If you find yourself in Lewisville, TX, there’s a chance you might stumble across a Pokemon in the wild. No, not the cartoon critters that pop up on the extremely popular Pokemon Go game, but actual, three-dimensional Pokemon that you can hold in your hand! The Texas town has turned into a sort of Pokemon Safari Zone thanks to local craftsperson Nichole Dunigan, whose handmade crocheted creatures have been attracting a lot of attention. And she’s giving away the Poke-patterns, and her creations themselves, for free!
Dunigan, who can be found on Nichole’s Nerdy Knots Facebook page, was featured on her local news station once reports started spreading across social media about Pokemon enthusiasts finding her hand-knitted critters hidden in local parks. Her crocheted Pokeballs and Pokemon were a hit with her kids, as you might expect them to be, so she started sharing the wealth both online–she also has an Etsy shop, webpage, and YouTube channel–and in her community.
“Yea, it’s really cool, I ride my bike and I’ll see these people look in the bushes and I’m like, ‘Why are you looking in the bushes? There’s not any virtual Pokemon’s in the bushes. [T]his little girl she’s like, ‘We’re just playing Pokémon,’ and she found a real Pokémon. She’s like, ‘Can I take it home?’ That’s why I put the tag on there; you can take it home,” said Dunigan.
A particularly heartwarming aspect of this story is that Dunigan was recently diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, but this new creative outlet has helped her deal with her anxiety and reconnect with people. And people certainly want to connect with Dunigan since they’ve been contacting her with questions on how they can purchase their own crocheted Pokemon. She has no plan to sell them at the moment, but you can check out her social media accounts for more information on her designs. For more Crochet Go examples, take a look at the images in our gallery.
Are there any particular Pokemon you’d love to see Nichole make next? Let us know in the comments!
Images: The CW 33, Nichole’s Nerdy Knots
