Amigurumi Award Pattern

We're right in the middle of awards season now, so if you've got someone in your life that you think deserves an award, I've got just the pattern for you! Some time ago I was asked if I could design a crocheted award statuette, so I decided to give it a go.

It was an interesting challenge. Normally when I make a human figure, it's very stylised, but I wanted to make this more realistic, with a lot more definition. It's still simplified, a bit like a wooden artist's mannequin, with shaping for the body and joints that bend. In fact, you could just make the figure and adapt it if you want a more realistic-looking amigurumi.

The golden figure holds a sword, but you could change this. The pattern includes details on how to make a laurel wreath instead of a sword, or you could make anything you want for the figure to hold, depending on what you're using it for. Sports equipment for a sports award, a bottle of champagne for a celebration, maybe even a crochet hook and a ball of yarn for an epic crocheter!

The pattern is available now on Etsy and Ravelry.

Darth Maul Amigurumi Pattern

I'm carrying on with making Star Wars characters from the Prequels, and after making Jar Jar Binks I've now created the pattern for Darth Maul. In The Phantom Menace the Sith apprentice was a character that didn't say much but was an excellent fighter, with a double-ended lightsaber. It seemed like he was dead when Obi-Wan cut him in half and he fell down a big hole at the end of the film, but apparently not. The character has since appeared in the animated series' Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and even made a very brief appearance at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Maul has red skin that is tattooed in black patterns, which is quite hard to replicate in a small crochet figure (he's about 10 cm/4" tall). Making his head is relatively complicated, with colour changes and popcorn stitches to make his horns, and then the tattoo designs are sewn on to his face - I've included lots of photos in the pattern to help with that.

He comes with a separate hooded black robe, and his famous lightsaber, and the pattern is available on Etsy and Ravelry.

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.

Firefly Amigurumi - Jayne Cobb

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm working on a series of Firefly amigurumi characters, and the next one is now ready. The pattern to make Jayne Cobb, the Hero of Canton himself, is now available in my Etsy shop and on Ravelry. He's the same size as Mal, about 16cm/6.5" tall, and he comes with a removable gun in a holster, and his famous woolly hat.

Apart from the hat he's quite a simply dressed figure, and he has straightforward hair, but a lot of character in his face is created with his eyebrows and beard. I didn't give him a smile, because he's a tough-guy sort, but you might want to make him looking happier when he's wearing that hat!

I experimented with two versions of the hat, one made the normal way round, and one made inside out to give a different texture that maybe looks a bit more like knitting. I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so you can choose which you prefer.

I'm also selling the Mal and Jayne patterns together at a reduced price if you want to make them both, on Etsy and Ravelry.

I've got a couple more projects I'm working on right now, but soon I'll get on and design the pattern for another Firefly character - I think it'll be Kaylee next.

Mini Pets in Eggs - Dragon Hatchling Amigurumi Patterns

Dragons are generally portrayed as fearsome monsters in the myths and legends in which they appear, but I was always more attracted to them as magical creatures that humans could form a bond with. As a child I imagined finding an egg and hatching my own dragon friend, which is why I wanted to create these little dragon hatchlings and their eggs.

I have designed three different dragons, all of which can be made with minimal sewing together. The small size means that legs, horns and spines can be made as you crochet. The smallest is the Tiny Dragon Hatchling at 1.5”/4 cm tall, a cute, chibi-style dragon with tiny wings (that are also made as you crochet), and a cheeky smile. 

The other two Dragon Hatchlings are slightly larger with a more classic dragon shape and larger wings. One has little horns and is long and thin (about 5”/12 cm long), and stands on four legs. The other has horns and ears, sits up on its hind legs with wings instead of front legs, and is 2.5”/6 cm tall. 

Included in the pattern are details to make eggs to fit each of these dragon hatchlings in a choice of designs. You can make a simple egg in one colour (or use a variegated yarn for a more interesting look) for the Tiny Dragon Hatchling.

Or you can use two colours of yarn to make eggs that are a bit stiffer, and in two sizes to fit all the smaller and larger dragons. You can hold the two colours together to give a speckled effect, or follow the pattern that uses spike stitches to make an interesting mottled pattern, a little like scales. 

There's even a pattern to make a solid mottled egg.

These dragon hatchlings will make great presents for anyone who loves dragons, especially anyone who is a fan of the Dragonriders of Pern books, with their little firelizards. Or if they're a fan of the magical world of Harry Potter, or of Daenrys from Game of Thrones and her three dragons. They would be great to make as gifts for children’s parties - having an egg to open adds an extra layer of excitement - and would be good alternative Easter presents. They’re not just for children – I have a couple of dragons perched on my monitor, and a Tiny Dragon Hatchling would look great turned into a keychain.

They only use small amounts of yarn, 5 - 10g in total, depending on the size, and the eggs use about the same, so you can make lots of them, in lots of different colours. The pattern is available to buy on Etsy, Ravelry and LoveCrochet. Have fun, and let me know about any that you make!

Mini Pets - Tiny Cat and Dog Amigurumi Patterns

I’ve never been able to resist tiny things – as a child I was always delighted with tiny toys and anything made in miniature. So, it's natural that I sometimes like to make really small amigurumi animals. It is possible to make a tiny version of any crochet toy by using thin crochet thread instead of yarn and a much smaller hook, but that can be very fiddly and hard on the eyes, especially if you have to sew incredibly small parts together.

However, I’ve designed these tiny cats and dogs to be made all-in-one, using normal sized yarn and hooks, with the legs, ears and tails worked as you go along. There is minimal sewing needed, just embroidering the features and sewing up the hole at the end, which makes them pretty quick and easy to complete. 

I first came up with a mini dachshund years ago, when I was making little toys for my sons' school bazaar. Using popcorn stitches for the legs was perfect for these dogs, so when I decided to try some different breeds of dog I went for others which have short legs, like Jack Russell terriers and corgis, or ones that are often a little tubby, like pugs and French bulldogs.

Having made these dogs, I then wondered if the same technique would work for cats. Since they're a bit smaller than the dogs I used increases and decreases in the right places to make their legs seem more proportional to their bodies.

So, my new pattern has all the details to make cats in various colours and fur patterns, and five different breeds of dog. It also tells you how to make most of the dogs with little sweaters.

These mini pets range in size from 2.25" - 3.5" long (6 - 9cm), and fit easily in your hand (even small ones!) which makes them perfect for little gifts. Make a pet for a doll, or turn one into a keychain. Or crochet all the different breeds and organise a pet show!

You can buy this pattern now from Etsy, Ravelry or LoveCrochet.