Porgs - new Star Wars pattern

After I went to see the latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi (which I enjoyed very much), I knew I had to crochet one of the cute little porgs, birds that live on the rocky island where Rey finds Luke Skywalker. They were actually created by the film makers because the real island had so many puffins on it that they would be a pain to remove digitally, so they came up with similarly shaped, but distinctly alien birds to replace them.

As I started looking at pictures of porgs I realised that the male and female porgs look different - they are both brown and white, but the males have gold coloured feathers around their eyes. That meant I needed to design a pattern for each of them, and a slight variation for the male ones, as the pattern of the gold on their faces varies.

Two male porgs

Female porg

Back of porg, showing its little tail

I thought about making a larger pattern, but in the end I decided to make them roughly to the scale of all my other Star Wars patterns, so they're smaller than any other character, only 5cm/2" tall. Being so small they're pretty quick to make, so before you know it you've got an entire colony of them - I made thirteen trying to get the patterns just right!

The pattern is available on Etsy and Ravelry, I hope you enjoy it.

Yeti and Bigfoot Amigurumi Pattern

When I first started designing patterns I often made things using fuzzy mohair type yarn, which I then brushed to make cute, furry creatures, including my Adorable Monsters. Unfortunately, mohair yarns have become a lot less fashionable since then, and you can often only find very lightweight ones, which are no good for making amigurumi at a reasonable size. I did make some Adorable Monsters using normal yarn, but I decided to have another go, and make a little Yeti and Bigfoot.

I still wanted to give their fur a bit of texture, so this time I used Stylecraft Alpaca DK, an acrylic yarn with 20% alpaca in the mix. I find it works well for amigurumi animals as it has a really nice, soft and furry feel to it - I used it for my Alpaca Family and Bracken the Fox.

I made a little Bigfoot, tweaking the pattern slightly to give it a thumb, and I was really happy with the way it looked. I then thought it would be nice to have a larger version, something it would be a bit easier to cuddle. If you want to make a larger version of an amigurumi, there isn't any formula to do it. You just have to work your way through it, with an idea of what you want it to look like, and use trial and error to get it right. And some things don't scale up easily - it took a while to work out how to make the bigger fingers and toes when the popcorn stitches I used were just the right size for the original. I decided to make the big version with proportionally longer legs, but otherwise they're very similar.

 

 

Once I was happy with both the patterns, I made a pair of Yeti to go with the Bigfoots (Bigfeet?). As I was making the little one, I decided to see what the feet would look like sewn to the front, so it's sitting down, and I thought it looked really cute. The standing version of the little Bigfoot is only 6 inches tall, so the little sitting Yeti fits in your hand rather nicely. The bigger versions are 9 inches tall, and definitely just right for a cuddle.

So, if you'd like to make yourself a cute monster family, you can get the pattern from Etsy or Ravelry. I think they're cute on their own, but even cuter together.

Cuddly Dragon Amigurumi Pattern

I really do love dragons, and I love to make crochet patterns for them. One of my very first patterns was my Fierce Little Dragon and then I made a larger Dragonet  initially inspired by my love of the dragons and fire lizards of Pern. With my latest pattern I've tried to make dragons that are cuddly rather than fierce or majestic.

 

 

Cuddly they might be, but they still have horns, claws and spikes down their backs, along with a pair of cute little wings. They're fun to make in any colour you like - I found yarns with a bit of a mix of colours, like James C Brett Marble, gave a really nice effect.

The pattern is available on Etsy, Ravelry and Loveknitting - if you make one I'd love to see it!

The Craft Club Charity Yarnbomb

If you crochet or knit you've probably come across the concept of yarnbombing, where you decorate an outdoor space with a bit of crochet or knitting. I've always thought it was a cool thing to do, but haven't tried it myself yet. However, now I and anyone else who wants to can join in with a charity yarnbomb organised by The Craft Club in Essex. They are asking anyone who can crochet to try to help them break the world record for the largest display of crochet sculptures. They need 4061 items which will be displayed in the Little Havens Hospice Garden on 25 August 2014. Here's the details:

"We want to creater a magical garden scene for the children to discover, and so our theme is Enid Blyton's The Magic Faraway Tree stories. Any crocheted items that fit our theme would be welcome... woodland creatures such as hedgehogs, squirrels, rabbits and owls, fantastical characters such as goblins, fairies and troll, flora such as flowers, cherries, acorns, strawberries and mushrooms."

You can contact them for more information (see the poster above for the email) and you can  find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecraftclubyarnbomb/timeline

I've got lots of free patterns that should be perfect for this, and most of them are small, so they'd be quick to work up. Here are some ideas, click on the patterns on the list to the right for the details of each pattern.

All the Totoros:

 

Mini Fuzzy-haired Troll:

Fierce Little Dragon:

Pet caterpillar or worm:

Tiny Rabbit:

Easter Bunny:

 Wizard's Owl:

Mini Frog:

I also have several patterns in my shop that would be good. I think I'll make a creature using the Little Folk pattern (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/85800576/pdf-of-little-folk-amigurumi-pattern-elf?):

There's also Flappy Owl (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/94316165/pdf-of-flappy-owl-amigurumi-pattern?):

The Wee Mousies (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/127288010/pdf-of-wee-mousie-amigurumi-pattern?):

Mother and Child Spirits (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/79959886/pdf-of-mother-and-child-spirit-amigurumi?):

Small Spirits (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/62106076/pdf-of-small-spirit-amigurumi-pattern?):

Halfling (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/150079653/pdf-of-halfling-fantasy-amigurumi?):

Or the Chubby Gnomes (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/71474468/pdf-of-chubby-gnome-amigurumi-pattern?):

I hope that's inspired some of you to make something (or things) to help with this, it'll be fun!

Wee Mousies

 

My Wee Mousie pattern, which has been published in Inside Crochet and their 'bookazine' The Complete Guide To Crochet, is now available in my Etsy shop

I was very much inspired by my childhood when I made these - I loved tiny toys, but I wasn't very keen on dolls, I much preferred animals to play with, and reading things like Beatrix Potter and watching Bagpuss added to that.

The pattern has all the details to make either a little girl mouse with a dress, or a little boy mouse in a sweater. They're pretty much mouse-sized, just 9 cm (3.5") tall, so they're perfect as a little friend to carry around, or to play with in a doll's house. I can just imagine making them a home out of a shoebox, with furniture made from matchboxes and cotton reels, a bit like the Borrowers. Oh, and I'm sure they'd need a bed with a tiny crocheted blanket!

My Pet Caterpillar or Worm

It's that time of year again when I've been busy making lots of tiny things for the Christmas Bazaar at my son's school. These little caterpillars (which can be fuzzy or not as you choose) or worms, are very quick to make, they don't even need stuffing. I think it's cute to put them in little matchboxes, so they look like something that a kid would pick up in the garden.

My Pet Caterpillar or Worm
Use whatever colour yarn you want your worm or caterpillar to be. If you want your caterpillar to be fuzzy, you’ll need a little bit of eyelash yarn. You’ll also need some black yarn to make the face. 4mm hook.

Abbreviations:

ch = chain
st = stitch or stitches
sc = single crochet (US), double crochet (UK)
dc = double crochet (US), treble crochet (UK)

Special stitch instructions:

3 dc bobble: YOH (yarn over hook), insert hook into second ch from hook, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, *YOH, insert hook into same stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, repeat once from*, YOH, pull through all 4 loops on hook.

 

2 dc bobble: YOH (yarn over hook), insert hook into next stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, YOH, insert hook into same stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops, YOH, pull through all 3 loops on hook.

Ch 13, turn.
Miss 1st 2 ch and do 3 dc bobble into 3rd ch, (sc in next ch, 2 dc bobble in next ch) 4 times, sc in next 2 ch, ch 1, turn.
Sc in next 11 st, ch 2, turn.
3 dc bobble in next st, (sc in next ch, 2 dc bobble in next ch) 4 times, sc in next 2 ch, (change to eyelash yarn here if you’re using it) ch 1, turn.

Join the edges with slipstitch, putting the hook through back loop of current row and the other side of the original chain. Make sure you put the original tail of yarn in the inside as you join, you’ll need it to make an antenna. (Keep the start of the fuzzy yarn inside too, it’ll save tidying it up later). Finish off, leaving enough yarn to make the other antenna. This is the head. If it’s a caterpillar, the joined side is the top (I think the bobbles look like stumpy legs at the bottom), the other way up for a worm, so take that into account when you sew on the features. There is an open part at the front of the head, so tie a knot in the black yarn and sew it through from the inside to make an eye. Leave the black yarn hanging and use one of the ends to sew up the front of the head, then make an antenna by sewing once in the same place, tying a knot where you want the end of the antenna to be, and cutting off any excess. Do the same with the other end for the other antenna. Finish off sewing the features, another eye & a mouth (the creature is so small it doesn’t have to be very detailed), take the black yarn through the body & cut off.  You can also glue on small googly eyes instead of sewing features.

Adventure Time with Finn and Jake

I recently started watching Adventure Time on Cartoon Network UK with my boys (I only just found out we could get it on our subscription). It's a great show, suitable for kids (maybe not very young ones) and adults - the humour's fun and weird but not mean. It's set in a colourful, fantastical post-apocalyptic world with Finn, a 12/13 year old boy (the only human we know of) and Jake the dog, who is capable of stretching or shrinking to almost any size or shape. They have all sorts of adventures - Finn is pretty handy with a sword - and sing cute little songs.

I joined in with an Adventure Time swap on Craftster and made Finn and Jake for my partner (I think I'll have to remake them for my boys!).

Part of the reason I like the show is the design of the characters, and they have great shapes to crochet. Here are the originals to compare:

Finn is about 13" tall and has a backpack that opens and closes with a small button.

Jake is about 8" tall, roughly in proportion to Finn in his normal shape and size, where he still has quite long arms.

Since they both have such thin legs, it's hard to make them stand up, so I took them outside to pose them a bit. Finn's off on an adventure and Jake's hanging around in a tree.

I hope you like them, and if you haven't watched Adventure Time, give it a go!