Just over a week ago my friend Karen asked me to crochet a mandrake as part of her costume for Harry Potter World Book Night. Karen works in my local library and she had decided to dress up as Professor Sprout for the occasion. The mandrake plant first appears in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' by J K Rowling and instead of roots the plant has an "extremely ugly baby" living in the soil.
finished mandrake
For the first few days after being commissioned I thought about how I would go about creating this creature. I imagined the plant to be like a root vegetable with long thin roots for limbs. I then looked through my wool stash for appropriate yarn for the project. I found I had some very coarse pure wool which would be ideal for creating the tough skin of the mandrake. I also had a large ball of green acrylic to provide a soft, shiny contrast for the leaves.
work in progress, sitting in my wool bag
Once I had planned out the details in my head I began to crochet. I made up my mind as I crocheted where the increases and decreases would be. My four years at art college studying sculpture certainly help me in this part of the process!
hiding in it's pot!
I thought it would be good finishing touch to find a plant pot and label it, giving the mandrake a home. I delivered him to the library yesterday and Karen tells me he was a great hit with the children! Here's a photo of Karen, dressed as Professor Sprout, with the finished mandrake - I think she looks amazing!!
photo with Karen's permission
I have really enjoyed working on this crochet project and would like to thank Karen for challenge!
