experiments in crochet and amigurumi.
I try to challenge myself with new crafts, but I'll always be a knitter at heart. This meant that I really didn't have much time for crochet. Why crochet when you can knit? At least, this was my thinking before I discovered amigurumi. Craft that exists solely to be damn cute? Sign me up!
Really, it all began when I found otamas and I became determined to learn crochet. I broke a plastic Susan Bates crochet hook trying to make my first otama (some crazy tight tension). My first otama were okay, but nothing to write home about:
Thanks to Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker, I have finally learned crochet. Now I'm trying to master the amigurumi. Here are some recent attempts:
bird/duckie/baby chicken:
My plan is to write that guy up into a pattern. We'll see how it goes.
Next up, the Panda Ball, as inspired by a drawing by Blandy Snorhal (which you can buy at her etsy shop):
Since panda ball is an experiment based on someone else's idea/drawing, it is being made as a gift for a friend's baby (i hear babies like the black/white contrast thing) and not as something to sell or a pattern to share. I'll make the gift and then won't make any more. Somewhat ethically challenged, but when I saw the drawing, I knew had to see it as a 3D plush. I was going to make it just for myself...but I really don't need another one of my plush sitting around on my shelves. And homemade gifts = affordable gifts (especially with so many people i know having babies these days).
I'm not super happy with the final product. I think I unravelled it about a dozen times. It also needs a bit more stuffing - the shape isn't round enough. I also need to figure out how to change colours better when working in a spiral. Since the colour change always looked off, I tried making the little dude in "rows" and I think that affected the outcome. Anyway, it's a start. I've got a crazy long flight coming up this weekend, so maybe I'll attempt to work on it while on the plane.
Regardless of the outcome, both Panda Ball and duckie were great yarn stash busters. No idea where I got that yellow yarn or what I used it for (possibly a Dr. Who scarf), but I'm now out of it and that works for me (the "pattern" was created altered in order to accomodate how much yellow I had. there were a few tight moments while making the wings).
Posted byHello Pineapples! on Tuesday, April 01, 2008
filed under: amigurumi, crochet, yarn stash
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Haha! I don't know anything about crochet, all I know is Panda Ball looks super cute in crochet form! I'm glad you tried it out, because I'd never be able to try him out in crochet. I'm thinking as a big round squishy stuffed toy. One of these days...