Bobblehead Dachshund

Hi everyone,

who else remembers those bobble-head dachshunds that used to be sold for cars?!
My son-in-law recently asked me—since I’m always giving my children and grandchildren crocheted gifts (thanks to your great patterns)—if I could crochet a bobble dachshund for him.
I thought about it right away, but I think it might be difficult to achieve the wobbling effect.
Who’d like to take on a pattern like this? 

I’m old enough—yes, I still remember those! 🤣
But the problem will be the stability; those were those hard plastic things covered in felt, where the head was suspended from the neck by an eyelet, which is what made it wobble.

How about a toilet roll cover hat right next to the bobblehead dog?
We have a discussion thread about that here:
Toilet roll cover hats: why are they so popular?

Is there still such a thing as a bobblehead Elvis? Google has pictures of it, but I don’t know if anyone actually still “uses” one anymore. 

Häckelmoni—I remember those, too. But you can still buy them.
I’m going to bid on one today; it’s currently at 1.50 and has 6 hours left.
Then I can take it apart and see how it’s done. You’re sure to find animal patterns here in the forum.

You’re bidding on a bobblehead Elvis? Wow.

Definitely a bobblehead dachshund—because of the technique.

But the Elvis figure uses the same technique, doesn’t it?

Not quite—the dachshund nods its head; there’s a hook in the back of its neck that attaches to an eyelet in its body, and there’s a weight at the bottom of its head (not visible, since it disappears into the body). Elvis swings his hips, after all—he stands upright. And since she was looking for animal patterns, I guessed it was the dachshund. Well, it could also be a dancing teddy bear....

Oh, I see. :-)

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the dachshund. I had no idea how many were still available.
But 30 euros is too much for me to spend just to take it apart.
I’ll ask my sweetheart to figure it out.

Well, in theory, I can explain it to you. The head tapers down toward the neck into an elongated cone—that’s the weight, just like in a roly-poly toy. The body has a larger opening at the neck, allowing for movement. And with a hook at the nape and an eyelet at the back neckline of the body, both parts hang loosely inside each other so that the head can always bob nicely when it moves.
I see the problem with the crochet version as being the lack of stability—you can’t stuff it completely. So you’d have to crochet over some kind of hollow base.

The head isn’t a problem—just crochet the shape of the dachshund’s head, attach an elongated piece for the neck, stuff everything tightly, and maybe put a thick marble or something similar at the bottom of the neck.
But I have no idea how to make the hollow body.

Maybe you could crochet around a cardboard tube (like a toilet paper roll). You could stuff the space between the cardboard tube and the crocheted piece with craft batting to get the right body shape. 

Thank you so much for your great responses.

Hansi, I’m sorry you didn’t get the dachshund, and yes, a toilet paper roll wouldn’t be a bad idea.