Monday 20 June 2016

Amineko Crochet Toy Cat

As soon as I saw this pattern I knew I wanted to make one, I LOVE CATS! These looked so cute.


The pattern is really well written and set out in an easy to understand way, with diagrams as well as written pattern plus it is FREE. Note that the pattern is written in US crochet terms so you will have to convert to UK terms, however as it is all done in double crochet stitches, that is really easy!

Most of the pieces are made in tube shapes and they make up in a very short time. It took me just a few evenings to make one cat.

When I made the mouth I didn't think it would look right, I held it to the head and almost gave up because it looked 'wrong' , but once it was stuffed lightly and sewed in placed suddenly the face came to life and it looks super.


Don't make my mistake and stuff the arms and legs, they are not stuffed all the way, just in the ends of the paws. I had to undo them and take out the stuffing.  The pattern does say to add plastic beads to the ends for weight but I didn't have any however, it still worked out fine. You can also put beads in the base of the body. I did consider using rice or dried peas but thought if I ever wanted to wash it then the rice/peas would go soggy and the last thing you want is a soggy rice filled cat!

I used a variegated yarn for this one ..... I've named her Candy Cat, she's a very laid back cat...... but it would look just as nice in plain or even two colours.




I'm definitely going to be making more Amineko Cats for my grandchildren, if I can bear to part with them that is!




Find the FREE pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amineko-crocheted-cat



Happy crocheting!



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Thursday 16 June 2016

Simple Crochet Butterflies

I've been making these beautiful little crochet butterflies. They are so lovely and can be used for applique, embellishments or simply as decorations.


The first pattern is called Dainty Butterflies and is designed by Jo Ann Maxwell

They were really easy to make and I did lots in one evening using different yarns, crochet thread and embroidery silks.

I did make a few changes to how I did the antenna, rather than make them from a separate piece of yarn I used the starting and ending threads and slip stitched them to the head and then chained a few stitches. It saved having to weave in the starting thread :)

I also added beads to some of the butterflies on the ends of the larger wings, I thought it added another dimension to them. 

Once finished I made a wash of 40% PVA glue and 60% water, pinned them out and painted them with the stiffening wash, left them to dry and was really pleased with the finished butterflies.



See my video for some close ups of the butterflies: https://youtu.be/5mBdsKelKto

You can find the link to the free pattern here: http://www.crochetmagazine.com/printer.php?mode=article&article_id=3322  



The other pattern is for a butterfly made from 5 hearts

Again this was an easy to follow pattern, you make three hearts for the body and two larger hearts for the wings, adding little antenna to one of the body hearts for the head.


So simple but really effective.

You can find the free pattern here: http://www.goldenlucycrafts.com/free-patterns/crochet-heart-animals-butterfly

The original pattern is in US terms, I had to change it to UK terms.

Happy crocheting!



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