Female reproductive system

This female reproductive system is part of a series of life-sized organs I've been working on. It contains a uterus/ fallopian tubes, a pair of ovaries, and a vagina. The face is entirely optional - I added it to make it cute and cuddly, but you may decide you wish to leave it out.

If you would like to find out more about what the female reproductive system does and how it works, I highly recommend this Crash Course video.

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:

• 1 ball of pink 4ply crochet cotton - I used Anchor creativa fino
• A small amount of cream dk crochet cotton
• A 2.5mm crochet hook
• A 2mm crochet hook
• A small amount of black 4ply yarn
• White sewing cotton
• A regular sewing needle
• A darning needle
• Polyester toy stuffing
• A pair of scissors

For the uterus:

With pink 4ply yarn ch5
Round 1: sc in the 2nd chain st from hook and the next 2 chain sts. Make 2sc in the first chain st you made, then sc in the back of each of the 2 previous chain sts you crocheted into in turn. Make 2sc in the back of the first chain st you made (10sc)
Round 2: make 2sc in the first st, sc2, make 2sc in each of the next 3 sts, sc2, make 2sc in both of the last 2sts (16sc)
Round 3; sc, make 2sc in the next st, sc2, (sc, make 2sc in the next st) 3 times, sc2, (sc, make 2sc in the next st) twice (22sc)
Round 4: sc2, make 2sc in the next st, sc2, (sc2, make 2sc in the next st) 3 times, sc2, (sc2, make 2sc in the next st) twice (28sc)
Round 5: make 2sc in the first st, sc9, make 2sc in the next st, sc3, make 2sc in the following st, sc9, make 2sc in the next st, hdc, ch2, skip2 (32sts)
Round 6: Hdc, Sc12, hdc, ch2, skip2, hdc, sc13, make 2sc in the hole underneath the 2 chain sts from the previous row (32sts)
Round 7: Sc14, make 2sc in the hole underneath the chain sts from the previous round, sc16 (32sts)
Rounds 8 - 9: (2 rounds) Sc in each st
Round 10: (Over 1 round) Sc31, sc2tog (31sc)
Round 11: sc14, sc2tog, sc15 (30sc)
Round 12: Sc in each st
Round 13: (Over 1 round) Sc29, sc2tog (29sc)
Round 14: Sc13, sc2tog, sc13 (28sc)
Round 15: Sc in each st
Round 16: (Over 1 round) Sc27, sc2tog (27sc)
Round 17: Sc13, sc2tog, sc12 (26sc)
Round 18: (Over 1 round) Sc25, sc2tog (25sc)
Round 19: (Over 1 round) Sc12, sc2tog, sc10, sc2tog (23sc)
Round 20: Sc10, sc2tog, sc11 (22sc)
Rounds 21 - 23: (3 rounds) Sc in each st
Round 24: Sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc2, (sc, sc2tog) 3 times, sc3, sc2tog, sc (16sc)
Round 25: Sc2tog twice, sc2, sc2tog 3 times, sc2, sc2tog (10sc)
Stuff firmly
Round 26: Sc2tog, sc2, sc3tog, sc, sc2tog (6sc)
Fasten off neatly

Fun fact 1: 

During development the uterus starts off as 2 separate tubes, which fuse to create a single structure. However in about 1 in 2000 women this doesn't occur correctly, leading them to possess 2 separate (but usually fully functional) uteruses. In 2011 a woman with this condition, know as didelphys, gave birth to a set of twins, each of which had developed in a separate uterus.

For the fallopian tubes:
Rejoin yarn to the first of the sts you skipped when making one of the 2 holes on round 6

Round 1: Sc6 around the edge of this hole, as shown in the image below (6sc)

Rounds 2 - 15: (14 rounds) Sc in each st
Round 16: make 2hdc in the first st, sc2, slip1, sc2
Round 17: Sc in each st
Round 18: Hdc2, sc2, slip1, sc2
Round 19: Hdc, make 2hdc in the next st, hdc, sc, slip2, sc
Round 20: Hdc4, sc, slip2, sc
Round 21: Sc, hdc4, sc, slip2
Round 22: Sc2, hdc, make 2hdc in the next st, hdc, sc2, slip1
Rounds 23 - 24: (2 rounds) Slip1, sc, hdc4, sc, slip2
Round 25: Sc, (Ch4, slip3 down the chain, sc in the next st) 9 times, ch4, slip3 down the chain, slip1 the next st
Fasten off
Repeat for the other falopian tube

For the ovaries (make 2):
With cream yarn ch3

Round 1: sc in the 2nd chain st from hook, then make 3sc in the next chain st. Make 2sc in the back of the first chain st you crocheted into (6sc)

Round 2: make 2sc in each st (12sc)

Rounds 3 - 6: (4 rounds) sc in each st

Round 7 (note that this is slightly more than a single round): sc2tog twice, sc, sc2tog twice, sc, sc3tog (6sc)

Round 8: sc, sc2tog (5sc)

Fasten off

Sew the ovaries to the ends of the tube, and then use a strand of yarn to attach the ends of the tube to the start, so that they keep their correct position (see image below)

Fun fact 2:
Kangaroos have 3 vaginas: The central one is used for birth, whilst those in front and behind are used for insemination.

For the vagina:
With a 2.5mm hook and pink yarn ch20
Round 1: Sc in the first chain st you made, then sc in every following chain st to make a loop (20sc)
Round 2: (sc3, make 2sc in the next st) 5 times (25sc)
Rounds 3 - 11: (9 rounds) Sc in each st
Round 12: (Sc6, sc2tog) 3 times, sc (22sc)
Rounds 13-15: (3 rounds) Sc in each st
Round 16: Sc3, sc2tog, (Sc5, sc2tog) twice, sc3 (19sc)
Rounds 17 - 19: (3 round) sc in each st
Round 20: Sc7, sc2tog, sc8, sc2tog (17sc)
Rounds 21 - 23: (3 rounds) sc in each st
Round 24: (Sc3, make 2sc in the next st) 4 times, sc (21sc)
Round 25: Sc, make 2sc in the next st, (sc4, make 2sc in the following st) 3 times, sc3 (25sc)
Fasten off neatly

Sew the vagina to the bottom of the uterus. Note that the cast-on end should be sewn to the end of the uterus.

Fun fact 3:

The female ovum (i.e. the egg) is the largest cell in the human body, measuring about 120 microns in diameter. This is just a little larger than the diameter of a human hair, making it just about large enough to be seen with the naked human eye! By contrast the Sperm is the smallest cell in the human body, being only 5 microns long.

For the eyes (make 2):

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

Fasten off

Use white thread to embroider highlights onto each eye then sew them to the face. Use black yarn to embroider eyebrows and a mouth. You can also add other facial features if you wish.

That's all for 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:
livescience.com