Circuits, and Crewmates, and Crochet, OH MY!

Integrating some electronics into my crochet projects has been on the "to-try" list for a while, and an Among Us Imposter that could "kill" on command seemed like the perfect opportunity.The Crewmate's backpack seemed roomy enough to hide a Micro:bit and a servo! Or maybe a speaker? This is still a "work in progress". I've got the crochet pattern worked out and some of the electronics working - just need to figure out how to put them together.

This Instructable is a general pattern than can be adapted to create various size crochet crewmates. I wanted a Crewmate that would be big enough to hid some electronic parts but still light enough that it could still be moved by a single servo.

You will need to know how to start with a magic circle, increase, decrease and crochet in the round (i..e. spirals) for this pattern.

Abbreviations:
Sc = single crochet
Inc = Increase
Dec = Decrease
BLO = back loops only

OVAL. Almost all the parts are based on this basic shape. This will form the main body, inner body, and visor.

R1: Chain 10.
R2: Sc into the 2nd chain from the hook and sc in every stitch until the end. Sc two more times into the final stitch (3 stitches in total in the final stitch). Place a stich marker in the center of these three stitches. Sc down the other side of the foundation chain. Sc two more times into the final stitch and place another stitch marker in the center of the final three stitches. You will increasing before and after these marked stiches to make an oval.
R3: Sc until you are 2 stitches away from the stitch marker. Inc. Sc. Sc into the mark stitch. Sc. Inc.
R4-onwards: Continue until the oval is the desired size. Each row increase the oval by 4 stitches.

The actual number of stitches will depend on your crochet hook size, gauge and yarn weight. I used a 3.5mm hook for the majority of the pieces.

Inner Body (black): 36 stitches in total
Main Body (main colour): 42 stitches in total
Helmet (blue): 32 stitches in total

Step 1: Lower Body & Dead Crewmate

The bottom half is constructed by joining two cylinders together and crochet in the round. The legs were weighed with some dried beans for stability.

LEGS (Make 2 - Main colour)

R1: 6 sc in Magic Circle (6 sts)
R2: Inc around (12 sts)
R3: (Sc 1, Inc) rep 6 times (18 sts)
R4: Sc BLO 18 (18 sts)
R5-11: Sc 18 (18 sts)

Repeat Rows 1-11 to make the second leg. Do not fasten off.
R12: Chain 3. Join the first leg by Sc 18 into the first leg. Sc 3 into the chain and Sc 18 around the second leg. (42 sts)
R13-20 Sc 42. Do not finish off. (42 sts)

INNER BODY (Make 2 - Black for Imposter, Make 1 - Black for Dead Crewmate)

Make two black ovals to separate the body pieces. For additional stability, cut two ovals out of plastic canvas. Join the legs to the inner body by crocheting the two pieces together.

If the number of stitches in the legs and inner body differ (my black yarn was heavier than the main body colour), you will have to distribute your extra stitches to join the body pieces evenly. For example, my main body was 42 stitches and the inner body was 36 stitches. This gives me 6 extra stitches (total # of stitches in the legs - inner body) I needed to spread out throughout the oval. To do this, I stitched every 6th stitched from the legs into the previous stitch of the inner body.

After the inner body has been joined to the legs, sc around the entire legs.

DEAD CREWMATE BONE(Make 1 - Off white)

The bone is constructed from two partial spheres joined together continued as a cylinder.

R1: 4 sc in Magic Circle (4 sts)
R2: Inc around (8 sts)
R3: (Sc 1, Inc) rep 4 times (12 sts)
R4: (Sc 1, Inc) rep 4 times (16 sts)
R5: Sc (16 sts)
R6: (Sc 1, Dec) rep 4 times (12 sts)

Repeat Rows 1-6 to make the 2nd side of the bone.
R7: Join to the 1st part the bone and sc (24 sts)
R8: (Sc 2, dec) rep 6 (18 sts)
R9: (Sc 1, dec ) rep 6 (12 sts)
R10-onwards: Sc 12 until desired length.

Attached to inner body.

Step 2: Upper Body

UPPER BODY (Make 1 - Main colour)

The upper body is constructed from an oval. Once you have increased to the desired size (~42 stitches), continue sc in the round until it is your desired height (~24 rows). Attach the black inner body as in the previous step.
Join the Upper and Lower body by crocheting through both stitches along the back. This will create a hinge.
Sc around the top and bottom of the halves of the body in a figure 8 pattern to create a "lip" that will conceal the parts when is closed.

VISOR (Make 1 - Light blue)

Crochet a blue oval until it is is the desired width (~32 stitches).
Switch to black and sc the final row to outline the visor.
Chain 6 stitches in white. Attached to the visor as part of the reflection.

TEETH (Make 2 - White) The teeth are made using a "triangle stitch".

Abbreviations
sl st = slip stitch
dc = double crochet
tc = treble crochet

Chain 6
Sl st in 3rd st from the hook
Sc into the 4th st
Dc into the 5th st
Tc into the last stitch
Chain 3 and repeat steps 1-5 until you have the desired number of teeth. This will leave 3 sts in between each of your triangular "teeth".

Step 3: Backpack, Mini-Crewmate, and Swappable Hats?

BACKPACK

R1: Chain 10. Sc into 2nd st closest to the hook. Turn.
R2. Sc 8. Chain 1. Turn.
R3-8. Repeat R2.
R10. Sc around entire perimeter of the backpack. (~32 st)
R11. BLO around entire backpack.
R12. Sc around entire backpack. Insert plastic canvas rectangle for shape. Stuff and sew onto back right along the bottom hinge.

If you are looking for other hats, this is a good opportunity to play with some basic shapes and try your hand at making up a pattern. A sunny side-up egg would start with a circle. Scale and simplify our basic pattern for a mini-crewmate. Or better yet, can we make swappable hats that attach with magnets?

MINI-CREWMATE

R1: 4 sc in Magic Circle (4 sts)
R2: Inc around (8 sts)
R3: (Sc 1, Inc) rep 4 times (12 sts)
R4: (Sc 2, Inc) rep 4 times (16 sts)
R5: (Sc 3, Inc) rep 4 times (20 sts)
R6: (Sc 4, Inc) rep 4 times (24 sts)
R7-15: Sc 24 (24 st)

MINI-LEGS (Make 2 - Main colour)
R1: 4 sc in Magic Circle (4 sts)
R2: Inc around (8 sts)
R3: (Sc 1, Inc) rep 4 times (12 sts)
R4: Sc BLO 12 (12 sts)
R5-7: Sc 12 (12 sts) Attached in a seated position.

MINI-BACKPACK

R1: Chain 8. Sc into 2nd st closest to the hook. Turn.
R2. Sc 6. Chain 1. Turn.
R3-6. Repeat R2.

Step 4: Can I Hack It?

My original idea was to use a servo to tip the top half of the Imposter backwards when a button was pressed on the Micro:bit. The arm on the servo rotates between 0-180⁰ and displayed a happy or sad face on the LED screen when Button A or B is pressed. It is enough to push the top open but I need to figure out a way to anchor the servo arm so it pulls it closed again.

Originally I tried to hide the battery pack in the lower body but the servo drains the battery quite quickly, and low battery life = unpredictable servo movement. It seems to work better when it's powered directly by the USB.

I need to play with the positioning of the servo and try lengthen the arm to get better movement. Alternatively, the Mico:bit can easily be hooked up a speaker - maybe I can program it to play a sound when it's tossed in the air?

For more info, check out: