Giraffe Tissue Box Cover

I'm going to be honest, I hated the idea of tissue box covers when I first discovered they were a thing.  I found them as equally displeasing as a crocheted toilet seat cover.  Fast forward a few months, and I thought, 'Hey, these could be really fun for kids if I transformed it a little!' 

I thought it would be a thoughtful gift for my son's classroom, so I started brainstorming what I could transform a plain tissue box cover into. The theme of my son's classroom is "jungle", so I definitely wanted to make a cute little animal.  A giraffe was my pick because I knew I would be able to add on a bunch of little details that would really make it special! 
(Fun fact: Giraffes don't actually live in the jungle, but if you google jungle theme, you are bound to see a giraffe so I just went with it!!)

And since it's cold/flu season - why not make it a bit more bearable by dressing up your tissue boxes!?  I'm going to share with you how I made the base of my tissue box as well as all the add ons to make it into a giraffe! The possibilities are endless here.  You can make what ever animal, character, or object you want!


Materials:
Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn in gold, brown, tan, white, and black
Poly-fil (can substitute cotton balls/yarn scraps)
Crochet hook sizes H and F (you may need a different size depending on your gauge)
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Square tissue box

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I was able to find a free pattern on Ravelry for the base of my tissue box cover. There are three different "styles" to choose from, I used the basic pattern here (follow the pattern for the red box). 
Before you start please, please, please check your gauge! The pattern maker used a G hook, but I had to use an H hook to obtain proper measurements as well as adding a few rows at the end to fit my tissue box. My mom (who is a fairly tight crocheter) used a J hook to obtain the measurements. So please check your gauge, it's important for this project in order to have a snug fit over the tissue box!

For the giraffes face, I used parts of Repeat Crafter Me's giraffe hat pattern, and also made some modifications as I went. You can see how I made the horns, ears, and snout over on her site here.
*As you can see, I made 'X' stitches for the nostrils instead of circles. It's up to you how you want your giraffe to look!

What's left? The eyes and the spots. Again, you can follow Repeat Crafter Me's pattern of how she made the spots and eyes for her hat, but I will also show you how I made mine.

Eyes 
The eyes will be done in two parts, make two of each

Using H hook and white yarn, start with a magic circle
Chain 1 and 7 SC into the circle, join to first SC
Chain 1, 2 SC, 1 HDC, 2 DC, 1 HDC, 2SC, join to first SC
Fasten off and leave tail for sewing

Using F hook and black yarn, start with magic circle
Chain 1, 7 SC, join to first SC
Fasten off and leave tail for sewing

Sew each black part onto the white part to form the eyes. 

Spots
I made two different types of spots to mimic the giraffe's spots. Make two of each style.

Circular spot
Using H hook and brown yarn, start with a magic circle
Chain 1, 10 HDC in circle, join to first HDC
Chain 1, *HDC in next two stitches, 3 HDC in one stitch, repeat from * then join to first HDC
Fasten off and leave tail for sewing

Oval spot
Using H hook and brown yarn, start with magic circle
Chain 5, SC into second chain from hook
SC across the chain and continue to SC on the other side of the chain
(at this point, you should have 4 SC on each side of the chain totaling 8 SC)
Join to the first SC to complete the round
Chain 1, 3 SC in first stitch, SC in next two stitches, 3 SC in next two stitches, SC in next two stitches, 3 SC in last stitch, join to first SC
Fasten off and leave tail for sewing

Now all that is left is to sew on all the pieces! I usually sew pieces on as they are finished so I'm not left with a bunch of sewing left at the end, but to each their own! 

As you can see, I took ideas from different resources and made it my own! What will you come up with? I really would love to hear and see what you create! 
Please comment below, I would love to hear from you!

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