Tree Folk and Fungus Folk Amigurumi Pattern

I love my walk every day through local fields and woods, getting to see beautiful trees and spot toadstools popping up through the earth at this time of year. These two patterns celebrate, in cute amigurumi form, my fondness for these elements of nature. 

These two types of creature are not in scale with each other - true Tree Folk are much more mighty than these little fellows, whereas Fungus Folk are small and unexpected, brightening the woods with their colourful caps.

If you need a little friendly Tree Folk or Fungus Folk in your life, this pattern has all the details you need to make them, with lots of photos to illustrate the more complicated elements. Depending on the yarn you use (I used DK weight, but slightly thinner or thicker yarn will work just fine) the Tree Folk will end up about 12cm/5" tall, and the Fungus Folk will be 10cm/4" tall.

For the Tree Folk you can use a range of yarn colours: different greens for the crown (variegated colours look good) or russet if you want an autumnal tree, and various browns and grey for the trunk. For the Fungu Folk the instantly recognisable red with white spots of the Amanita muscaria or fly agaric is a great choice, but you can make it in any colour, or to look like any mushroom you like.

Find the pattern in my Etsy shop, or on Ravelry.

Mini Pets - Snails, Bugs and Frogs amigurumi patterns

My latest pattern, or rather set of patterns, to make tiny amigurumi snails, beetles, spiders and frogs, is now available in my Etsy shop and Ravelry. The creatures, which are quick to make with minimal sewing, also come with the details to make a toadstool play mat and hollow log.

As a child I loved and was fascinated by all types of animals, and was keen to have all sorts of pets, that weren't always practical. I did keep snails for a short while, and repeated the experience with my children. They make great temporary pets, you just find some in your garden and put them in a plastic pet box with some soil and greenery keep them damp and fed, and then return them to the garden after a few weeks.

However, not everyone wants various creepy crawlies in their house, and so for a more cuddly alternative I designed these creatures, so that the little animal lover in your house can play with them any time they want. You can make snails, two different shapes of beetle, including a ladybird (ladybug), spiders with various patterns on their backs, and tiny baby frogs. Their sizes range from 1.5" to 2.5" long.

 

 

You can keep them in a jar or matchbox, but you can also make them a grassy mat for them to play on, with a toadstool in the middle, and a hollow log to climb in. It has a drawstring around the edge so you can turn it into a bag and keep everything safe.

Of course, you can do all sorts of things with these creatures. It's easy to turn them into key chains, or put small magnets inside as you crochet them to make them into fridge magnets. The beetles would make unusual brooches, the spiders are great for Halloween accessories, and you could make the frogs in sets of different colours and use them as game pieces. You can make them as party favours, or stocking fillers, or make lots for a school or church fair. Whatever you do, I hope you'll have fun with them!

Yarnbomb Creatures

Back in June I posted about a charity yarnbomb that was taking place on 25th August. They were trying to break the world record for the largest display of crocheted items, in the process decorating the garden of a children's hospice. I managed to make a few things and send them along before I went on holiday, and I was delighted to discover that they smashed the record with 13388 items! The Craft Club have got lots of photos on their Facebook  page if you want to look, seeing so many adorable crocheted creations together is amazing.

Because I was a bit short of time, I found a few things I'd made previously and sent those along too, but I did manage to make a few new things. This little toadstool guy:

 

Three baby owls, using eyelash/fringe yarn:

 

 

 

And two Snorks, little friendly trolls, made using fun fur type yarn: