11/31 – mad.

I’m not feeling great at the moment. I’m kind of pissed of at my collegue to be honest. This was not the first time and I have to deal with it or else others would suffer.

I felt like this would be the perfect day for posting this sad little Coraline doll. I’m not happy how she turned out for a couple of reasons and I’m not yet ready to change them. Perhaps this time will come too.

The yarns I used are Steinbach Wolle Capri (100% merised cotton) and Diktas Miya (also 100% merised cotton). Who has seen the cartoon will probably understand the button eyes (I would have chosen another kind but these were the only black ones I had – one thing that I’m not chuffed about). As to say I put too much hair on her head and the legs look kind of small and weird as well.

I think it’s OK to show my not-so-great work as well. Sometimes things just don’t add up. Thtat’s the reason I have a few WIP unfinished for a while as well. I don’t want to mess up with them instead for them to be near perfect.

Maybe I should continue making up my own patterns as following others may not result as would have pictured? I used to make amigurumies only from patterns when I first started but today I really feel I am capable of making my own (there has been success at least with some).

Do you show your ‘bad’ work to public sometimes? Do you prefer using patterns or making up your own?

Kokeshi Doll: Free Pattern.

Hi everyone!

I thought I should give a try on a photographed tutorial on an amigurumi pattern. As an introduction I chose a traditional Japanese kokeshi doll. It’s made of 100% bio-cotton yarn but you can use any you like. Just remember to take a hook a bit smaller than recommended.

In addition you can use safety eyes but I opted for embroidered ones. You can also find any ways you like for decorating her hair and kimono, for example embroidery. I really don’t want to put any markings here actually.

The work goes in spiral so I suggest to use a marker (for example a piece of contrasting yarn) and move it at the beginning of each row.

All suggestions are welcome I’m not even sure if the pictures are in any help but I would sure like to know!

If you make your own kokeshi doll I would love you to share it here!

Amigurumi Kokeshi Doll by AmiCrafter

you need: 

white yarn for head

any colour yarn for the kimono

black yarn for hair

small amounts of black and red embroidery floss for the face

crochet hook a bit small for the yarn

large eyed blunt needle

some fibrefill

optional:

safety eyes

pellets for the bottom of the body for her to stand up better – if I had any I would have probably used them!

decorations for the hair and kimono 

HEAD and BODY.

Use WHITE yarn.

round1:  single crochet (sc) 6 into magic circle, place marker.

round2: sc 2 in each stitch (12 stitches in total), move marker.

round3: *sc 2 in one, sc* repeat between ** around (18), move marker.

round4: *sc 2 in one, 2 sc* repeat between ** around (24), move marker.

round5-9: sc around (24), move marker.

if you use safety-eyes place them now. it’s easier if you have the hair ready first, though.

round10: *sc 2 together, 2 sc* repeat between ** around (18), move marker.

round11: *sc 2 together, sc*repeat between ** around (12), move marker.

add fibrefill

round12: sc around (12), for the last stitch, as you can see on the picture, I have left it incomplete. change the yarn for the kimono colour and pull the last loop through with it so the colours will stay in line. Move the marker.

Continue with DRESS COLOUR yarn.

round 13: *sc 2 in one, sc* repeat between ** around (18), move marker.

round 14:  sc around (18), move marker.

round 15: *sc 2 in one, 2 sc* repeat between ** around (24), move marker.

round 16 – 19: sc around (24), move marker.

round 20: *sc 2 together, 2 sc* repeat between ** around (18), move marker.

round 21 – 25: sc around (18), move marker.

round 26: through back loops only: *sc 2 together, sc* repeat between ** around (12), move marker. this creates a corner to the bottom so she could stand up better.

 

round 27: sc 2 together around (6), finish off, leave tail for sewing the tail. During that try to pull the tiny hole tight. 

THE HAIR.

round1:  single crochet (sc) 6 into magic circle, place marker.

round2: sc 2 in each stitch (12), move marker.

round3: *sc 2 in one, sc* repeat between ** around (18), move marker.

round4: *sc 2 in one, 2 sc* repeat between ** around (24), move marker.

round 5 – 8: sc around (24), move marker.

round 9: sc 14, chain 1, turn. from here on it goes in rows. I’ll continue the numbering but state how it goes. 

row 10 – 13: sc 14, chain 1, turn.

In the end of row 13 continue to the sides of the rows and sc 4, sc 10 on the 8th round, sc 4 on the other sides of rows 10-13. finish off, weave in tails.

THE BUN.

round1:  single crochet (sc) 6 into magic circle, place marker.

round2: sc 2 in each stitch (12), move marker.

round 3-4: sc around (12).

finish off, leave long tail for sewing on the hair piece, stuff with fibrefill.

use large-eyed blunt needle and sew the 12 stitches of the last round of the bun onto the 12 stitches of the second round of the hair piece.

I completed the hair with a simple bow.

THE FACE. 

to embroider he face take a long enough piece of black embroidery floss, make a knot in the tail and put it in the back of her head (which will be under her hair afterwards).

try on the hair and look for the best place for the eyes.

do the same with a piece of red embroidery floss and her lips.

bring the tail ends back in behind her hair.

make a knot in the other ends as well. tuck the ends in, I used the help of the back of my crochet hook.

The rest is really up to you – decorate the hair and kimono according to your taste.

Crafter..oo Pinterest Challenge: March.

As I mentioned, my initial “March” didn’t actually work as I would have liked so I made another one next to it.

Here is the pin for the failed attempt.

And an image too:

He looks kind of creepy doesn’t he!?

And the pin for the second attempt.

Plus the image:

Yes, you have already seen her. I just forgot to mention she had a pin too to inspire me – I have long wanted to make something traditional (thus the goldfish too as the matter of fact).

Sneak-Peak – Kokeshi Doll.

Sneak-peak to a kokeshi doll I crocheted. I also wrote down the pattern and even took photos of the WIP. Something to look forward to. 

Mellony.

Why tere is a friendly face. Not the best kind of pictures but the best I have managed to get of her. She doesn’t neither on my window pane nor in my mini studio-box.  Maybe someday I will somehow get some better ones. I’ll definitely show them then. Maybe when there is enough temperature and light just to take her outside.

She is the largest of amigurumies I have ever made. Haven’t measured but approximately 45cm if I may guess. She is made of a soft acrylic/viscose yarn. Can’t put the name on it but it feels quite good in hand and is easy to work with. Maybe if I could find the label I’ll tell you.

The pattern is from Stitch. I had it bookmarked for a very long time as I didn’t had the kind of yarn I wanted her to be made of. I had a great luck with these materials finding on sale in a basically grocery store. Although, I now remember (as I don’t have her with me at the moment) the purple, orange and white yarn are actually cotton. The purple one is somewhat thicker and white one finer but as I used the same crochet hook all along it looks just fine. I remember thinking that I’d have liked the dress to be made of some finer yarn but then it wouldn’t have fit as it is quite snug already.

According to the pattern the purple trims should be done the same way as the orange on the shoes but I didn’t get it while I was doing it in the first place. It didn’t look bad enough to tear it up though. Although I have been thinking more than once that maybe they should be the same way after all I have been to lazy to take any actions. I also remember I removed the “thumbs” as I couldn’t make them to look neat enough. I think she looks just fine without them.

I like that she always has some clothes on. I guess you could crochet the clothes in separate pieces but that just might be too bulky. The brown yarn for the hair is a cotton from the same line as the purple one. I used almost all of the skein. At first I had it tied with two strands of the yellow yarn but once I bought some ribbon I gave her the bow-ties too. As you may have seen some on the other fellows I have made. I also added ribbons and ties on her stockings in kind of a lacy way.

The eyes are the only safety eyes I have used as she has been the only one big enough to carry them out. The mouth I embroidered with some red yarn piece and the buttons are actually wooden beads – bigger on the shoes/slippers and smaller on the dress. They came with some sort of vintage lamp-shade making kit I once thrifted.

I like making really tiny amigurumi and I thin they look adorable. I really like that they get finished almost always on the same day I started them. I like that I can make many of them with same supplies. Saying all this I still think that she over here is one of the best work I have done. I am really pleased with the results. I used many skeins of yarn almost fully and used many hours working on her. She just is somehow special for me. And she deserves better pictures than these!

This is the final piece I made pictures of on that day. I have some more items but not all of them look neat enough as they are the ones I started making amigurumies with. Next one should be one of my own patterns if everything goes on according to plan.

Gily-girl doll.

I am completely hopeless in making up names. Nothing ever seems right to fit if anything comes up at all. In other words I guess I’m declaring out kind of a name-making contest here – if you have ideas then don’t be shy to tell.

This is the chiquita I made from Wayuki’s pattern. There are some variations for making two. I mixed them up a bit and she got to see the light of day.

Made of 100% cotton with 2mm hook plus some wiggly plastic eyes and ribbons as bows.

To tell the truth these positions of her on the pictures are the only ones she can do on her own. Besides lying down. Her extra long and slim legs are just not sturdy enough to keep her up. She really looks and feels fragile to handle, just so tall and thin.

She has white tunic-dress, white “boots” and pink “stockings”. The last are not so easily distinctive but the color changes should mark them. The hair is stitched on the head along the middle line. I decided she needed some kind of accent so I added the purple ribbons. What do you think?

I quite like the way she turned out. I guess she is none the kind practical and I’m not even sure if she is playable (for children) but nevertheless I think I succeeded here.