Stomach

This pattern is part of a series of internal organs I'm making. It is life-sized and the plan is that it will fit together nicely with all of the other organs of the human digestive system. You can find out about all the other patterns I've been working on and be updated when new patterns are released by following my Instagram page. The facial features and glasses are entirely optional, but they give it a fun touch.

Difficulty:

Easy - medium

Tension:
The tension for this project isn't particularly important, as human organs are highly variable, but the tension I used was approx. 13sts and 14 rows per 5x5cm square (working in the round)

You will need:

A 2mm crochet hook
1 ball of Anchor creative fino 4ply yarn in light orange
Black 4ply yarn
White sewing cotton
0.5mm craft wire (optional)
A regaulr sewing needle
A darning needle
Polyester toy stuffing
A pair of scissors

Note:

• This pattern includes the back-to-front single crochet stitch (bfsc). A video to show you how to do this can be found here. It's pretty simple but if you can't work it out you can just use a regular single crochet stitch, however this will give it a slightly different look.
• This pattern also includes the foundation single crochet stitch. A handy website for learning to do this stitch can be found here, or alternatively a video tutorial can be found here.

If you'd like to find out more about how the stomach works, I recommend watching this Crash Course video, which is very entertaining and informative.
 

For the body of the stomach:

This starts from the top and works downwards (towards where the small intestine attaches)

Using 4ply yarn make a magic loop with 6sc

Round 1: make 2sc in each st (12sc)
Round 2: (sc, make 2sc in the next st) 6 times (18sc)
Round 3: (sc2, make 2sc in the next st) 6 times (24sc)
Round 4: (sc3, make 2sc in the next st) 6 times (30sc)
Round 5: Sc2, (make 2sc in the next st, sc4) 5 times, make 2sc in the following st, sc2 (36sc)
Round 6: (sc5, make 2sc in the next st) 6 times (42sc)
Round 7: Sc3, (make 2sc in the next st, sc5) 5 times, make 2sc in the following st, sc2 (48sc)
Round 8: (sc15, make 2sc in the next st) 3 times (51sc)
Rounds 9 - 10: (2 rounds) Sc in each st
Row 11: Sc48, sc3tog. Ch1, turn (49sc)
Row 12: Bfsc2tog, bfsc44, bfsc3tog. Ch1, turn (46sc)
Row 13: Sc2tog, sc44. Ch1, turn (45sc)
Row 14: Bfsc45. Ch1, turn
Row 15: make 2sc in the first st, sc43, make 2sc in the last st. Ch1, turn (47sc)
Row 16: make 3bfsc in the first st, bfsc45, make 3bfsc in the last st. Ch1, turn (51sc)
Row 17: Sc51, fsc1
Round 18: Sc in the first st you made of the last round, then sc in the next 51sts (so that you close up the hole in the side to the stomach, as shown below) (52sts)

Round 19: Slip7, sc12, hdc13, sc12, slip7
Round 20: Sc13, sc2tog, sc22, sc2tog, sc12 (50sts)
Round 21: Slip8, sc11, hdc13, sc11, slip6
Round 22: Sc13, sc2tog, sc22, sc2tog, sc10 (48sts)
Round 23: Slip9, sc11, hdc11, sc11, slip5
Round 24: Sc14, sc2tog, sc21, sc2tog, sc8 (46sts)
Round 25: Slip9, sc10, hdc11, sc10, slip5
Round 26: Sc14, sc2tog, sc20, sc2tog, sc7 (44sts)
Round 27: Slip9, sc9, hdc11, sc10, slip5
Round 28: Sc in each st
Round 29: Slip10, sc9, hdc11, sc9, slip4
Round 30: Sc16, sc2tog, sc18, sc2tog, sc6 (42sts)
Round 31: Slip10, sc8, hdc5, hdc2tog, hdc4, sc8, slip4 (41sts)
Round 32: Sc in each st
Round 33: Slip11, sc7, hdc13, sc8, slip2
Round 34: Slip10, sc3, sc2tog, sc3, hdc13, sc3, sc2tog, sc5 (39sts)
round 35: Slip11, sc3, sc2tog, sc3, hdc11, sc3, sc2tog, sc4 (37sts)
Round 36: Sc, slip10, sc4, sc2tog, sc3, hdc9, sc3, sc2tog, sc3 (35sts)
round 37: Sc, slip10, sc3, sc2tog, sc3, hdc9, sc3, sc2tog, sc2 (33sts)
Round 38: Sc2, slip9, sc3, sc2tog, sc3, hdc10, sc2, sc2tog (31sts)
Round 39: (Note that this is slightly over a single round, meaning that you'll need to shift your stitch marker to after the final sc2tog) Sc3, slip8, sc3, sc2tog, sc2, hdc10, sc2, sc2tog (29sts)
Round 40: Sc3, slip8, sc2, sc2tog, sc2, hdc8, sc2, sc2tog (27sts)
Round 41: Sc2, slip10, sc2, sc2tog, sc2, hdc8, sc2 (26sts)
Round 42: (over 1 round) sc2tog, sc2, slip8, sc2, sc2tog, sc, hdc7, sc, sc2tog (23sts)
Round 43: Sc2, slip8, sc2, sc2tog, sc, hdc7, sc (22sts)
round 44: Sc2tog, sc, slip8, sc, sc2tog, sc2, hdc6, sc (20sts)
Round 45: Sc2tog, sc, slip7, sc, sc2tog, sc, hdc6 (18sts)
Round 46: Sc2tog, sc, slip6, sc, sc2tog, hdc6 (16sts)
Round 47: Sc2tog, sc14 (15sc)
Round 48: Sc2, hdc5, sc3, slip5
Round 49: Sc2, hdc5, sc3, slip5
Round 50: Sc3, hdc5, sc3, slip4
Round 51: Slip1, sc3, hdc4, sc3, slip4
Round 52: Slip1, sc3, hdc5, sc3, slip3
Fasten off

Fun fact 1:

The acid released into the stomach (Hydrochlorid acid, HCl) used to help digest food is so strong that it can break down bones and some metals. Luckily the stomach is also able to release a fluid consisting of a combination of mucus and bicarbonate ions that are able to neutralise this acid and protect the stomach cells from being digested.

For the cardia (found at the base of the esophagus):
Rejoin yarn to the top of the  hole you made in the side of the stomach, as shown in the images below

Round 1: Sc16 around the edge of this hole

Round 2: Sc in each st
Rounds 3 - 5: (3 rounds)  Slip3, sc4, hdc4, sc4, slip1
Rounds 6 - 7: (2 rounds)  Slip4, sc4, hdc4, sc4
Rounds 8 - 9: (2 rounds) Sc, slip4, sc4, hdc4, sc3
Fasten off neatly
Stuff  firmly

Fun fact 2:

When we blush, so do our stomachs! The part of our body that controls blushing is the sympathetic nervous system, and when you feel embarrassed this activates your 'fight or flight' response and releases adrenaline. This results in dilated blood vessels, causing your face to go red, and also allows for more blood flow to your stomach, making it appear redder too.

For the eyes:
With black 4ply yarn and a 2mm hook make a magic loop with 6sc

Fasten off

Use white sewing cotton to add highlights to the eyes, then sew them into place. Use black yarn to add the mouth. The glasses are created by bending the craft wire into shape (as shown below), and then inserting the 'arms' of the glasses into the stomach either sides of the eyes. 

That's all from this pattern! You are very welcome to sell finished products but I do ask that you don't re-post this pattern, or claim it or any of the images as your own. If you have any questions about this or any of my other patterns, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can leave a comment below, or message me on my Ravelry page, through the best way to contact me is through my Instagram page, where you can keep updated with all the projects I'm currently working on.

References:
Factsjustforkids.com

Humanbioscience.com