As I told you in my wet blocking tutorial, children’s play mats make an inexpensive and easy to find alternative to dedicated blocking mats. BUT, I’ve discovered a problem that you need to know about if you use these mats – please read this and learn from my experience! I’ve blocked all kinds of lace […]

When I designed my Fuzzy Bunny & Chick pattern in 2007, I used Bernat Baby Lash yarn for the chick. It was perfect – a curly-lashed eyelash yarn with a thick yarn core in the perfect shade of chick yellow – but, of course, that yarn has long since been discontinued. I stopped designing with […]

Link easily to this tutorial in your patterns: www.planetjune.com/rightside I’ve already written (in my Which is the ‘Right’ Side? tutorial) about how to tell the right side from the wrong side of your work when making amigurumi, and when it really matters which side you have facing outwards, but there’s value in showing it in […]

Link easily to this tutorial in your patterns: www.planetjune.com/invdectips The invisible decrease (invdec) is one of the two absolutely essential techniques for making beautifully neat amigurumi (the other being, of course, the magic ring). But invdec is a little tricky to get the hang of, and there are 2 points during the decrease where you […]

Wet blocking is a process used to finish articles made from yarn. It basically involves soaking your finished piece of knitting or crochet to wet it thoroughly then shaping it to the final dimensions, pinning it into place, and leaving it to dry. When dry, the piece will hold its new dimensions (until you wash […]

Link easily to this tutorial in your patterns: www.planetjune.com/tube I know, you’re probably saying “Huh? What’s a narrow pointed tube?” Well, that’s the best generic term I could think of to describe thin pointy bits on amigurumi, such as spikes, legs, horns and tails. I know that the trickiest parts of my reptile and amphibian […]

Link easily to this tutorial in your patterns: www.planetjune.com/finish 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, […]

Link easily to this tutorial in your patterns: www.planetjune.com/eyes Looking for options for eyes and noses? Or online eye sources? If not, read on: 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 […]