Planet June's Great Dane toy

An old friend from school, who is a Great Dane fan, asked me if I could crochet a dog designed by June Gilbert. When I first saw it I thought 'no', but then I decided I should give it a try anyway! I purchased her Great Dane pattern from Planet June for $5.00 and set to work!

A puppy designed by June Gilbert from Planet June

I know I positioned the head wrong, the mistake I made was sewing on the muzzle before checking how the head went onto the body. By that time, I had already spent over 4 hours on this toy and decided it didn't matter as long as it was finished! If I ever make another one, I will position the head better than on this one. But who has a spare 5 hours? Not me at the moment!

Besides the mix up of the head position, the pattern was easy to follow and well laid out. Perhaps the instructions for attaching the pieces could have occurred in a different order, straight after the pattern for each piece. The photographs included were useful and helped a great deal. Button eyes were recommended, but I simply embroidered eyes on in a similar way to the nose.

"I was meant to be a Great Dane but I look more like a Dachshund!"

Spending 5 hours making a toy for my 2 year old son is not something I usually have time for, so this was a one off. I suppose I could make more if there was a demand in my online shop? The sale of the pattern allows me to do so, if I wished to sell these dogs. I could offer custom made dogs to match their  favourite pets, like mini-me's for canines!

"Please Love Me!"

But what would you charge for something that takes 5 hours to make? And this is not the kind of pattern you can easily memorise and work on while you watch TV. I have to sit at my pc and study the pattern. I can not imagine even the most keenest of Great Dane fans being willing to pay enough to pay for the time!

What do you think?