Crochet Oscamy

In a KNUTshell

• The Oscamy is approximately 64cm.
• Their bodies are crocheted in the Scheepjes 'stone washed' yarn (shade name Obsidian). The wings, beak, tail tip and mane are crocheted in Scheepjes 'chunky monkey' dark grey yarn. Both yarns are vegan. 
• They are stuffed with recycled polyester filling.
• They have special light-reflecting, 3D silver eyes.
• They come with a custom book-page badge and adoption card.

The Backstory 

The idea for the Oscamy came about after taking a joint photo of an Occamy and a Thestral. I had already decided to create a Moonstral as a special halogen/autumnal beastie, yet a little buzz in the back of my mind said... what would a Thestral-inspired Occamy look like? As you can probably guess, I'm true Bumble & Be style you can't ignore a "buzz"!

And so the Oscamy came to bee. In terms of the name, I had several "working titles", starting with the Occastral. This used my past-formula of simply combining the names of the two "beastie ancestors" (eg: Puffcorn, Nifflebee and Moonstral!) Yet I instantly knew it didn't sound right, so I channelled my inner linguist and did some research - namely, looking at Latin phrases connected to the Thestral. 

Subsequently, I settled on the word "Os" (bone) and for several days was intending to call her an Ossamy. However, again this simply didn't sound quite right, and so I decided to reread some Halloween themed passages from HP for inspiration. That was when I bumbled upon the word "Dusk", and the name came to me: the Oscamy. Not only does this include a Thestral-inspired Latin word (bone), it also opens with a sound that evokes "Dusk", aka the dawn of night. I feel it was meant to bee! 

The Design Story 

Before 2020, I tried my hand at crocheting an Occamy twice, yet always faced the same stumbling block... yarn. I kept finding yarns with wonderful colours, yet the texture was anything but. The reverse was also true, with yarns that felt incredibly soft and luxurious, but didn't come in the right colours. When I finally did find a yarn I loved, it was only to realise that it had discontinued... What was a Witchcrafter to do? 

The answer: keep searching! In the end, my favourite brand Scheepjes came to the rescue with their 'river washed' yarn, which combines to key colours but in varying textures - one is a brushed cotton, while the other is pure cotton strands. The result is truly quite magical, with tiny flecks of pink/purple in the main blue body. I then found a contrasting shade, where this main blue becomes the flecks and the yarn itself is primarily purple - that became the chosen yarn for my wings and mane.

Onto the wider pattern, when it came to designing my Occamy I had three key aims:

• firstly, ensuring that the body was long enough that it can tie into a knot. Not only does this give her future family more options when displaying her, but it also evokes her size-changing abilities - when tied in a knot, she appears quite small, but when unravelled she spans more than 60cm from head to tail!  
• secondly, finding eyes that truly stood out and had a gemstone-like quality (I use gold 3D eyes to achieve this, which are more raised than other craft eyes);
• thirdly, making the wings a true statement feature. Accordingly, I use a scalloped edge along one side of the wing, before threading craft wire through this side - I use the same technique for my Thestral, which allows the wings to be fully posable (as demonstrated in photos).

I am so happy with the final result and it seems others agree, as she has become my most requested beastie in 2021!  While this yarn doesn't entirely match the Occamy of the films, for me it feels magical in its own right. It's also lovely to work with, thanks to the brushed cotton, and this latter quality is also perfect for the mane, It means that, when gently brushed, it becomes even softer and fluffier, so mimicking hair. I also use a felting needle to attach the strands, as one of my pet peeves is when you have whole strands of yarn hanging from a piece  - it feels unfinished! The felting needle tucks the strands into the end of the head -  just as it decreases for the neck, and the colour contrast reminds me why I love yarn so much - it's just like magic! 

Your Story 

As with all other Spew Crew beasties, each Occamy 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 thestral 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 Occamies River and Dream, so I have chosen passages with these words included!  

My makes are inspired by the Wizarding World, but are unlicensed and have no affiliation with Warner Bros/JK Rowling.