Crochet Scops Owl

 In a KNUTshell

• The Scops Owl is approximately 18cm tall.
• Their head, body and wings are crocheted in a mix of Sirdar "alpine" and Sheepjes 'Furry Tales' yarn.
• Their beak, legs and claws are crocheted in DK grey yarn.
• Their eyes have been hand-painted with cruelty-free nail polish.
• Each Owl comes with a beespoke "beastie book badge" and adoption card, which will certify that they are a FREE BEASTIE.
• As with all my beasties they are made-to-order, so please allow 4-6 weeks from the point of adoption before they are ready to fly home to you! 

The Beastie Backstory

After bringing to life both Barn and Snowy Owls in 2019/20, The Scops Owl has this 'Parliament' of Owls into a Golden Trio! While this Owl was inspired by "Pigwidgeon", I have consciously chosen not to name his as such in the listing title. Why? In a KNUTshell, every single Owl is unique and deserves to tell their own tale... TAILS AND ALL (More on this in 'The Design story' below). On that note, let's talk about why this particular beastie is so dear to my heart and freedom soul.

I admit to being one of those many, many children who read HP and imagined how magical it would be to have an owl companion. When I did the Pottermore quiz, my chosen 'familiar' was always a Barn Owl. Yet as I've become more educated about animal rights in recent years, not to mention rereading the series as an adult... I've had to siriusly sort out my priorities! Not least of all the notion of seeing owls as commodities - there to serve the needs of humans.

One scene that particularly stood out for me was when there is a terrible storm outside, and the Owls come flooding into the Great Hall with their feathers all ruffled. Other times, they rudely awoken from a much-needed nap to deliver human post - and are sometimes  even physically harmed in the process of trying to deliver it. As for poor Errol... just let the poor boy have a rest! 

While I am a passionate advocate for SPEW, I can't help but feel that Hermione missed a trick with another very important campaign: SPOW. The Society for the Protection of Owlish Welfare, which starts with sick leave, pensions, a fair wage... and only hiring owls who actually want to work (so basically just Pigwidgeon!) 

 The Design Story 

My first crochet Owl (Snowy) came to be at the end of 2019, and was the result of many months of researching, designing, stitching, unravelling... you get the picture. My main goal with this pattern was to create a realistic body shape and leg.

Other owl patterns I had seen - particularly "Hedwig" - tended to have a round body with the feet sewn onto the base and no tail to speak of! I wanted to see if I could use "split rounds" to crochet the legs/feet and tail out from the main body.

What's more, I decreased the body at the front going down, to create a subtle curve inwards for the belly. To cut a rambling story short, it was no easy task! That being said, I solemnly swear that every second spent on the pattern was worth it, as I am utterly delighted with the end result. 

For my Scops owl especially, it was my most ambitious design to date in terms of the the colour pattern. I used three different yarns for the head - white, grey and black - to emulate the many, many Scops Owl photos I had stored in my "magical menagerie"  folder on my phone - one can never have enough references! 

In terms of yarn choices, I used the Sirdar 'Alpine' yarn for the black and grey, as I especially love the speckled effect of the latter yarn. However, for the white yarn I use the Scheepjes 'Furry Tales', as the white in the 'Alpine' range is more cream. But alas, never fear, because the yarns are incredibly similar in look, weight and texture, and I was well-versed in combining the two for my "Lady English Rose" Fwooper!  

Your Story 

As with all other Spew Crew beasties, each Owl is handmade to my own pattern, so is 100% exclusive to Bumble and Be. As they are made-to-order, it means that no two will be quite the same, but I like to think that is part of their magic - just like an Ollivander wand!

Every single Owl adopted will also come with their own exclusive adoption card and "beastie book badge", which I make from the secondhand pages of Harry Potter books. Before your beastie flies off to you, I will ask if you have a name in mind and - if so - put this onto the adoption card. On that note, this name will often form the basis for the book badge too; for example, past customers have called their Owls Olivia, Oliver and Owlbus, so I have chosen passages to honour their chosen names! 

For custom colour requests, please do not hesitate to message me.

Note: MY BEASTIES are inspired by the Wizarding World, but have no affiliation with JK Rowling/Warner Brothers.