I wanted to make something for my nephew. I was thinking, what can be the best way to decorate the baby’s room? And I came across George.

CURIOUS GEORGE is favourite animated series of every American toddler. It is based on the popular books by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. It is about a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by “The Man with The Yellow Hat” to live with him in a big city.

I wondered a fancy monkey face doormat will not only add a variety in your crochet work but also adorn your kid’s room. This solved two purposes for me; an interesting decor for the baby, who is a huge fan of Curious George and decorate the room differently.

So, I decided to make a monkey rug, that could be used as floor mat inside the room or doormat at the entrance of the room depending on the style and need.

Process:

I liked the pattern in Etsy monkey rug pattern, but instead of buying the pattern, I tried making one on my own.I made the head with two strands of dark brown wool. The entire mat can be divided into 4 parts:

1. Face
2. Ears
3. Eyes
4. Mouth

Face:-

In the pictures provided by Ira Rott, she has worked on Double crochet(DC) stitch for face vertically whereas I went for a simple pattern of circular rug starting with 6 DC. I increased 6 DC in every row, up to 18 rows.

Ear:-

With 2 strands of dark brown yarn, start with chain 4 and join with Sl St to form a ring.

Row 1: ch 3, DC 5 on half of the ring, turn.

Row 2: ch 1, 2 DC over DC, turn.

Row 3: ch 1, DC, 2 DC on DC, repeat – , turn.

Row 4: ch 1, DC over next 2 DC, 2 DC on DC, repeat –, turn.

Row 5: ch 1, * DC over next 3 DC, 2 DC on DC*, repeat –, turn.

Row 6: ch 1, * DC over next 4 DC, 2 DC on DC*, repeat –, turn. Sew off.

Make 2 of these.

Eyes:-

With 1 strand of beige yarn for eyes, make 10 DC on the Magic Circle. Increase by count 10 on each row for 3 times. Make 2 of these for eyes.

Mouth:-

With 1 Strand of beige yarn, make chain 22.

R 1: From 3rd chain, Dc on the loop for 19 loops, 3 DC on the last loop.

R 2: Move to the opposite side of the chain, work DC on 19 loops. 2 DC on the last loop. Join to first DC with Slip stitch.

R 3: Ch 1, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on DC, 2 DC on DC. Join.

R 4: Ch 1, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 2 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 2 DC, 2 DC on DC. Join.

R 5: Ch 1, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 3 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 3 DC, 2 DC on DC. Join.

R 6: Ch 1, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 4 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 4 DC, 2 DC on DC. Join.

R 7: Ch 1, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 5 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on next 20 DC, 2 DC on DC, DC on 5 DC, 2 DC on DC. Join.

Continue increasing each row, as defined in the rows 5-7 for the total of 12 rows.

With Red yarn, sew the shape of the lip on the mouth.

Assemble:-

Place all the separate parts on or around the face as per the picture and start sewing. Use dark brown yarn for ears and light brown/ beige for eyes and mouth.

Remember: To avoid the Mat from slipping on the hardwood floor, tile etc there are options to provide nonslippery rubber grip. You can get them at any home improvement stores such as Walmart, Target etc.

• for the Back of the Monkey’s Face, cut and sew the liner.
• cut 2 half-circle shaped liners and sew separately for the ears.

Product Specifications:

Defining Dimensions:-

• Diameter of the Monkey Face: 40″
• Ears Size: 4″-5″.

Optional Alterations:-

• The sizes can be changed based on your requirement.
• The Monkey’s face can be made of fur yarn.
• You can add black eyeballs to the pattern. Follow the pattern for making eyes for 1-2 rows.
• There is no need to provide any edging to this rug.
• You can add a bow or a tassel or pompom in the forehead or near the ears.
• You can add pom-pom, tassels, charms, miniature idols, mini toys, amulets etc matching the colour with the edging or the base colour. Link to make pom-pom and tassels.
• You can attach flowers, beads, appliques or a bow made of crochet, plastic, suede leather, fabric etc to make it more interesting.

Remember: do not over accessorise it. This hides the beauty of the pattern itself. Believe in elegance simplicity!!

In case, you have stuck anywhere or have any queries, kindly contact me.

Curious Monkey Rug

Style Aisle:

• Place it on the doorstep OR on the entryway Or in the Kids bedroom.
• Choose different shades of brown for making the Monkey’s face.
• White, Beige, Black, Brown with red yarn for lip should be used for facial features.
• Go crazy with experimental contrast colours. Make sure the interiors are mostly containing natural, neutral or earthy colours around.
• The mat should be different than the floor colour.
• The rubber liner will avoid slippage on any floor – hardwood, carpet, tiles, vinyl, cement etc.
  • The liner should not pop out. Select matching colour or subtle colour for your mat.

Materials:

1. Yarn: Caron One Pound – Expresso, Caron One Pound – Cream, Red Yarn from Stash Basket
   • Note: you can play around with different branded yarns as far as they give the synchronous flow of the pattern using a constant crochet hook.
   • You can either go for the yarns with the same recommended crochet hook OR decide the yarn and change the crochet hooks along with the tightness on the crochet stitches as you proceed with the pattern.
   • You can change the pattern to get the continuous flow.
2. Crochet Hook: 5.5mm
3. Needle
4. Scissors
5. Measuring Tape
6. Sewing Thread matching with the base colour.
7. Sewing needles
8. Non-Slippery Base: Rubber Spray Paint, Shelf Liner
9. Stitch Marker: My stitch markers are the mini safety pins we get from clothing tags.

Happy Crocheting!!!