Axolotl

or any other lizard-newt-type thing.

Made by Rrkra ( http://www.rrkra.deviantart.com ) Free to use, free to share, free to sell the finished
things. Would be nice to link to me, but not necessary.

Materials: Beading needle, thread, size 11 seed beads (main body

colour), size 15 seed beads (main body colour, gill colour), 2 beads
for eyes (size 8). Some kind of filling, like bubble wrap.

Optionally, for the tailfin, size 15 beads that are translucent but
close to main colour, and some size 15 beads in a shade that looks
good with the others.

^Translucent white main, clear and clear pink for the tailfin. Copper-lined black, size 11 and 15. +Size 15 gold lustered.^

Knowing brick stitch and peyote will make this much easier, but I
doodled patterns for most parts. So here goes.

1. Start with 8 size 11 main colour beads in a

loop. I use braided thread, so I can just poke my
needle through it and it will hold. If you use
something else for thread – just tie a knot.

2. You need to get this shape, so

here's a pattern. Green line is
the thread from the first step.

3. Add two beads (coloured

green here) to make the nose
more pointy. This'll also be a
good spot for a ring, if you
plan on making a charm.
 4. Now there will be lots
of brick stitch.
Black and green are beads
from the previous step.
Brown = new row. Photos show
how it should look when
done.

5. Second row,
two-drop brick
stitch. There
are two
increases on the
sides of the
head, as drawn
on the pattern.

Orange beads =
previous row.
Beads with a
grey outline are
eyes.

6. Another row, two-drop brick stitch

again. Has two increases on the sides –
right above the increases of the previous
row.
(If you aren't making an axolotl, you
don't have to increase the amount of beads
in this row. This is mainly to make some
space for the gills.)
 7. Now, the neck.
Orange beads on the
pattern = beads marked
with orange dots on
the photo.
Black = the start of
the neck.

8. The rest of the neck. Orange beads = last row of the head. Black
with a yellow dot are beads from the previous step. They are also
marked with yellow dots on the photo.

9. Next row of the neck

is one-drop brick stitch
for no particular
reason. Two increases on
the sides, to make the
body wider. Make sure
they are placed
symmetrically.
Orange beads = previous
row.
 10. One more row, one-drop brick stitch, two
increases directly above the previous row's
increases.
You can see me putting some bubble wrap
inside the head, so it's not flat.

11. Next two rows are two-drop brick stitch,

nothing fancy happening there. Result should look
like the photo.

12. Ok, now the optional part

– making the body look
squiggly. It looks more like a
real creature that way. If you
don't want a squiggly axolotl,
continue with two-drop brick
stitch tube. Tail starts at
step 14.

Turns are done by changing the

amount of beads in a brick
stitch 'column' on one side of
the tube. There's a pattern in
the next step.
This is the first row of the
turn. Green arrow marks the
same place on the pattern and
on the photo.
Orange = previous row.
 13. I really hope it makes sense to people XD
But anyway...
Top and middle photos are the same. Middle one has the rows
coloured, so you can see which are where.
First red stripe, which has a blue “0” under it, is the last row
from step 11.
Next green stripe is the row from step 12. It's also the row marked
with a blue “1” everywhere.
Red stripe 2 is the second row of the turn. Last green stripe is the
third row.

Lowest photo has one more row added, the last row of this turn. Beads
marked with yellow dots on the photo and on the lower pattern are the
same.

Speaking of patterns.
Top pattern shows the first two rows of the turn, I tried to draw
how the tube looks (3D-ish), because the photos only offer a view
from the top/side.
Lower pattern is the flat view of the same tube. I didn't mark a
start/end, because it doesn't really matter here. (Row 5 is not in
the photo, it's just two-drop brick stitch, again.)
 14. This is the body with
2 turns in the same
direction. Red arrow points
at row 5 from the previous
step.
Add a bit of filling, if
you don't want a flat body.

Now we need to find a

middle bead on the back,
and on the belly. It's the
place where decreases will
be.

Red dots = beads that are

in the middle of the back.
Same beads show where the
back fin will be.

15.
Start of
the tail.
Two
decreases
are
directly
above the
middle
bead of
the back
and the
middle
bead of
the
belly.

16. Two more rows of two-drop

brick stitch, with two decreases
in each row. Decreases are always
above the previous rows' ones, on
the top and belly, like you see on
the photo.
You should end up with 6 columns
in a row.
 This is what it looks like from
a different angle.
If you don't want any turns in
the tail, continue with two-drop
brick stitch for a bit.

17. Turns in the tail

are much easier to make
(because it's flat,
unlike the body). Here's
the pattern, Yup, that's
it.

You can make several

turns, to different
sides, for whatever pose
you want.

18. Continue the tail for a

bit, and then make another row
with 2 decreases (on the top
and belly).
You now have 4 columns in a
row.
Continue with the two-drop
brick stitch. You can still
make turns, same way as in the
previous step, you'll just have
2 columns on each side instead
of three.
 19. Tailtip.
And a pattern just in case.

20. Tailfin. I used white beads for the first row here, so they
stand out more. This part has no definite pattern, because it depends
on the shape of your tail and on the beads used.
What you do is add groups of 1-3 size 15 beads between the beads on
the very top/bottom of the tail. Just see how many fit.
On the bottom, fin goes approximately to the start of the tail.
On the top, fin goes to the middle of the body.
Mostly depends on how you want it to look.
 21. Approximate tailfin pattern. Mostly to show the idea.
Orange = tail. Blacks and greys = fin.
Look how many beads fit into each gap - this will be slightly
different for everyone.

If you have a second colour for the tailfin – make sure to mix it
in. Translucent white + pink look neat, for example. Here I added
some gold-lustered beads to make the brown less boring.

Tailfin done. Move to the place where you will connect the leg.
 22. Leg
pattern.
Leg is made
with size 11
beads, fingers
are size 15
beads. I use a
second bead
colour (same one
as for the
tailfin) for
fingertips.
You can make it
longer or
shorter,
straight, or
with a slight
turn, like here.
Could add more
fingers too, but
four looks
better to me.

All four legs.

Squiggly.
 23. Gills.
Axolotls have three gill stalks on each side of the head.
There are three patterns to choose from. Pick whichever you like and
make them longer/shorter as needed, in any colours you see fit.

Patterns for the first and second way.

First is what you see on the photo below. A bit of peyote with a
tiny bit of a fringe.
Second is an even easier fringe, but might require a drop of glue or
nail polish to avoid twisting. This is the one I used when making
white axolotls.
 Third way is a ndebele (herringbone) strand + fringe. Connect it to
the beads on the top and bottom of the head, so it stays in place.
Won't twist or flop, but takes slightly more space.

And now you have a tiny axolotl.

Rawr.
Or whatever it is that axolotls say.