If there are other crochet techniques you’d like me to cover in future videos, please leave a comment below, or email me (june@planetjune.com) with your suggestions!

If you’ve ever struggled to find the perfect eyes for your smaller amigurumi, you’ll love my technique for making tiny yarn eyes. In my latest video, I’ll show you my foolproof method for making a pair of perfectly matched tiny child-safe yarn eyes with a lifelike sparkle.

This technique is an embroidery-free foolproof method for making tiny yarn eyes, spots and dots for amigurumi. It works especially well for amigurumi that are too small for safety eyes. Yarn eyes are a child- and pet-safe alternative to plastic eyes, and this method gives you more control than embroidering French knots, so you can make sure you have a perfectly matched pair of eyes.

L: tiny yarn eyes, R: plastic eyes

My Baby Snake pattern is a perfect use for these tiny eyes – it’s not easy to fit the shafts and backs of plastic eyes into such a tiny head, and the yarn eyes look so bright and lifelike!

Although there’s no actual crocheting in this video, I’ve made right- and left-handed versions anyway, so you can see how I use the needle exactly as you’ll see it when you do it yourself. (I’ve also added text instructions with photos for those of you who prefer to read written instructions.)

Go to the Tiny Yarn Eyes for Amigurumi video tutorial >>

I’m so excited to have a new design to share with you today! I was a little worried that my amigurumi design mojo would be gone forever after pouring everything I had into The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, but, after a little time off after Christmas, it all came flooding back and I’m so happy to be able to present the first new PlanetJune pattern of 2024: Duck and Goose!

Duck and Goose Fun Facts

Ducks and geese are both members of the family Anatidae (together with swans). They have a similar appearance and features, including webbed feet for swimming and waterproof feathers. But look closely and you can see the differences:

• Ducks feed mostly in the water, and have a broad flattened bill adapted for dabbling in the water to find and filter their food (primarily aquatic plants and small invertebrates).
• Geese feed mostly on land and have a strong pointed beak with sharp edges that are used for tearing their food (primarily grass and other vegetation).
• Geese have a much longer, more slender neck than ducks, which lets them easily reach down to the ground to eat grass.
• In real life, you can also tell ducks and geese apart by their relative sizes, as most geese are much larger than most ducks. (But that doesn’t apply to the amigurumi versions!)

About the Pattern

For this design, I concentrated on the distinctive shapes of real ducks and geese, paying close attention to what the two birds have in common and what makes them different, to create a pair of perfectly proportioned waterfowl.

The end result is a lovely low-sew pattern, with very little assembly needed – apart from the beak and feet, there are only two pieces to crochet! The realistic shaping is built right in, so all you need to do is follow the pattern and a beautiful Duck or Goose will magically appear beneath your fingers as you crochet.

Both the duck (pictured above) and goose (pictured below) options are included in the same pattern. You’ll start by choosing whether to make the duck or goose head, neck and bill, and then continue to the body and feet. As always, every step is clearly explained, with photos wherever needed to aid in the assembly.

Buy Now

Ready to get started? Pick up the Duck and Goose crochet pattern from my shop right now.

Or, if you’re not ready to make one just yet, add them to your Ravelry queue or favourites so you don’t forget:

More Ducks and Geese..?

There’s lots of scope for me to design Expansion Packs for this pattern that would let you make specific varieties of distinctly coloured ducks and geese… Would you like a Mallard pattern? Or maybe a Canada Goose? If this pattern sells well I’d love to expand the collection with some expansion packs for different ducks and geese. (Please leave your requests in the comments so I’ll know what you want me to make next!)

I can’t wait to see your ducks and geese – please share them in the PlanetJune Community groups (it’ll be like a waterfowl CAL!)

I’m so happy with these sweet and shapely birds, and I hope you’ll love this pattern as much as I do. 🙂

After an amazing year-long CAL, with colourful snakes being crocheted all over the world, I’m delighted to announce that the Temperature Snake instructions are now available as a stand-alone crochet pattern and workbook. Pick up the pattern now, and crochet your own Temperature Snake in 2024!

Temperature Snake is an amigurumi-style riff on the temperature blanket/scarf, where you crochet one row per day to represent the maximum temperature that day. The Temperature Snake crochet pattern includes all the crochet instructions needed to crochet a snake in your choice of two sizes (Large and Small) and three different lengths (Daily, Every-Other-Day and Weekly).

The accompanying Temperature Snake workbook is included at no extra cost. This 25-page ebook includes all the information you need to figure out your colours and calculate the temperature range for your location, suggestions for colour palettes, and printable worksheets (that are also fillable digital forms, if you prefer) so you can log your temperatures and colours over the year.

Work at your own pace, mark the progress of the coming year or commemorate a special year from the past (birth year snakes for children have proven very popular, and kids adore playing with these fantastically long snakes). With just a single round of stitches per day, Temperature Snakes have a much lower time commitment than temperature blankets, so you’ll be much more likely to complete your daily project!

Here are just a few examples of the snakes that have been made during the CAL this year, so you can see how easy it is to customize your snake to any colour palette you prefer. Details for all these variations are included in the workbook:

Credits, clockwise from top left: Dot, PsychoGryphon, CrochetChrisie, jukatca, Mouzly

(Temperature Snake CALers: your multi-part CAL pattern and worksheets have been replaced by the final version of the pattern and workbook, and you can download them at any time from your PlanetJune account!)

And, although the official CAL is wrapping up now, we’ll keep the Temperature Snake threads going in the PlanetJune groups on Discord and Ravelry indefinitely, so please come and join us in either group if you want to show off your progress on your 2024 (and beyond…) snake, ask for advice on temperature or colour selections, and get some encouragement from the friendly PJ community.

So, what do you think: are you in for crocheting a unique and gloriously colourful snake throughout 2024? Now is the perfect time to grab the Temperature Snake pattern, so you can start choosing your colours and be ready to crochet your first stripe on January 1st!

I can hardly believe I finally get to say this, but, after a year of dedicated work, The Essential Guide to Amigurumi: Crochet Toy Techniques from Basics to Advanced, the amigurumi reference book that I’ve been dreaming of and planning for years, is here!

I didn’t think I could be more proud of a book than I am of my beautiful Everyday Crochet, but The Essential Guide to Amigurumi is truly unique. This is the book that only I could write, and I’m so happy to have brought the vision I had for my legacy book to life.

About the Book

I’ve condensed all my expertise gained from 17 years of amigurumi design and innovation into this high-quality 200-page full-colour reference book. It’s laid out in a clear, easy-to-read format, and packed full of techniques, tips and patterns that will take you step-by-step from complete basics to becoming a skilled amigurumist.

The book is divided into three colour-coded parts (see more about the contents here), and I designed it to be easy to read, with large, clear text throughout, and colour-coded boxes for definitions, tips and bonus information.

And, as you may have already noticed, I’ve actually written two books! I’m thrilled to be able to offer The Essential Guide to Amigurumi in right-handed and left-handed versions, so everyone can see all the step-by-step photos and read the instructions exactly as you need them, with no need to translate or mirror any instructions. (Lefties, you are going to love this!)

Links to Buy The Essential Guide to Amigurumi

(You can use the ‘Read Sample’ feature on Amazon to see the complete table of contents, the first few pages, and the index!)

Availability

My paperback links above will direct you straight through to your local Amazon so you can buy the book. If you live in Australia (where Amazon doesn’t have the printing facilities to offer it directly), or a country that doesn’t have its own Amazon website, you can order internationally from amazon.com.

If that doesn’t work for you, I’m still searching for a way to offer wider distribution without compromising the quality of the book – I’ll let you know if that works out! In the meantime, the fabulous ebook version is available worldwide with no shipping cost. And you can always upgrade to the bundle deal (see below) later, if you want the paperback too – I’m not putting a time limit on that offer.

Special Offers

• Order an author-signed bookplate for your paperback and I’ll sign it personally to you!
• Upgrade your purchase to the bundle that includes both the paperback and ebook versions.

I’ve channeled all my passion for developing and improving amigurumi techniques into this book, and I’m so proud of the result. The Essential Guide to Amigurumi is the complete reference for all stages of your amigurumi journey, and I hope you’ll enjoy using it for many years to come!

The third annual PlanetJune Reindeer Games CAL begins tomorrow! The Reindeer Games is the annual PlanetJune end-of-year crochet-along and online community event, and you can join by submitting photos of your PJ projects on Discord, Ravelry, social media or by email. Everyone is very welcome, and I can’t wait to see the gallery of beautiful projects that will emerge as we head toward the end of the year – I hope you’ll join us!

Reindeer Games 2023 CAL

Crochet anything PlanetJune as part of the PlanetJune Reindeer Games 2023 (Wednesday, Nov 1 – Sunday, Dec 31).

The idea of the games is to challenge yourself by starting and finishing crochet project(s) before the end of the year. It’s just for fun, like a CAL but you get to choose your projects – anything PlanetJune, including projects from my books – and earn virtual awards! During the Games, we all cheer each other on to complete our chosen projects. You’ll earn virtual medals for every project you complete, and your projects and awards will be added to the Reindeer Games gallery!

Inspired by the success of the Temperature Snake CAL this year, where people are entering via the PJ groups, social media and email, I’ve expanded the scope of the Reindeer Games so it’s no longer limited to Ravelry – you can join wherever you are online:

• Online Groups For the fullest experience, join in the fun in one of the PlanetJune Community groups. Look for the Reindeer Games 2023 thread on Ravelry or the #reindeer-games-2023 channel on Discord.
• Social Media Post your project photo on Instagram or Facebook with your stall/antler list and tag @PlanetJune (make sure your post is public so I can see it!), or message your photo and list to me directly via my IG account or FB page.
• Email Send your photo and stall/antler list directly to june@planetjune.com with subject line ‘Reindeer Games’, and also tell me the username you’d like to use for the Gallery).

I’ve set up a new Reindeer Games site where you can find full instructions, the list of stalls (categories) and antlers (bonus awards) you can win, the games stats, and the project gallery.

I’m especially excited about the gallery, even though, as I write this, there’s nothing to see there. But that will all change as soon as there are some completed projects to show – it’s pretty fancy! We’ll all be able to see and admire all the completed projects (as soon as I’ve awarded their medals), no matter where they were submitted from.

In this ever-changing online world where there isn’t one single place where all PJ fans like to congregate, this seems like a much more sustainable way to run a CAL. Now I can meet you where you are, so everyone is included… as it should be 🙂

Project Ideas

You can enter the Reindeer Games by making absolutely anything based on a PlanetJune pattern (or something from any of my books), but this year we’ve added a new antler award called Season’s Greetings, which you can win by making any seasonal holiday-related PJ projects. I thought I’d whet your appetite with a few examples you might like to try…

You can’t have Reindeer Games without reindeer! Try my Reindeer/Caribou pattern for a realistic reindeer:

Decorate your home with a beautiful wreath – my Christmas Decor crochet pattern collection includes all the components and an optional crocheted wreath base:

The cutest life-sized Gingerbread Family patterns are a fast and fun project:

Or fill your windowsill or mantle with my Christmas Trees pattern sets:

You’ll find plenty more ideas in the Holiday & Seasonal Crochet Patterns category of my shop. And if these seasonal decorations don’t appeal to you, remember you can join the Reindeer Games by making any PlanetJune patterns – there are no restrictions!

Join Us!

So, will you join us for the Reindeer Games 2023? I do hope so – it’s going to be so much fun, and I’d love to see the project gallery filled to the brim with our beautiful crocheted projects by the end of the year. Whether you’re crocheting your favourite PlanetJune patterns as Christmas gifts, items to sell at craft fairs or online, toys for charity, or projects for yourself, we’re ready to encourage you to complete your goals and to celebrate your successes with you!

And, even if you think you may not have time to complete a project, you’re very welcome to join us online for the community spirit and friendly chat. There’s something about PlanetJune that attracts the kindest and most supportive people, and, if you enjoy PlanetJune patterns, you’re already part of our community – do come over to our Discord server or Ravelry group and say hello!

I didn’t plan to release any new patterns while I’m deep in the book-writing process, but I had a request in the PJ Discord group for a miniature snake to match my Temperature Snakes and… well, I couldn’t resist! And here’s the result:

Baby Snake is small but perfectly proportioned no-sew baby snake. The narrow body makes it easy to pose in a variety of realistic positions, and you can make your snakes as long or short as you want.

PlanetJune Snakes

I designed Baby Snake to be a perfect miniature version of the snakes in my Temperature Snake and Snake Collection patterns (see photos, below, for size comparison), and you can also use all the striping ideas from those patterns for your baby snakes.

A Baby Snake looks so tiny compared with a Large Temperature Snake!

Choose the right colour of variegated yarn and you have an easy baby Corn Snake to match the big one in the Snake Collection pattern!

And, if you’re making a Temperature Snake this year, you might also like this idea: a Baby Temperature Snake! Spectrum Jr (below) uses the Baby Snake pattern combined with the temperature snake concept for the body rounds: one round per week, using the ‘Most Extreme’ averaging option from the Temperature Snake pattern (max in summer, min in winter, avg in shoulder seasons). SJ has the same temperature readings and yarn colours as his mama, so he’s a miniature representation of my temperatures last year:

Tip: 52 body rounds is the perfect length for a baby snake, although I think 102 rounds with 2 temp readings per week would have given more variety in the colours, so I’d recommend trying that if you want a more long and interesting baby temperature snake.

Make a Snake!

Are you tempted to crochet a super-poseable baby snake (or several)? As you can see, there’s a lot you can do with this simple but well-shaped pattern, just by choosing different yarns to crochet with – and it works up so quickly, with no sewing!

As I like to reward people who choose to donate for my donationware patterns, the PDF version of the Baby Snake pattern also includes additional tips that you’ll only find in the PDF version (instructions for managing the tiny eyes and choosing variegated yarns), and the crochet instructions are all included on one printer-friendly page, so you can save paper and ink by printing only that page.

As always, the pattern is free for you to use online, and you need only donate if you’d like to thank me for my time in creating it, or if you’d like the easy-to-print PDF version with the bonuses.

Go to the free Baby Snake pattern >>

Or jump straight to donate:

Order the Baby Snake pattern >>

Not ready to make one yet? Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue:

I can’t wait to see your baby snakes! Don’t forget to share them in the PlanetJune Community groups, and tag me (@planetjune) whenever you post pics on social!

Until now, the puffy seafoam and squared-off edging additions for my Turtle Beach Blanket patterns have been exclusive to the paid version of the original donationware pattern. That’s been confusing people, so I’ve separated out the 3D seafoam and edging instructions into their own PDF.

Now, you can buy the Turtle Beach Seafoam & Edging instructions bundled as an optional add-on when you buy any of the Turtle Beach Blanket patterns, or pick them up as a separate Expansion Pack in the shop. Much simpler!

About the Pattern

Turtle Beach Seafoam & Edging is an Expansion Pack for any of the Turtle Beach Blanket crochet patterns, and includes all the modifications required to add a puffy 3D seafoam effect and/or a squared-off edging to any of the PlanetJune Turtle Beach Blanket crochet patterns.

Both these modifications can be added to a completed Turtle Beach Blanket, so if you’ve already finished your blanket, you can add the seafoam and/or edging at any point in the future!

• Puffy Seafoam: Add a 3-dimensional effect to your Turtle Beach blanket with the puffy seafoam add-on. This includes right- and left-handed instructions in the pattern, and an exclusive video demonstration (with right- and left-handed versions), so you can watch it in action – you’ll find the video links in the pattern!
• Squared-off Edging: Use the edging instructions to square off the rippled top and bottom edges of your blanket, to give it a rectangular shape. (This edging can also form the base row for any deeper crocheted border.)

What is an Expansion Pack?

• An Expansion Pack is an add-on to an existing PlanetJune pattern.
• The Expansion Pack lets you modify or add to the original pattern to create something else.
• You cannot use the Expansion Pack alone – you must also purchase the original pattern in order to be able to complete the pictured items in the Expansion Pack pattern.

Links to Buy

You can buy the Turtle Beach Seafoam & Edging Expansion Pack for only $2 individually from the shop, or, if you haven’t yet bought any of the Turtle Beach blanket patterns, you can now add it for $1.50 as an optional add-on, just before you add the blanket pattern(s) to your cart.

If you’ve already bought the Classic Blue and/or Teal Ombre Turtle Beach blanket pattern and want to add the seafoam or edging to your blanket, email me (june@planetjune.com) and I’ll send you a discount code to get that extra 50c off your purchase of the new Expansion Pack!

About The Turtle Beach Collection

You can mix and match crochet patterns within my Turtle Beach Collection to make your own custom blanket.

• Mix and match colour schemes and stripe patterns with the Classic Blue and Teal Ombré blankets.
• Add custom details (an edging and puffy 3D seafoam effect) with the Seafoam & Edging Expansion Pack (or the original donationware blanket pattern).
• Add any combination of the original 3D stuffed baby sea turtles, the new flat appliqué turtles, and puffy or flat starfish.

Tip: For the best price, buy the multipacks of both blanket patterns and both sea turtle options!

See the entire Turtle Beach crochet pattern collection here >>

Left: Classic Blue blanket; stuffed 3D turtles
Right: Teal Ombre blanket; flat appliqué turtles

Clockwise from top left: 3D seafoam, puffy starfish, flat starfish, squared-off edging

The patterns in the Turtle Beach Collection continue to be among my most popular designs, and it’s wonderful to see so many beautiful ocean-themed blankets based on my patterns being made all over the world.

Please keep tagging me (@planetjune) whenever you post pics of things you’ve crocheted from my patterns, or, if you’re not active on social media or in the PlanetJune community groups, email a pic to me (june@planetjune.com) – I always love to see what you’ve been making!

If you’ve just found PlanetJune from the article about my Temperature Snake CAL in the latest issue of Simply Crochet magazine, I’m so glad you’re here! Please take a look around my site and let me know if you have any questions.

If you’d like to jump into the crochet-along with us, you can learn more about how it works and pick up the Temperature Snake pattern here, then start choosing your yarn colours!

If you’re new to amigurumi-style crochet, you can find crochet tutorials for all the techniques you’ll need (the magic ring and invisible decrease are the two absolute essentials) on my Crochet Tutorials page. And there are links in the pattern to more help and tutorials (like my Ultimate Stripes technique, which is optional, but I recommend it if you want to make the most perfect stripes for your snake).

You’ll find Temperature Snake CAL threads in both the PlanetJune community groups (on Ravelry and Discord – see details for how to join the PlanetJune community here) or, if you prefer to share on Facebook or Instagram, remember to tag me @PlanetJune whenever you post an update so I can see your progress!

This is a low-key, supportive CAL. Make progress on your snake whenever you have time, and we’ll cheer you along as you go! If you want to make a 2023 snake, the pattern includes a link to a website with historical temperatures, so you can get the data for the temperatures in your area back to the start of the year (or use any source you prefer – for example, I like to use my local weather TV channel’s website!)

There are two ways you can get your snake caught up:

• Once you get used to the pattern, you’ll be able to fly through a few weeks of stripes in a single session, so enjoy a couple of good catch-up sessions and you’ll be caught up in no time.
• Or, you can make two or three rounds per day instead of one for the rest of the year – you’ll be playing catch up for a while this way, but you’ll still be ready to finish your snake in December with the rest of us.

Take it at your own pace, and enjoy watching your snake’s colours change with the seasons as it grows throughout the year.

Welcome to PlanetJune, and welcome to the crochet-along!