Amigurumi Christmas Bear

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Now that Thanksgiving is over and the countdown to Christmas has begun, I've kicked my holiday crocheting into high gear.  So much to crochet, so little time.  
My latest project is a cute little amigurumi Christmas bear.  She's a simple little bear, with lots of personality!

I think she is completely adorable and I'm planning to make more of these bears with different colored scarves before the Christmas Craft Boutique.  More red, and some green of course for Christmas, but also some pink and blue for an 'anytime' bear, not just Christmas.  

She was very quick and easy to make.  I didn't use a pattern for her, but I plan to hopefully write one up after the hustle and bustle of Christmas dies down.  

She's only 4 inches tall.  Wouldn't she be a perfect stocking stuffer?  I think she would and I plan on making some extra bears just for that purpose.  

I'm also working on a tiny Santa hat for her, because I can picture how cute that would be on her.

I ran across an interesting, and very helpful tool to use when working without a pattern, that I have to share.  It's an Amigurumi Pattern Maker.  You simply enter the specifications you want such as height, head shape, body shape, arms and legs lengths etc. and the tool will write your pattern for you.  You can download the pattern immediately or have it sent to your email.  This is a huge time saver.  And by the way, it asks for the height in centimeters, which is a hassle to convert to inches, so I usually end up googling it.  I found this site which converts it for you.  Also a very helpful tool to make things a little easier. I hope these handy tools help you as much as they've helped me!  

Time for me to get busy crocheting.  I'm planning to post some more free Christmas crochet patterns, as well as some more completed projects soon so stay tuned for that. 

Thanks for visiting, as always, and have a terrific weekend!

  

Amigurumi Chihuahua Free Pattern

I have recently received several inquiries about the pattern that I used to crochet this amigurumi Chihuahua.  Unfortunately the link I posted to the free pattern no longer works, which I didn't realize until now.  The pattern at the link I provided was not an original pattern, but a translation of a free Japanese pattern found on the internet.  So for those interested I am posting the pattern here.

As you can see, my version is a little different from the picture on the pattern, but the things I eliminated are in the pattern so it's your choice of how you want to make yours!

Materials:
Size “F” crochet hook
Worsted Weight yarn (tan and off white)
Small amount of fabric for bandana
Yarn needle


Note: This pattern is done in the round. Do not join rounds unless otherwise noted.


Head:
Ch 2
1. 7 sc in the 2nd ch from hook (7)
2. 2 sc in each sc around (14)
3. 2 sc in the first sc, 1 sc in the next sc around
(21)
4. 2 sc in the first sc, 2 sc in the next sc around
(28)
5. 2 sc in the first sc, 3 sc in the next sc around
(35)
6-11. sc in each sc around (35)
12. sc next 2 sc tog, sc in next 3 sc around (28)
13. sc next 2 sc tog, sc in the 2 sc around (21)
14. sc next 2 sc tog, sc in the next sc around (18)




Body:
Ch 2.
1. 9 sc in the 2nd ch from hook (9)
2. 2 sc in each sc around (18)
3-13. sc in each sc around (18)
14. sc next 2 sc tog around (9)
15. sc next 2 sc tog, sc in the next sc around (6)
Ears (Make 2):
Ch 2.
1. 6 sc in the 2nd ch from hook (6)
2. sc in each sc around (6)
3. 2 sc in each sc around (12)
4-9. sc in each sc around (12)
10. sc next 2 sc tog, sc in the next 4 sc around (10)
Legs and Tail (make 5):
Ch 2
1. 5 sc in the 2nd ch in hook (5)
2-6. sc in each sc around (5)


Muzzle:
Ch 2
1. 6 sc in the 2nd ch from hook (6)
2. 2 sc in each sc around (12)
3-4. sc in each sc around (12)
5. ch 1, sc in the next 2 sc (12)
6. ch 1, turn, 2 sc in the next sc, sc in next sc. (3)
7. ch 1, turn, sc in the next three sc (3)
8. ch 1, turn, sc in the next three sc. (3)


To make the bandana, cut a triangular shape from a scrap of fabric and refer to the photo for placement.

Christmas Crochet and Some Free Crochet Patterns too!

My Christmas crocheting has officially begun! I'm feeling especially accomplished because I finished the first one on my list, which I knew would be time consuming, so I tackled it first. I really had to buckle down though because after crocheting amigurumis, which gives instant gratification, it was hard to stay focused long enough to make so many squares from the same pattern. But I must admit it was very relaxing and I'm so happy with how the afghan turned out.

I used Red Heart yarn in purple, fuchsia, paddy green and white.  I used a Size J-10 (6mm) crochet hook and each square measures 8" x 8".  There are 32 of the flower squares and 31 of the plain white squares.  It measures 59" x 75", so it's a nice size.

I really love the colors in this afghan, the contrast of the shades of purple with the white is just striking. 

As usual, the minute I laid it across the couch one of my chihuahuas wanted to snuggle down in it.  

The pattern I used is out of a crochet booklet I've had for ages called "A World of Grannies" by Red Heart.
I did a search and found that the booklet is still available.  A couple of private parties are selling it and I saw one on E-bay, if anyone is interested in purchasing this book.  It has a total of 7 afghan patterns, and all of them are very nice.  I'm planning on making the one on the cover, shown above, for another Christmas gift because I love the unique motif used in that one.


While visiting the Lion Brand Yarn website recently I found several really cute (and free!) Christmas patterns that I thought I would share.  I'll be posting more free crochet patterns in the coming weeks, but for now I hope you enjoy these!

Christmas Granny Square Afghan free pattern.

   Crochet Christmas Stocking free pattern.

Crochet Christmas Tree free pattern.

Crochet Christmas Mouse Ornament free pattern.  So Cute!!!

Crochet Santa Claus Christmas Tree Ornament free pattern.

I'm still preparing for the Christmas craft boutique at our local mall, and I'm hoping to have my Etsy shop open before Christmas,  or if not, by the first of the year.  So needless to say I'm going to be very busy between now and Christmas.  But busy is good for me right now.  I lost my father last year, 4 months before Christmas, so this is a difficult time for me, and the busier I am, the less my mind seems to dwell on any one thing.  Crochet is truly therapy for me these days.

Thanks for visiting, as always!

What a "doll"!

I've been busy, busy trying to finish up all my unfinished projects before I start my holiday crochet and crafting. I finally finished designing and crocheting the doll I started when I was at the beach.

"Eva"

I fully intended to write a pattern for her, but somewhere in the crocheting, ripping out, crocheting, and re-ripping I'm not sure if I could actually make a final draft of the pattern. In fact, I'd actually hate to see any doll created from this messy pattern! I think I can still decipher the main parts so there may be a legible (and logical) pattern for her sometime in the future.

I left the face & hair on this doll for last because I've found that the doll, or whatever I'm making at the time, seems to develop a personality as I go. If I wait until that happens, the personality starts to emerge, then I usually know exactly what kind of hair she should have and I can almost see her face in my mind.

I really wanted to do something different with her eyes so I didn't put safety eyes in before I stuffed and sewed her head closed. I later regretted that decision because you see, I can't embroider. Let me re-phrase that. I can embroider, I'm just not very good at it. I'm really bad at it. Awful in fact. By the time I experimented, embroidered and ripped, and ripped and embroidered, the eyes and mouth took almost as long as all of the rest of her combined. Sigh.

The hair was the fun part. I had no clue how to make the spiral curly Q hair, but thanks to the internet and some trial and error I worked my way thru it.

I made a skull cap "wig" and sewed it on her head. Then ran long stitches from the edge to the crown all the way around to give it the "pulled back" hair effect. Next I made a long chain and crocheted the curly Q's on it, and then sewed it in a circle on top of her head. I wish now that I would have taken pictures so I could explain it better. Next time I will take pics & maybe even make a tutorial.

"Before" and "After"

So there you have it. My second original amigurumi design is done and I feel like I might actually be getting better at it.

Now that the doll is finished, I'm playing around with some odds and ends....a few cool motifs I've been wanting to try, some very cute crochet ankle booties (which might become knee high booties before it's over!), and of course the holiday crafting that I should have started on a month ago.

As always, thanks for visiting!