Amigurumi Discworld
In general, I’m not one for picking favourites, but ever since I was first introduced to Terry Pratchett’s books at age 11-ish, I have bought and loved every single one of his books. I even have two copies of some of them! In my student days, while I still lived in the UK, I queued for hours at book signings so I could spend a few seconds with the man himself, and he was unfailingly nice every time.
Since I made my sea turtle in March, I had a feeling it reminded me of something… Then it came to me: most of Terry’s books are set on the Discworld: a flat world carried through space on the backs of four elephants who themselves stand on the shell of the giant star turtle, Great A’tuin… (Google image search if you don’t know what I’m talking about 
)
The idea to make a crocheted Discworld has been running around inside my head ever since. I thought it would make a wonderful art piece, so I’ve been slowly designing and assembling the pieces to create my Discworld model. I made sure the size for my small elephant design would fit on the turtle’s back… I spent hours studying, sketching, simplifying and photoshopping the Discworld Mapp so I could recreate it in cotton yarn (and my process for that would take up a whole post by itself)…
And, finally, today it has all come together with the finishing touches to the fourth elephant. Drumroll please… In honour of the genius of Terry Pratchett and his books (and totally unauthorized, so I hope he won’t take offence), allow me to present the Amigurumi Discworld:
Small print: Discworld is © Terry Pratchett. I have made my homage only for fun, not profit. I don’t have the rights to create a crochet pattern based on the Discworld, so please don’t ask me to do so
Please leave me a comment if you like my work – your words mean a lot to me!
UPDATED 5 Sep 08: I have just posted a Discworld update. Terry himself has seen the pics and commented! And I have added some details on how I made the Disc.
toRn said
Long time pratchett fan, but new to amigurumis found this and will be sharing with many! Thank you for sharing such an awesome project with us all!
Kim G said
Ok, this just made me so happy.
Pratchett Ponderings and Daily Dealings… said
[...] oh, and I promised the giant crocheted Discworld in my last post, so here you have it, made by June Gilbank and found at her blog. [...]
World’s Strangest | Discworld Amigurumi said
[...] Link via Geek Crafts [...]
Charles Davenport said
I am a scale modeler, so I appreciate fine handwork, and yours is certainly in that category! A FB friend cited your url, and I thought I would take a peek.
Discworld Amigurumi | External Brain said
[...] Gilbank made a crocheted presentation of Discworld in the amigurumi style. When Sir Terry Pratchett saw this work, he commented Well, if you’re [...]
Steve H said
Utterly charming! I took the liberty of posting a link to this on a largish sci-fi modelling site’s forum; we’ll see how they respond!
Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” as amigurumi by PlanetJune :: knithacker.com said
[...] more about it: http://planetjune.com/blog/amigurumi-discworld Related Posts:dinosaur amigurumicrocheted lucky bambooSwedish Chef says, “meety bolls forr [...]
Alec Chalmers said
That’s pretty impressive, You should do some more stuff like this
World’s Strangest | 10 Crocheted Science Fiction Figures said
[...] supported on the backs of elephants riding on a giant turtle. June Gilbank turned this concept into a crochet project, which elicited a laugh from the author himself! Gilbank posted some details about how it was [...]
Liz Mills said
Brilliant – your skills and dedication really shine in this example.
Jack said
I’d just like to say that this literally made my day. I showcased it on my blog here http://wp.me/p1B5QK-GY.
Chad's News – Crocheting Discworld said
[...] http://www.planetjune.com/…(via [...]
Crochet blogs and crochet spots you have to visit said
[...] there. Some have whipped up impressive Star Wars, Star Trek and other fantasy or sci-fi characters. Planet June is the resting place of one very talented crochet teacher June Gilbank and she created the Great [...]
Sidra Vitale said
Terrific work!
Dakota said
I LOVE IT!!!! You’ve inspired me so much to make my own setting to my very favorite fantasy series thank you!
Good Morning, Discworld « Wrapped Up in Books said
[...] [Image from PlanetJune] [...]
Katherine Smith said
Just saw your Discworld as amigurumi on Pinterest. It’s amazing and a tribute to your skills as a crocheter and lover of TP’s books.
Petra said
This is so GREAT!!!! A did not know, that is possible to crochet Discworld !!
Sherri said
I just wanted to say that I’ve bought the patterns for the elephant and the turtle to attempt my take on the A’tuin! My husband and I both love Terry Pratchett and as soon as he saw this, he asked if I could try and make one.
You’re an inspiration!