds 1-7 to create LEG B, but do not fasten off. Join LEGS A and B by joining across 2 sts of both LEG A and LEG B with sc. (Another option: You may create the 2 legs first and then sew them together across 2 sts) You should now have 12 sts around when the legs are combined. We will now work on the body.

Round 8: [2 sc in the next st, sc in next 3 sts] around – 15 sc.
Round 9-14: Sc in each st around.
Round 15: [Sc dec, sc in next 3 sts] around – 12 sc.
Round 16: [Sc dec, sc in next st] around – 8 sc.
Fasten off.

ARMS (make 2
Note: Switch to smaller size hook – Size G (4 mm)
Round 1: 6 sc into adjustable ring.
Round 2-6: Sc in each st around.
Round 7: [Sc dec, sc in next st] around – 4 sc.
Fasten off, leaving a tail. Do not stuff.

ASSEMBLY
Stuff everything except for the ARMS. Sew HEAD onto BODY. Sew ARMS onto Body near neck. Cut 3 circles of various size from black felt for the eyes and mouth. You can also embroider French knots instead.

Kodama - Tree Spirits