Despicable Me - Crochet Minion

Penguin Mug Hugger

Following on from my Monkey mug Hugger, I used the same principle to make a penguin! This one is heaps better! I used a thicker wool and it seems to be a lot sturdier!

Monkey Mug Hugger

I got some inspiration for a mug hugger from someone at work - they had a pattern for a can cozy.  It's relatively simple - I just chained until it reached around the bottom of the mug then joined it with a slip stitch then did a whole round of treble crochet.  On the next round, I left two stitches at the end, did 3 turning chains and carried on until there was a gap big enough for the handle of the mug.  At the end of the last row, I chained two and joined at the top of the handle then did another row of treble to finish off.

I sewed on a rounded off square and stitched a nose and mouth into this, sewed 2 buttons for eyes then a couple of ears :)

Plastic carrier bag crochet

I saw something interesting the other day - crocheting with plastic carrier bags.  I'd seen a lot of patterns for making shopping bags, but none actually using shopping bags.  This is something I just had to try.  First off though, you've got a lot of work to do to get your yarn.

To make the yarn, follow these instructions.

http://www.plasticbagcrafts.com/make-plarn/

If you want to get started on your crochet quite quickly, you can add to the yarn as you go which is quite handy.

Making the bag

I haven't got a clue how this will look, but I'll write down what I'm doing bit by bit and if it works out, we might have a sort of pattern. :)

I've just made a foundation chain of about 30 (I didn't count) then worked double crochet in each stitch to the end.  In the last stitch, I did 3 double crochet and then worked around the other side of the foundation chain and did another 3 stitches in the end. Slip stitch to join the row.

For the next row, Chain 2 then work 1 treble in the front loop (or is it the back?) of each of the stitches in the previous row, both sides. slip stitch to join the row.

Chain 2 and treble in each stitch around.

I plan on just working each row and hopefully it'll work.  I might increase or decrease stitches depending how the shape comes along.

Fingerless mittens

In my Art of Crochet kit, I found a great pattern for some fingerless mittens.  I altered the pattern a bit as these had a thumb on them, but I didn't like the thumb.  If anything it made it easier.

The wrist was made using treble crochet, and the main part of the glove was made using the v stitch, increasing the number of stitches to shape the thumb and finishing off with a couple of rows of double crochet.

I got a bit complacent with the first glove and managed to miss a couple of stitches.

 

I bought a slightly better wool and started again and this time round, if I missed a stitch, I unpicked the whole piece of work until I got back to that stitch.  Sometimes I can get away with it, this pattern isn't very forgiving for sloppy work :)  Excuse the poor hand modelling, I'm waiting for a proper photo of the finished pair from their new owner.

Hats for Innocent Fruit Smoothies

You may have seen the Innocent Fruit Smoothies with wooly hats on in the shops - these are all part of their Big Knit campaign.  I decided to try crocheting a miniature wooly hat and this is what I've come up with.

Apologies, I didn't concentrate exactly on what I was doing, but I'll try and explain :)

The Pattern

You will need two colours of yarn.  I used Purple (A) and pink (B) in a double knit yarn with a 3.5mm crochet hook.

ch = Chain
st(s) = stitch(es)
sl st = slip stitch
DC = Double crochet (UK)
TC = Treble crochet (UK)

(Using A) To start, ch 2 then do 6 DC in first chain.  Continue working in the round - using stitch markers if you think they'll help.

1st Round 2DC in each st in previous round (12 sts)

2nd Round (2DC in next st, 1DC in next st) 6 times (18sts)

3rd Round (2DC in next st, 1DC in next 2 sts) 6 times (24sts)

I stitch quite tight so added an extra row of increases, you may be okay with 24stitches in the round)
4th Round (2DC in next st, 1DC in next 7 sts) 3 times (27sts)

5th Round 1DC in each st around (27sts)

(Change to B)

6th Round 1DC in each st around (27sts)

(Change to A)

Continue with rounds 4 and 5 until your hat is at the desired size.  Ensure you finish with Yarn A.

Final Round (Using B) (3TC in next stitch, sl st in next 2 sts) 9 times (45sts) - fasten off

--

For the PomPom, I was given this really handy tip.  It's so quick and easy to do :)

http://www.molliemakes.com/projects/how-to-make-tiny-pom-poms/

Overall, the whole thing only took a couple of hours from start to finish.

Fuschia - Just a photo

This is just a photo of a fuschia - the pattern came from a book a friend purchased and I can't for the life of me think what it was called.  I popped it on a friend's hat and she was chuffed with it :)

Amigurumi Friends - Emily

I'm finally up to date with the blog - I'm right in the middle of a project at the moment so I can now blog as I'm doing it.

We're in the middle of some renovations at home so this might take me a while to finish.  Hopefully the blog posts from now on will be a little less rushed.

So...EMILY!!

I've been dying to get round to starting Emily, the main reason being her hair.  Emily has the most amazing head of long curly hair and I've been dying to try this technique.  I crocheted the normal head shape, added the eyes and mouth and then have finally got to work on the hair.

To start with, I cut lots of strands of log brown double knit yarn then - this is the bit that took the time - I pulled the yarn apart into really thin pieces.  As the yarn is twisted together, when you unravel it, it's perfect for really tight curly hair.  I then added a couple of pieces of this yarn where I would normally add one piece of normal yarn for each bit of hair.  I have given this a really soft brush to make it a bit more fluffy which has made the curls a little bit looser. I hope you'll agree this is really effective and looks fab. 

I've got to decide on what Emily's going to wear before I go any further.

Getting there

I've struggled getting my act together with this one but I'm finally getting there.  I actually went for an all black dress with black leggings and leopard print shoes.  The body and feet was worked the same as all the other amigurumi friends, but when I got to the feet, I worked with two different colours at the sawe time.  I think the effect has worked, but the only problem is that they feet are now a bit big.  If I were to try again, I'd probably use two different colours, but just go for a lighter weight yarn.

I've still got the arms to do, but I've got a bit sidetracked with some other little projects but I will finish this.

 

FINISHED!!!

Female Orc - World of Warcraft

The next project was a female Orc from World of Warcraft. It's based on my friend's character Beefious :) I used the same techniques as previous projects, but I used a 4 ply yarn for the hair this time and it seems to  work a lot better.  There's a bit more detail in the face as well.

I'm very disappointed with the proportions on this one, but I do like the head so I'm happy to share.

Here's a few pictures from start to finish!

 

Amigurumi Friends - JemJems

Okay, so I've started something here.  Following my Amigurumi Tina, I decided to do one of my best friend JemJems.

I decided to use blonde coloured wool with a few strands of yellow.  I was going to go with a quiff hairstyle but decided against that.

For the cleavage, I tried to create a bit more of a realistic shape this time.  It was actually quite easy. As I worked round, I increased the number of stitches at the front of a couple of rows and then decreased for a couple of rows.

Before I got to the end, I worked one row in the front loop, leaving the back loops to start working the trousers in.  I worked another row of double crochet then finished the piece with a row of half treble.

I finished the piece with black wool to make trousers and shoes, then cut the hair to finish.

I'm still here!

I've still got a couple of posts to do before I carry on with my crochet - I'm in the middle of a project but have decided not to carry on until I've finished blogging about previous pieces.

Okay, I might have crocheted a sneaky fuchsia last week but it was so adorable I had to have a go!

I've become a bit distracted with a book - it's one of those teen fantasy novels but I'm a sucker for them! It's called 'Beautiful Creatures' and I'm on book 2 of 4! I shouldn't be too long then I'll be back to the crochet! I'll try and get some time between that, and rewiring the house, to get the blog up to date!

Amigurumi Friends - Tina

Sarah came back from Turkey a couple of weeks ago and I was going to meet her at our friend Tina's to give her the Star Wars set. But, I couldn't leave Tina out.  I had to get to work quickly and make something for her.  What better gift than a crochet Tina? :)

I'd got the gist of the round shape for the head - every pattern I'd followed so far (including the Christmas pudding) started the same way, so this was an easy free styling project.  Plus, I'd always wanted to try hair.

When doing hair, I would recommend using cotton or a 4 ply yarn, it's not as thick so it sits better.  I used double knit in this and it doesn't give the best effect.

I'd also recommend buying some safety eyes - I managed to pick some up really cheap from www.e-crafts.co.uk they were absolutely great and I received them the very next day. I used 7.5mm safety eyes and because they were so cheap, I ordered 10 pairs of each colour.

The hair is really easy to do, just very time consuming.  Once I'd crocheted the head, I started on the hair straight away.  I don't know if this is the best time to do it, but I was impatient and really wanted to try it, but it didn't cause me any problems.  All you need to do is cut lots of strands of hair at the desired length.  I found it easier to wrap lots of yarn around my hand then cut it all in one go.

Once you've got your strands you need to attach them to the head.  To do this, I inserted my hook through one hole and out the next, looped a strand over the hook and pulled it through then hooked the other end of the yarn (2 bits) and pulled them through the loop on the hook and pulled tight.

I made the hair much longer than I actually needed it - it can be cut later.  When I'd finished, I thought it best to add the mouth and eyes now - it'd be much more difficult later.

Tina's favourite colour is Turquoise so it was obvious she'd have a turquoise dress.

I added a bit of a silver trim to the bottom and did silver shoes as well.







I gave her hair a bit of a trim, sewed on her arms but there was still something missing.  I made two little circles, stitched them on and we had our finished Tina :)

Star Wars

Okay - now to my first major project.

Before I show you, I should point out I have never watched a Star Wars film in my life.  I took to Facebook to ask people for some inspiration and my friend Sarah, currently living in Turkey and working as a Teacher, suggested I crochet her a character from Star Wars.  She'd found a picture online and thought they were pretty cool.

I did a bit of Googling and this is where I stumbled across Lucy Ravenscar who had the patterns for sale - I opted to buy all of them.

You can buy the patterns from her Etsy shop here. They're £25 for the entire set but definitely well worth it!!

I've completed the whole set now.  The colours differ to the ones in the patterns, not through choice I just used the cheapest wool I could find and that's the closest colours I could match.

I also opted not to use safety eyes on every one - looking back I wish I had but the local shop I go to only had the orange ones so I only used them on a few of the dolls, the rest I just sewed black beads on for eyes.

You'll notice that Obi-Wan Kenobi looks different - all I did was followed the pattern and then used some snowflake wool that I had left over from Christmas and attached it loosely to his head.

I won't say much more here - I really do not deserve any credit for these.  I can only begin to imagine the time and effort that went into creating these patterns - they were so well written and I can't speak highly enough of them.

They all vary in size, but they are relative to eachother.  For example, Chewbacca is the tallest as his character in the films is tallest.  The finished products range from about 3 inches to 5 inches high.

Anyway, here's my finished articles.

Yoda

Princess Leia

Luke Skywalker

Jawa

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Chewbacca

R2D2

Admiral Ackbar

C3P0

Ewok

Boba Fett

Storm Trooper

Darth Vader

Han Solo

Discovering Amigurumi

What is Amigurumi?

Amigurumi literally translates to crocheted or knitted stuffed toys.  The majority of the patterns you will find though are crocheted.  Mostly, amigurumi will be stuffed animals but there really are no limits to what you can crochet - animals, people, vehicles, anything really.

I discovered amigurumi completely by accident - when I was looking for patterns for Christmas decorations, I'd stumbled across the term on a few occasions and hadn't really understood what it meant.  However, after seeing it a few times, I decided to look into it a bit more and found so many different things that you could do with it, I didn't know where to start.

The thing with Amigurumi is, it's not really practical.  Unlike a pillow, a blanket or a hat, a stuffed toy has no actual purpose other than to look nice, so I wasn't really sure where I'd start for my first project.

 

My first Amigurumi

I wouldn't count any of my christmas decorations as my first amigurumi project as, although technically they were, I didn't actually know that's what I was doing at the time so they don't count :)
I decided I'd try a mouse - one of the customers at work, who has a particular fondness of cats who I have been sending pictures of Turnip to for some time, had sent me some cat nip so I thought I may as well make use of it and make him a stuffed toy and use this in it.  Being a cat, I thought he'd appreciate a mouse, especially as he has a fondness for bringing the real things into the house from time to time.

I managed to find a few free patterns online, but in the end I settled for this little fellow :)

He's looking a bit worse for wear here as Turnip has already taken to him with his claws, but he does enjoy playing with him.

The pattern was so easy to follow - and it's made entirely with double crochet.  I opted for tying a few knots for the eyes instead of using proper ones as he'll only destroy them.

This was the beginning of the Amigurumi bug for me :) Now I just needed to find another project.

Christmas

I'm going to just add a load of photos of what I did over Christmas.

I got most of the patterns or inspiration from Pinterest - when I find the time, I'll link the patterns but for now here's the pictures of the finished products.