If you, like me, tend to spend a little too much time on your phone, you’re going to love my new pattern!

I use my phone for so many things these days – working, reading, playing games, video chats, shopping, watching videos – and it gets uncomfortable to hold after a while. To save my hands, I thought it’d be fun to try to recreate the old phone stand I sewed almost a decade ago, but this time in crochet, with dimensions better suited to today’s larger devices.

And look what I came up with! Crochet is the perfect medium for a stand like this: one piece, no sewing, basic stitches and techniques, and it makes a perfect support for a smartphone:

Isn’t it great?! it’s quick and easy to crochet, and makes a handy addition to any desk or bedside table. With only yarn and a little stuffing, you can make a stand that’s sturdy enough to support any phone (or a small tablet) in portrait or landscape mode.

This pattern is a blank canvas for any yarn choice: get colourful with a variegated yarn, go for a subtle neutral shade, choose your favourite colour, or match your room decor.

I especially love how my variegated phone stand turned out: the colours pooled into diagonal stripes, and because either side of the stand can be the top, I can flip it over to get a different colour pattern!

I’d recommend using a cotton yarn for your phone stand as it gives a neat smooth finish, but you can use acrylic if you prefer. This is a great pattern to use those striped or ombre cottons that look lovely in the skein but may not crochet up the way you’d expect! (In case you were about to ask, the specific yarn I used for the above sample is Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Stripes in Beach Ball Blue.)

Amigurumi-style crochet gives this stand enough stiffness to support a mobile device with just regular fibrefill stuffing, which also makes the stand light and portable. You can even comfortably rest it on your tummy so you can watch videos while lying in bed, if you’re so inclined…

As you can see below, the phone stand is also big enough to support my 7″ tablet, which is very handy for video calls or watching YouTube!

As I like to reward people who choose to donate for my donationware patterns, the PDF version of the Crochet Phone Stand pattern also includes tips for stuffing, additional instructional photos, including left-handed photos, and instructions for resizing the pattern to fit a larger tablet or other device. 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 Crochet Phone Stand pattern >>

Or jump straight to donate:

Order the Crochet Phone Stand pattern >>

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

I hope you’ll find this pattern useful!

Don’t miss the launch discount, at the end of this post!

With the winter chill setting in, it’s always my ears that feel the cold first. I usually wear a very functional earwarmer – just a shopbought band of boring black insulated fleece – but I really wanted something a bit more stylish to bring some cheer to the season this year. And here’s what I came up with – a wonderful cable pattern that looks far more complex than it is!
 

I’ve given two width options using different yarn weights depending on how wide and bulky you’d like your earwarmer to be, and how quickly you’d like to get it finished (thicker yarn needs fewer repeats!) 

The dense crochet cables make a plush squishy fabric that’s great for blocking wind. The edges of cabled panels tend to be gappy, but I’ve filled those gaps with some hidden stitches with extra squish on the inside to keep you warmer around the edges.

 
They’re only hidden from the outside! You can clearly see those snuggly stitches all around the inside top edge in the photo above.

The worsted weight option can also be worn as a fitted neckwarmer, as shown below. If you want a chunkier neckwarmer, you could upscale it further with a bulky or super bulky yarn to make a wider cowl.

This earwarmer is worked flat and seamed, you can easily customise the fit by working the pattern until it’s the desired length. Try it on as you go and check if it’s long enough to give a snug fit around your head, or just use my standard measurements as a guide if it’ll be a surprise gift for a child or adult! 

As always with my PlanetJune Accessories designs, the pattern includes full stitch instructions and my tips for all the techniques used, as well as written and charted versions of the pattern.

If you’ve been nervous to tackle cables, I’ll walk you through it in the pattern. There’s a 4-row repeat, but every wrong side row is just plain half double crochet, so you only have two pattern rows to remember. After you’ve made a few repeats, you’ll be able to fly through the pattern and make impressive-looking earwarmers for everyone on your list! 

Links and Launch Discount

Ready to get crocheting? You can buy the Cozy Cables Earwarmer pattern individually from my shop, or as part of a Custom Set of any 3 PlanetJune Accessories patterns of your choice.

And, for this week only, save 50c on the Cozy Cables Earwarmer pattern by using discount code COZY at checkout. (Valid until Monday November 30 2020.)

Tip: The discount is valid on the Earwarmer alone and the Custom Set including the Earwarmer – so you can save even more by buying the multipack deal with the discount!

Or, if you’re not ready to buy just yet, please heart or queue it on Ravelry so you don’t forget about it:

If you’re planning on making one (or more!), please join the PlanetJune End of Year 2020 CAL – I’d love to see your earwarmers, and you’ll be entered in the CAL contest! Join us in the PlanetJune Ravelry group (or click here for full details of the CAL, including non-Ravelry entry option) 🙂

I do hope you’ll enjoy this pattern as much as I’ve enjoyed designing it. I’ve been wearing my earwarmers out in the snow already this week, and I can report that they’re keeping my ears and forehead toasty warm, even when my cheeks are freezing!

*Cue the fanfare*

Please allow me to present… the PlanetJune tortoises!

I’m so excited to be able to share my tortoises with you today! I have so much to tell you about them, though, I don’t know where to start…

I’ll limit myself to the relevant pattern details today, and do a follow-up post later to share the long history of this design and my inspiration, and why my tortoise has been the most challenging (and eventually satisfying) pattern I’ve ever written!

Okay, so what you’re looking at above is actually two patterns:

• Top row: Tortoise – the main crochet pattern
• Bottom row: Simple-Shell Tortoise, Turtle & Terrapin – the expansion pack

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.

Between the two patterns you can mix-and-match to customize your own perfect tortoises (and freshwater turtles and terrapins). Let’s look at them in more detail:

About the Designs

Both the patterns make amazingly realistically-shaped life-sized tortoises. They are about 8.5″ (21.5cm) long from nose to tail. Of course tortoises start life much smaller than this, and just keep growing and growing throughout their very long lives, but I settled on this size as it looks and feels just like a real pet tortoise!

These are an ingenious low-sew design – the only sewing you have to do in the entire project is stitching the back legs to the body (and those joins will be hidden by the shell, so you don’t even need to do tidy stitching to get a perfect result).

All the tortoises have separate upper and lower shells which are stretched over a fully-enclosed smooth stuffed amigurumi body. This gives a perfect finish with no worries about stuffing leaking through anywhere, and a satisfyingly solid result.

And they are just so realistic! Once you’ve crocheted the shells together over the body, your tortoise’s head and legs will look like they’ve just popped out of his shell so he can go for a walk or find some lettuce to munch. 🙂

Tortoise Crochet Pattern

The main tortoise crochet pattern has a realistic patterned upper shell made of 13 shaped segments that are crocheted together into a 3D shape that perfectly matches the shape of the body beneath.

Don’t be intimidated, though: you’ll be working in a join-as-you-go method: crocheting one piece, then crocheting it together with the previous piece(s) to build up the shell, so you never have more than 2 pieces to confuse you. Every step is clearly set out with explanatory annotated photos so you can match what you’re doing to what you see in the photos.

The lower shell is also realistically shaped and crocheted in one piece so it’s fast and easy to complete.

As there’s such a lot to this pattern, with 18 pages and over 70 step-by-step photos (with over half of those being for the upper shell!), I’ve released it as separate right-handed and left-handed editions, so you can choose your version before you checkout, and the photos will all correspond to exactly what you’ll be seeing at every stage. I’ve only done this with ebooks until now, but this pattern is special in more ways than one!

Simple Shell Tortoise, Turtle and Terrapin Expansion Pack

This Expansion Pack includes all the modifications required to crochet a Tortoise much more quickly, with a simple but well-shaped one-piece top shell with or without a contrast trim. This is a simpler and more beginner-friendly option, but still has that realistic tortoise shape throughout!

This Expansion Pack also includes modifications to turn the Tortoise into a (freshwater) Turtle or Terrapin with a pointier nose and pale-coloured lower shell. All these modifications are mix-and-match, so you can make Tortoises, Turtles and Terrapins with the geometric or simple shell style, with either head shape, with or without the contrast trim on the top shell and with a pale- or self-coloured lower shell.

Here are some examples, so you can see the different options in the Expansion Pack:

Left: Pointed (turtle/terrapin) nose; single colour upper shell; contrast colour lower shell
Right: Rounded (tortoise) nose; upper shell with contrast-coloured trim; matching colour lower shell

Colour Choices

For any of the tortoises, you can stick with muted ‘natural’ colours to match the shades of a real tortoise, or get as creative as you want! A brightly-coloured tortoise (like my magenta-and-mustard example) looks vibrant and cute, and would make a lovely decoration for a baby’s room, or a perfect toy for any child. There are no wrong choices when it comes to amigurumi tortoise colours. 🙂

Buy Now & Launch Discount

Don’t you need these tortoises in your life right now?! If so, pick up the patterns with these links:

• Just the standard Tortoise pattern
• Tortoise and Simple-Shell Tortoise, Turtle & Terrapin expansion pack
• Just the Simple-Shell expansion pack (but remember, you can’t use it without the Tortoise pattern!)

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

Tortoise:

Simple-Shell Tortoise etc Expansion Pack:

And for one week only, you can take an extra 50c off the price: add the Tortoise or Tortoise + Expansion Pack pattern(s) to your shopping cart, and enter the discount code LETTUCE at checkout! (Offer ends Thursday October 29, 2020.)

I hope you love my tortoises as much as I do!

Don’t forget to tag me (I’m @planetjune everywhere) when you’ve made yours 🙂

You may be getting a déjà vu feeling right now – don’t I have a baby sea turtle pattern just like this already?!

Well, no: there’s something completely new about this pattern! Although from the top it looks almost identical to the turtle from my incredibly popular Baby Sea Turtle Collection:

Spot the difference?

…from the side, it’s as flat as a pancake!

From top: 3D amigurumi turtle; 2D flat appliqué turtle

This is my brand new Baby Sea Turtle Appliqué crochet pattern. Crocheted appliqués are small flat crocheted pieces that make lovely embellishments – and in this case, a perfect addition to a beach or ocean-themed blanket, like my Turtle Beach blanket!

About the Design

I designed this pattern to closely replicate my original Baby Sea Turtle in size, shape and appearance, so you can still keep that iconic Turtle Beach look with much less work.

The pattern is faster to crochet than an amigurumi turtle and, with only two pieces, needs almost no sewing or finishing. You can stitch it securely to a blanket (or anything else), and the optional embroidered eyes make it child-friendly and easy to launder.

Body: The head and flippers are all crocheted as one piece around a body that’s hidden beneath the shell. Not only does this minimise the finishing work, but the flippers naturally form at the perfect angles and in just the right positions with no effort or decision-making on your part (beyond following the pattern!)

Shell: If you’ve ever tried to flatten the original shell, you’ll know that, because it’s designed to be domed, it flattens into a strange overly-wide shape that doesn’t look right at all! I’ve designed a new shell that keeps the same style and finished shape from the top as the stuffed baby turtle, but is completely flat.

Eyes: I wasn’t sure about eyes – the appliqué turtle looks lovely without eyes (and, as we’re looking at the turtle from above, the eyes wouldn’t be visible in real life anyway…) so I decided to offer both options in the pattern. I think it looks cuter with eyes and more sophisticated without. My grey sample turtle has no (visible) eyes and the green turtle has my embroidered eyes – you can choose to add them or not; your turtle will look good either way!

About the Pattern

This pattern includes full written instructions for the turtle, plus round-by-round charted stitch diagrams for the rounds that form the head and flippers, in both right- and left-handed versions.

It also includes:

• Simple assembly instructions for attaching the shell (it comes together so nicely, you may actually enjoy this step for once!)
• A complete step-by-step tutorial for embroidering the eyes securely with no visible knots or tails.
• Tips for stitching the turtles neatly to a crocheted blanket.

Baby Sea Turtle Multipack discount

Which baby sea turtle pattern should you buy? Why not both?! I’ve made that easy for you by bundling the two patterns together as a Baby Sea Turtle Multipack.

If you’re making a turtle blanket, you could attach some flat turtle appliques and give an amigurumi baby turtle set in the same colours as a matching companion gift.

Discount for Baby Sea Turtle Collection owners

If you’ve already bought the Baby Sea Turtle Collection and would like this new turtle pattern too, you can’t take advantage of the multipack discount, but I have you covered! If you’re buying the new pattern before the end of the month (August 2020), I’ll honour that multipack discount for you – just pick the option below that works best for you:

1. Email me (june@planetjune.com) with details of your Baby Sea Turtle Collection order. Once I’ve verified your previous order I’ll email you back with a special discount code for the new pattern, and you can place your order.
2. Place your order for the new pattern at the standard price and include the details of your Baby Sea Turtle Collection order in the message to me (or email me by end of Aug with the details of both your orders). Once I’ve verified your previous order I’ll email you with a PlanetJune Gift Certificate to the value of the discount, which you can use against a future order.

With either option, all I need is enough information to be able to verify your previous order, e.g. your order number or date of order.

Pattern Links

You can find all my sea turtle and turtle beach blanket-related patterns at www.planetjune.com/turtle – browse at your leisure!

As you may have noticed, I’m a bit of a sea turtle fan, and I already have a few ideas for how I’m going to use this appliqué to make or customize turtle-themed things for myself. (More on that later!)

I hope you’ll enjoy this pattern too, and I look forward to seeing what you’ll do with it – don’t forget to tag me @planetjune on all the socials so I can see your projects 🙂

Happy flat turtle-making!

Rainbows are a symbol of hope and unity as well as being full of bright and cheerful colours. I think we could all do with some cheer right now, as well as encouraging hope and unity.

My hope is that my Happy Rainbows pattern will brighten your day while you crochet it, and then go on to brighten the day of everyone who sees it!

Use these cheerful rainbows to brighten anyone’s day with a splash of colour and a message of hope and unity! Tape them to your window, hang them on the wall, or stitch them to a crocheted blanket or cushion as a colourful applique.

As buying yarn may be difficult at this time, I’ve designed this pattern so both rainbow sizes use easily-available worsted weight yarn. The only difference between the large and small rainbows is the hook size and the number of strands of yarn, so grab your brightest yarns from your stash and crochet some cheer!

As I like to reward people who chose to donate for my donationware patterns, the PDF version of this pattern includes a bonus pattern for matching flat-bottomed rainbows (pictured below), and additional progress photos (including left-handed photos).

As always, the pattern is free for you to use, 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.

I hope you enjoy my Happy Rainbows pattern!

Go to the Happy Rainbows pattern >>

Pika pika! No, it’s not a Pokemon, but an adorable real-life animal…

Have you ever heard of a pika before today? Pikas are super-cute and special little creatures – let me tell you a bit about them so you can judge for yourself:

Pika Fun Facts

• It may look a little like a giant hamster, but the pika is the smallest member of the rabbit family (lagomorphs) that also includes rabbits and hares.
• Pikas are about 6-8″ (15-20cm) long, and live in rocky alpine areas in the west of North America and in Central Asia.
• They are nicknamed conies, rock rabbits, boulder bunnies, or whistling hares (for their high-pitched alarm calls).
• Pikas do not hibernate, so they need to stockpile food for the winter. Every summer, each pika collects and dries out a huge haystack made from grasses and plant stems. The haystack is many times larger than the pika, but it transports the whole thing into its den before the winter comes, a mouthful at a time.
• Their name should apparently be pronounced PYE-ka, but I’ve heard it said both ways in wildlife documentaries, and PEE-ka is so much cuter, so I’m going with that pronunciation!

As pikas are related to rabbits, I realised I could design an expansion pack for the Baby Bunnies pattern, so you can turn it into an adorable Pika without having to buy another complete pattern!

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.

Purchase Options

Okay, you have several bundle options here, so I’ll go through them all for you:

1. If you already have Baby Bunnies, you can buy the Pika Expansion Pack for only $3 individually from the shop.
2. If you haven’t yet bought Baby Bunnies, you can buy the multipack of Baby Bunnies & Pika, and save 50c on the pair!
3. Or, you can buy the triple pack of Baby Bunnies 1, Baby Bunnies 2 & Pika, and save $1.50 on the individual prices!

Has that confused you? Don’t worry! Check out all these options, together with their prices, right here 🙂

Launch Discount

Now, if you’ve already bought Baby Bunnies (or Baby Bunnies 1 & 2), you won’t be able to save that 50c (or $1.50). But, for 7 days only, add the Pika Expansion Pack pattern to your shopping cart, together with anything else (totalling $5 or more), then use the code PIKAPIKA at checkout and you’ll still get your discount! (Valid until next Friday: 20th March 2020.)

Note: If you don’t need anything else right now, this also applies to Gift Certificate purchases, so you can pick up a $5 gift certificate now, get your discount, and have $5 in your PlanetJune account ready for your next purchase, or to send to a crocheting friend!

If you’re not ready to make your Pika just yet, don’t forget to heart and queue it on Ravelry so you don’t forget about it:

Pika: 

Baby Bunnies:

Baby Bunnies 2:

What do you think? Don’t you need to add a cute little pika or two to your life?!

Use this stuffed crocheted ring as a base for a crocheted wreath, candle ring, or other round decoration (e.g. a centrepiece). You can make the ring in any size depending on the desired size of your decorative piece, and choose yarn colours to match your decor and the theme of the components you’ll be covering it with.

Yes, this is the base pattern I used to make my Christmas Decor Collection wreath and candle ring!

The basic online version of the pattern is available free for you to view online. As I like to reward people who chose to donate for my donationware patterns, the PDF version of this pattern also includes special bonus content:

• Tips on choosing yarn colours for your wreath base
• The exact recipes and layout diagrams for my Christmas wreath and candle ring, if you’d like to copy mine exactly!

As always though, the basic pattern is free for you to use, 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.

Have fun with this pattern throughout the year – it’s not just for Christmas if you make it in a different colour and adorn it with different crocheted pieces!

Please don’t forget to share photos of the wreaths/centrepieces you make with this pattern, and tag me @planetjune so I’ll get to enjoy them too 🙂

Go to the Crocheted Wreath Base pattern >>

I can’t believe there are only 2 weeks left until Christmas! So now’s the perfect time to crochet up some fast and beautiful realistic ornaments and decorations, or go all out with a fabulous seasonal wreath – and my new collection has you covered, whichever you prefer…

I hope you’re as excited by this as I am?! It’s my new Christmas Decor crochet pattern collection!

This collection includes four new seasonal pattern sets (although I’d advise you to consider picking up the complete collection!) Each Christmas Decor set includes one leafy nature pattern and one decorative pattern. The nature patterns are all realistic life-sized designs, worked in as few pieces as possible to minimise finishing. The coordinating decorative patterns will finish your arrangements with pops of fun and stylish seasonal colour.

You’ll get so much value from these patterns – each one can be used in multiple ways and you’ll be using them in your holiday decor for years to come!

• Use individual components as Christmas tree ornaments, a pin/brooch/accessory, place settings, a personal touch on a wrapped gift, etc.
• The components from each of the 4 pattern sets can be mixed-and-matched to assemble into a garland/swag, wreath, candle ring, etc.

Now, let’s take a look at each of the designs…

Set 1

Holly: You can use this pattern to make a single holly leaf, or a triple leaf cluster (all worked continuously, as a single piece). The finishing touch is the cluster of red berries, which are, again, all worked as a single piece

Candles: This candle design includes two widths so you can make a narrow taper candle or a chunky pillar candle. Both patterns include instructions for adapting the height.

Set 2

Mistletoe: You can use this pattern to make a small four-leaf sprig of mistletoe, or a multi-leaf bunch (all worked continuously, as a single piece). The finishing touch is the cluster of white berries, which are, again, all worked as a single piece.

Mini Baubles: A trio of tiny baubles (small, smaller and smallest!) – make them in any colour to match your decor. You can use these mini baubles individually, or use the included instructions to assemble them in groups as a cluster or hanging ornament.

Set 3

Ivy: You can use this pattern to make a single realistic ivy leaf, or a strand of ivy (all worked continuously, as a single piece). You can hang your ivy strands horizontally or vertically, or lay them out flat. Making two strands in two shades of green and twining them together looks even more realistic.

Bow: A beautifully-shaped realistic ribbon bow. It’s made from only 3 pieces and you’ll love the clever assembly process!

Set 4

Poinsettia: This pattern includes instructions for making a double-layer poinsettia in red or cream, or adding a third layer in dark green (each layer is worked continuously, as a single piece, to minimise assembly).

Bells: A beautifully-shaped bell with an innovative design that’s all worked in one piece – including a tiny crocheted clapper! A pair of bells makes a beautiful ornament.

About the Patterns

• All techniques used include tips, step-by-step photos, and/or links to my online tutorials.
• All the flat pieces include charted stitch diagrams in addition to full written instructions, so you can follow the patterns in the way you find easiest.
• Mix and match the pieces to make your own unique decorations!

If you’d like to make a wreath or candle ring like mine, I’ll also be releasing the pattern and instructions for the crocheted bases for my wreath/ring as a free/donationware pattern next week!

(You can buy a base if you don’t want to crochet one, but if you’d like to, why don’t you get a head start on your wreath/ring by crocheting some of the decor pieces now – you can use my photos as a guide for what to crochet or mix-and-match your own favourite pieces from the Christmas Decor Collection!)

Links & Launch Discount

Ready to get started? You can pick up each set individually from my shop:

• Set 1 (Holly & Candles)
• Set 2 (Mistletoe & Mini Baubles)
• Set 3 (Ivy & Bow)
• Set 4 (Poinsettia & Bells)

But you’ll probably want to take advantage of the special price on the entire collection:

• Christmas Decor Collection (all 8 patterns)

And for this week only, you can take an extra $1 off the collection and get crocheting right away: add the Christmas Decor Collection to your shopping cart, and enter the discount code HOLIDAYS at checkout! (Offer ends Sunday 15 December, 2019.)

I hope you’ll enjoy these seasonal decorations as much as I’ve enjoyed designing them for you! Happy Holidays 🙂