Today I have a new PlanetJune Accessories donationware pattern for you: the Frosty Windows Scarf. With a pretty but easy-to-memorise stitch pattern, you can work up this scarf in almost any yarn. Once you’ve crocheted a couple of repeats, you’ll fly through it – it’s a perfect pattern for handmade gifts or for stashbusting!
Work it in any weight yarn – although I’d recommend DK weight (#3 light) or heavier for a snuggly scarf – with an appropriately sized hook. As with all my accessory patterns, this pattern has both written instructions and stitch diagrams, and it also includes full instructions for increasing the length and width if you’d like to make a wrap or shawl version!
As always with my donationware, the Frosty Windows Scarf pattern is free for your use, but if you’d like to send me a donation towards it (completely optional), you’ll receive the nicely formatted and easy-to-print PDF version of the pattern as a thank you. As a bonus, the PDF also includes some additional exclusive info:
Step by step photo tutorial for the ‘tr2tog over next 5 st’
How to calculate how much fringe you’ll need
Step by step photos for making and attaching the fringe
I hope you’ll enjoy crocheting this scarf for yourself, and maybe you’ll make a few extras as Christmas gifts for friends and family?
Please share photos of scarves you’ve made from this pattern in the Accessory-Along CAL in the PJ ravelry group. We’ll be crocheting accessories from now until the end of the year, so you have plenty of time to join in and make even the largest, most ambitious accessory projects – or maybe multiples of the faster ones to give as gifts…
Please join us at the Accessory-Along thread in the PlanetJune Ravelry group if you’d like to crochet a Frosty Windows Scarf – or any other PlanetJune Accessories – along with us!
Continuing with my plan to make video tutorials for every essential amigurumi technique, here’s the latest one: the Ultimate Finish. This is the neatest way to fasten off and close the remaining hole when you’ve finished crocheting a piece of amigurumi. Together with the invisible decrease, you’ll be able to make the bottom of your amigurumi look almost as neat as the top, with a smooth, gap-free base.
(If you already know this technique, you can skip this video, if you like – there’s nothing extra that I didn’t show you in my original ultimate finish photo tutorial – it’s just another addition to my essential crochet tutorials video library.)
And now to the video tutorial (in right- and left-handed versions, of course):
Note: The videos may look a little small embedded in the blog: if so, you can fullscreen them or click through to YouTube to watch them full-sized 🙂
If you enjoy my crochet tutorial videos, please help to spread the word about them, and/or subscribe to the PlanetJune YouTube channel. And let me know if you have any requests for crochet techniques you’d like me to explain in a future video tutorial!
Loved this tutorial? I have so many more amigurumi tips and tricks to share with you!
Boost your amigurumi skills with my latest book, The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, your comprehensive guide to amigurumi techniques and tips.
Do you find my tutorials helpful? If so, please consider making a contribution towards my time so I can continue to create clear and concise tutorials for you:
Thank you so much for your support! Now click below for loads more crochet video and photo tutorials (and do let me know what else you’d like me to cover in future tutorials…)
September 24, 2012 @ 9:25 am
· Filed under Crochet, Patterns
With the Accessory-Along crochet-along about to begin on October 1st, this was perfect timing for me to launch my latest PlanetJune Accessories design, the Rippled Lace Rectangular Shawl. Two harmonising shades of yarn undulate together to create a beautiful gossamer-fine shawl with airy lightness and amazing drape.
The lace pattern has a 2-row repeat, so you’ll pick it up in no time and be able to enjoy crocheting without having to worry about a complicated pattern. The clever stitch pattern is worked continuously from 2 balls of yarn; there’s no fastening off between stripes, or lengths of stranded yarn to worry about hiding. You can even omit the edging and the shawl will still look good!
My lace patterns are designed to be worked with normal-sized hooks into the spaces between stitches, which means that, after the foundation row, there’s no hunting for those tiny fine loops to work into, and they are a pleasure to work.
As always, I include full instructions for modifying the size of the shawl in both length and width – you can make it as narrow as a scarf, or as wide as a blanket, and the length is only determined by how long you want it (and how much yarn you have available).
My shawl uses an entire 400m/50g skein of the main darker colour, and 86% of the contrast colour skein – you can see that it’s very long and a shorter version would still be ample for most people. I used a laceweight baby alpaca yarn (KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Foxtrot Heather and Iris Heather) which is surprisingly warm, even with such an open lacy design – I’m really going to enjoy wearing this!
If you’re not quite ready to buy though, how about queuing it on ravelry so you don’t forget about it?
If you’d like to make this shawl, or any of my other accessory designs, I hope you’ll join us in the PlanetJune Ravelry group for the Accessories crochet-along. The CAL officially starts on October 1st, but if you can’t wait to get going, feel free to start crocheting early!
Judging the best eye positions for amigurumi is a skill that doesn’t come easily to most people. I know from talking to my customers that it can be very frustrating when you’ve worked hard to make an amigurumi but it ends up with an unusual looking face and you’re not quite sure why…
Examples of eye positions for a realistic amigurumi dog
Before you permanently attach amigurumi eyes, as well as checking that the eyes are level with each other and not wonky, it’s also worth playing with them to make sure they are in the position you like best. In my patterns, I give guidelines for positioning the facial features to look right for each animal, but I thought I’d give a little lesson today in facial proportion that will give you a place to start for any animal (including humans).
Tip: If you’re having problems with the eye positions for an animal with a separate muzzle, it can be helpful to attach the muzzle before positioning the eyes, or at least hold the muzzle up to the face so you can judge the eye placement more carefully. As you’ll see below, the muzzle and eye positions are often closely related.
Here are my rule-of-thumb guidelines for positioning eyes on your amigurumi animals to give a realistic result. They aren’t 100% accurate for every animal, but are generally a good starting point. This is useful to know even if you aren’t looking to create realistic animals: once you know what the realistic position should be, you can easily modify it to make your animal cuter in a cartoony or kawaii way.
Eye Height
The number one mistake that most people instinctively make is to place the eyes too high (see examples 1 and 3 above). In children’s drawings of people, the eyes are usually drawn about a third of the way down the head, and this perception generally carries through into adulthood unless you’ve studied art or anatomy. Here are some rules-of-thumb to remember:
Place the eyes roughly halfway up the head, or very slightly higher.
If the animal has a muzzle, place the eyes level with the top of the muzzle.
Let’s look at these principles in action with photos of myself and my helpful assistant Maui, and then see how they look in amigurumi:
The top and bottom blue lines mark the top and bottom of the head. The middle blue line is halfway between them. You can see that the eyes are always at, or slightly above, the middle blue line, and the top of the muzzle (or ‘nose’ in my case!) is also at that same level.
Eye Spacing
This is more variable: some animals have forward-facing eyes, while others have sideways-facing eyes. A pattern should tell you if you need to place the eyes on either side of the head (i.e. facing out to each side), like these:
In these cases, the exact positioning is less critical, but, as you can’t easily see both eyes at once, check your animal from both the front and the top to make sure the eyes are level both horizontally and vertically before you commit to attaching the backs of your safety eyes.
If the eyes aren’t sideways-facing, there’s more chance of a positioning error. Here are the rules-of-thumb to avoid spacing problems:
The most common mistake is to place the eyes too close together (see examples 2 and 3 at the top of this post) – this will give your animal a confused or cross-eyed look, which doesn’t (usually) look cute. The centres of the eyes should always be separated by at least half the width of the face.
If the animal has a muzzle, place the eyes approximately level with each edge of the muzzle.
Let’s see some examples of these principles too:
General Spacing: Here the blue lines show the centre of each eye, and the green lines show the edges of the face. Note the spacing between the eyes (the distance between the blue lines) is never less than half the width of the face (the distance between the green lines).
Muzzles: Here the blue lines show the approximate eye spacing, which is also equal to the width of the muzzle. (I obviously don’t have a muzzle, but my eyes are spaced apart by the width of my nose, so the principle still applies!)
Adding Cuteness
Of course, you don’t have to aim for the most realistic result – you can modify the general principles to give your animals a cuter, more cartoony look. The simplest way to go from realistic to extra-cute is to use larger eyes than recommended. You can also try positioning the eyes a little lower and/or the nose a little higher. (Taking this to extremes, the Japanese ‘kawaii’ look often places the nose higher than the eyes, but you don’t have to go that far to get a cute result!)
Go and Play!
Just to be clear: it’s never wrong if you choose to make your ami differently; it’s only a problem if you’re not happy with the end result. Avoiding unhappiness is what I’m trying to achieve with these ‘rules’, but, as I said at the start, they’re only general guidelines. If a pattern has different instructions for eye placement, you should follow those instead. And, of course, if you prefer the look of the eyes in a different position, you should always feel free to do things differently.
Eyes are so important to the look of the finished amigurumi – they give it expression and personality. Positioning the eyes so their animals look their best can be tricky, and I hope the guidelines in this post will help reduce that frustration. If you haven’t been happy with your amigurumis’ faces in the past, hopefully you’ll now have an idea where you may have been going wrong, so you can try a different eye placement next time.
Take an extra minute to make sure you’re happy with your ami’s eyes before you commit to the placement: it can make all the difference between an ami that’s just not quite right and one you can be proud of!
Loved this tutorial? I have so many more amigurumi tips and tricks to share with you!
Boost your amigurumi skills with my latest book, The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, your comprehensive guide to amigurumi techniques and tips.
Do you find my tutorials helpful? If so, please consider making a contribution towards my time so I can continue to create clear and concise tutorials for you:
Thank you so much for your support! Now click below for loads more crochet video and photo tutorials (and do let me know what else you’d like me to cover in future tutorials…)
September 17, 2012 @ 12:47 pm
· Filed under Crochet, Patterns
It’s amazing how quickly time flies – it’s been over a year since my last AmiDogs design (the Basset Hound who accompanies my amigurumi Columbo) but, thanks to my Commissions system, it’s time to add to the collection with my 20th dog crochet pattern, AmiDogs Rottweiler.
With 19 dog breed designs under my belt, I thought I must have a pretty good idea of how to design a dog crochet pattern by now, but it was still a challenge to capture the Rottie’s essence. I had to set it aside for a while and work on something else until I figured out the subtle changes in shape that would make the design work. I think I finally nailed it though 🙂
Don’t forget, if your favourite(s) are still missing, you can commission them! I’ve just added the most popular requests to the commission options, if you’d like to pledge towards any of them. If your favourites aren’t on the list, please submit your requests (through the form on the Commissions page) so I can consider adding them in the next design review. I no longer create new AmiDogs designs without a commission, so this is the only way to get your favourites made from now on.
If you know someone who loves Rottweilers, you can pick up the AmiDogs Rottweiler pattern in the shop right now. Or, if you’d like to add several dogs to your pattern collection, I recommend my AmiDogs Custom Set – you can choose any 3 dog breeds for a bargain price.
Thanks to everyone who commissioned me to make this design! Next up on the commissions list: the Giant Panda (I’ll be collecting pledge monies tomorrow) – yay!
Crocheting little shapes is a great way to make your own custom accessories – brooches and pins, hair decorations, and even jewellery. The best embellishments are tiny pieces (so you can use multiple pieces without looking over the top) – such as my Posy Blossoms, Love Hearts, or Basic Rose (especially in a finer yarn so it comes out smaller and daintier).
These patterns all make beautiful crocheted embellishments
A little prep work is invaluable for attaching embellishments securely, especially if you need to attach them to something hard, like a hair barrette, brooch/pin back, etc, or make an appliqué or brooch from several crocheted pieces. There’s no one ‘right’ answer for how to tackle this, but I’ll cover some options and general tips in this tutorial.
And, because it’s easier to learn by example, I’ll also give you a couple of walk-throughs so you can see exactly how I made these pretty hair accessories – a forget-me-not hair clip and a posy barrette.
As there’s a lot of content here and I think it’d be useful to keep the information for future reference, I’ve also made it into a handy 5-page PDF eBook – yours in return for any-sized donation 🙂
The humble single crochet stitch may be the simplest of crochet stitches, but it’s still open to interpretation, as it can be worked the standard way (into both loops of the stitch below) or modified by working into only the front or back loop of the stitch below. Today I’m going to delve into the differences you’ll see from working into front loops, back loops, or both loops, starting with a video tutorial in case you’re not clear about which loops are which.
Keep reading beyond the video and we’ll take a thorough look at the differences through one of my scientifically-approached crochet investigations into the results of using each of the different loops 🙂
Loops Matter!
In amigurumi, there are specific reasons for using back loops or front loops at certain places in a pattern: turning a sharp corner in either direction; using the unworked loops as attachment points to crochet back into later; using novelty yarns where the stitches will be hidden by the fuzzy yarn; or for visual or textural effect, especially in a colourwork piece.
If you’re following a crochet pattern, it’s important to work each stitch as the designer intended if you want to achieve a good result. Working into different loops not only gives your stitches a different appearance, but also changes the overall shape of the piece.
The same crochet pattern, worked in different loops, looks totally different!
I’m not convinced that people really grasp the impact of these differences, as I’ve seen many people working my patterns in back loops only and ending up with a very thin, extra-tall amigurumi as a result, without knowing why. Or working one of my fuzzy patterns (designed to be worked in back loops only) in both loops, resulting in a very squashed, short looking amigurumi. Let’s demystify this once and for all, so you can make the best amigurumi possible!
Note: The videos may look a little small embedded in the blog: if so, you can fullscreen them or click through to YouTube to watch them full-sized 🙂
A Loopy Investigation
Let’s look at this scientifically, so we can really appreciate the differences in the crocheted fabrics. For our comparison, I’ve crocheted the same sample piece three times, once in the standard both loops, once in front loops (FL) only, and once in back loops (BL) only.
To keep things fair, I kept everything else constant for each sample:
The same hook (E/3.5mm) and yarn (worsted weight, Caron Simply Soft)
The same style of crocheting (single crochet in a continuous spiral without joining or turning)
The same crochet pattern (i.e. the same number of stitches and rounds, with increases and decreases in the same places)
Here are the basic fabrics created by working in the round without turning [Note: I turned each of them inside out briefly to take the back (inside) photos, so you’ll know what to expect if you’re accidentally crocheting with the wrong side facing out]:
And now we’ll do a comparison of the three.
Stitch Shape
The overall shapes of the samples will clearly show any difference in the shape of the stitches: a wider sample means wider stitches, and a taller sample means taller stitches, as each sample is formed from the same number and position of stitches.
Unstuffed: We’ll compare the straight sides of each sample, where the stitches are all single crochet, with no increases or decreases.
L-R: front loops only, both loops, back loops only
As you can see, all the pieces have a comparable width. The FL piece is very slightly shorter than the regular piece, but looks quite similar, but the BL piece is considerably taller and looks completely different from the outside.
Stuffed: Now look what happens when you stuff the pieces. [Note: to keep things fair, I didn’t cram in as much stuffing as I possibly could; I used the same level of stuffing in each sample: enough to hold its shape, but still be squashy to the touch.]
L-R: front loops only, both loops, back loops only
What you may not have expected is that, with stuffing, the FL sample stretches out so it no longer looks similar to the standard piece – it stretches to be the same height as the BL sample! Now just imagine that you’re following one of my patterns and these samples are supposed to be the round head or body of an animal – you can see why working in either FL or BL only is going to give you a completely different, stretched-looking animal…
Base Fabric Characteristics
Let’s compare the fabrics formed where the stitches are worked 1 to 1, with no increases or decreases:
L-R: front loops only, both loops, back loops only
Crocheting into one loop only instead of both changes the characteristics of the fabric formed: it makes it less rigid, more fluid and flowing, and either more stretchy (FL only in my samples) or thinner and more open (BL only in my samples). Many crocheted garment patterns utilise these properties to great effect – when you’re making clothing, a more flexible fabric that can drape on your body is far more flattering than a stiff, thick boxy fabric.
But the opposite is true for amigurumi: here we are aiming for a solid stiff fabric that holds its shape with as few gaps as possible. Crocheting into both loops gives us this fabric: it has very little stretch, and the fabric is thick and firm, so it holds together when it’s stretched by the stuffing.
As the stitches are held further apart by working into either single loop, there is naturally a larger gap at the base of each stitch. (You don’t see it in the FL sample until you stuff it, because the FL fabric is stretchy but relaxed and only stretches when the stuffing is inserted.) The unworked loops help to partially obscure the resulting gap by covering the top inside edge of the FL sample, and the bottom outside edge of the BL sample, but the remaining hole (the area below each stitch where you can see right through to the stuffing) is still larger in either case than with the standard sample. You’d expect this, because working into both loops keeps the stitches pulled together, so those large holes never form.
Increasing and Decreasing
At the points where you increase and decrease, you’re either forcing 2 stitches into 1 gap, or pulling 2 stitches together to form 1. Both these cases lead to larger holes in the surrounding fabric than with normal stitches, so it’s important for us to examine both ends of the stuffed samples, to compare the end with the increases and the end with the decreases for each sample.
Decreases: I should mention that, for my standard sample, I used the invisible decrease (invdec), one of the most essential techniques for amigurumi as it practically eliminates the holes or bumps from decreasing. As this technique can only be used with standard single crochet, I couldn’t apply it to the other samples, so I was already expecting an inferior result.
L-R: front loops only, both loops, back loops only
As I suspected, neither of the single loop samples could compare with the invdec. The BL only sample in particular has very large gaps where the stuffing is clearly visible, but neither FL or BL gives what I’d consider to be a satisfactory result.
Increases: Although I do have an invisible increase (invinc) technique, I don’t regard it as an essential (as the standard increase isn’t terribly gappy to begin with), so I didn’t use it for my sample, to give a fairer test. It should be noted, though, that invinc could be used to further improve the increase results (of the standard sample only).
L-R: front loops only, both loops, back loops only
Again, neither of the single loop samples had small enough gaps to keep the stuffing hidden. The FL only increase stitches are very pretty – it looks like a flower! -and the loops on the inside do mostly hide the stuffing, but not in every stitch, so the end result is a bit uneven. The unworked loops of the BL only sample are so far below the increases above that they do nothing to hide the holes, which are very large.
If you look at my samples, you can see that the more open fabric formed by FL or BL only leaves much larger gaps with both increases and decreases. The unworked loops still help to fill the holes slightly, but only cover 1/3 or less of the hole, so the remaining gap is still much larger than in the standard sample, and there’s no technique comparable to the invdec or invinc that could be used to reduce those holes without distorting the surrounding fabric.
Summary
A firm fabric with minimal holes is the ideal for amigurumi. You can’t use my invdec/invinc techniques unless you work in standard single crochet; the thinner, stretchier fabric made from working into one loop only naturally has larger gaps and couldn’t hold the kind of shaping you see in my designs; and any shaping stitches would look gappy due to the larger holes seen when you increase and decrease.
For non-amigurumi crochet projects such as garments or accessories, you can use the special properties of BL or FL only crochet to their advantage. But, for the reasons I demonstrate above, I recommend that you always work in both loops for amigurumi or any other stuffed crocheted work, unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise.
Final thoughts:
If you’re following a crochet pattern, remember that sc and sc in BL/FL only are never interchangeable!
If you’re creating your own design, use the most appropriate stitches for your design to give you the best results.
If you’re writing a crochet pattern, be sure to specify anywhere that you use non-standard stitches (i.e not worked into both loops).
Loved this tutorial? I have so many more amigurumi tips and tricks to share with you!
Boost your amigurumi skills with my latest book, The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, your comprehensive guide to amigurumi techniques and tips.
Do you find my tutorials helpful? If so, please consider making a contribution towards my time so I can continue to create clear and concise tutorials for you:
Thank you so much for your support! Now click below for loads more crochet video and photo tutorials (and do let me know what else you’d like me to cover in future tutorials…)
Here’s my latest commissioned design – say hello to my Sea Otter!
This pattern is a little later than scheduled, I’m afraid; I just wasn’t able to write up the pattern until I got over my bronchitis enough to have a clear head. Turning the new techniques I use to create my designs into clear and easy to follow instructions is impossible when my brain isn’t fully functional. But hopefully you’ll agree that it was worth the wait 🙂
I’ve wanted to make a sea otter for years – they are truly adorable. Have you seen pictures of a pair floating together, holding hands?! Awwww!
Sea Otter fun facts
Sea Otters are both the smallest marine mammal and the largest member of the weasel family.
Their fur is the densest of any animal and traps a layer of insulating air bubbles within it to keep the otter warm in the cold ocean waters.
Sea otters almost never leave the ocean. They float on their backs to rest, groom and sleep.
Their diet is shellfish and crustaceans. They often use a rock as a tool to crack open the hard shells.
They have special kidneys that allow them to drink sea water and process out the salt!
To help with my design, I made a list of essential sea otter features:
Sea otters have small sensitive front paws that let then catch their food by touch.
To aid in swimming, their back feet are large, flat and webbed, and their tails are broad and strong.
Their colour varies from beige to very dark brown, and the fur on their heads lightens with age.
They have a diamond shaped nose and small ears. They can close their nostrils and ears when underwater.
I hope the sea otter’s playful nature has come through in my design – especially in the back feet! I think sea otters really need to have something to hold on their tummies for maximum cuteness, so I’ve also included a bonus pattern to make the simple clam you can see in my photos – you can make the closed and/or open (empty) version.
If you pledged towards the commission, you should have already received your copy of the pattern. Otherwise, if you’d like to make a sea otter of your own – or a pair to hold hands – you can now pick up the Sea Otter crochet pattern from the PlanetJune shop!
If you’re not quite ready to buy though, how about queuing Sea Otter on ravelry so you don’t forget about it?
Or simply click through from my links before you shop at Amazon, Etsy, KnitPicks, LoveCrafts and more, and I'll make a small commission on your purchase, at no cost to you! Start here:
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