I have a tendency to go down rabbit holes. When my sister showed me a SpongeBob themed 25th birthday card, I couldn’t leave it at a birthday card. I went looking for SpongeBob themed plates and balloons and decorations. Which, by the way, you cannot find at Party City, I guess SpongeBob isn’t as popular anymore? To top it off, I knew I wanted to make a SpongeBob birthday celebration inspired present. 

First I had to decide what the project would be: SpongeBob himself or another one of the characters. I had both pink and yellow crochet thread, but somehow a starfish with five different points seemed to be more complicated than a yellow box. SpongeBob was the winner! In the interest of time and details, I knew I wanted something small, so I went with Aunt Lydia’s size 10 crochet cotton thread and a size 1.0 mm crochet hook.

I looked at a few patterns on Ravelry but ultimately decided to make it up as I went along. I started at the top of the head and made a rectangle, then worked down through the body until I got to his shirt. While working the body I looked through dozens of photos of the yellow sponge in order to best estimate the ratio of body to shirt and pants. I’m not sure if there is an official answer, but I came up with about 2/3 body to 1/3 clothes. He is also approximately 1.4 times taller than he is wide. 

Once I had the main body done I had to decide the best way to attach arms and legs. I added crafting wire in order to make them moveable and sturdier. I crocheted around the wire and then attached it to the main body. In the interest of time, and my sanity, I did not add his socks. 

Since this sponge knows how to party, I added a blue cone shaped party hat and a micro cupcake. The little candle on top of the cupcake was one of the most fiddley components! While my sister may be great at baking, I prefer crochet varieties of cupcakes. If you do too, I have some in my Etsy shop!

The facial details were the last step of this project. Originally I was going to use Googly eyes. My husband suggested making crochet ones instead, and I’m so glad he did! The blue iris and eye lashes really made the face stand out. The nose was crocheted to come out from the rest of the face. 

Overall I was pretty happy with how the SpongeBob birthday celebration turned out! I added an optional keychain so he can be carried around for year round fun!