From Angora Goat to Mohair Yarn to Amigurumi Goat…

…this is an an 8-year-long yarn story!

Our story begins in 2009, in Ontario, Canada…

I visited Wellington Fibres, a small farm that raises Angora goats.

(In case you didn’t know, Angora bunnies produce angora fibre, and Angora goats produce mohair fibre – there’s no such thing as a ‘Mohair Goat’!)

I enjoyed seeing all the adorable little newborn kids, and toured the mill that processes the mohair fibre into yarn.

And I left with a skein of unwashed mohair-blend yarn, to make my own amigurumi goat.

Later that year, I washed and dried my yarn…

…and then life happened. I moved halfway around the world, then my commissions list got so backed up that it was years before my Goat design made its way to the top of the list!

Fast forward to 2017 – my Goat commission was happening at last, so it was finally time to use my mohair yarn to make a goat from its own fibre!

I wound my precious yarn, and it looked much too fine, so I doubled it and wound it again. Ooh, it looked so good:

But when I started to crochet, I discovered that the doubled yarn was far too thick – I wanted this goat to be a little kid, not the largest goat in my collection!

I couldn’t think of a clever way to separate the doubled yarn, so I had to unwind it a metre at a time, crochet from one strand, and hand-wind the other strand into a ball.

It was slow going, but it worked, and eventually, I ended up with my little natural-fibre goat:

So now I finally have the goat I dreamed of, 8 years ago and half a world away 🙂

(By the way, if you’d like to make your own, you can find my Farmyard Goats crochet pattern here!)

Epilogue: I’ve since discovered the dreaded clothes moths in my house – disaster! My poor little goat and all my other natural fibre amigurumi are having a little vacation in a ziplock bag in the freezer at the moment, in case they’ve been contaminated – it’d be terrible if this story ended in a moth-eaten goat!

If you’d like to make an amigurumi animal from its own fibre (or from any yarn – they always look great in acrylic too, and at least aren’t at risk of moths that way!) do check out my collection of Natural Fibre Amigurumi Patterns 🙂

I have some huge news to share: I’m going back home to Canada in 6 weeks!

Our South African adventure has given me some amazing experiences and a new viewpoint on the world, but I can’t wait to get back to the welcome safety of my beautiful adopted homeland. Happy Thanksgiving, Canada – I’ll be home soon 🙂

Once Maui, Dave and I arrive back in Waterloo, we’ll be vacationing for a while, and then Dave will be working remotely and I’ll keep PlanetJune ticking over until I have a new office/studio organised and my computer and photographic equipment arrives by sea.

Working out how to manage a massive round-the-world move while keeping PlanetJune running smoothly has been a mammoth task – my business is three times larger than it was the last time I attempted an international move, so I have a lot more to manage! I’ve been doubling up on work all year in preparation for this time, so I’ll still have new patterns ready to release during the months I’m living out of a suitcase and can’t create new designs.

Repatriation is also proving to be a more difficult task than I’d anticipated. For example, I was able to exchange my Ontario driver’s license for a South African one fairly easily, but I now discover that Ontario won’t let me exchange it back again, so I’m going to have to take a new driving test (both theory and road) as soon as I arrive back. Let’s just hope I’m not so jet-lagged that I forget to drive on the right side of the road during the test..!

Everything feels very overwhelming at the moment, and I’m sure I’ll discover plenty more hurdles ahead in the coming months, but I’m full of hope and excitement for 2018 and beyond.

I’ll keep you posted on how things are going – please wish me luck!

This is sweater #10 of my ‘learn to knit by making a dozen self-designed sweaters’ project. (Here are links to #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 #8 and #9, if you’d like to see my progress.)

After the success of my most complex design yet, I thought I’d try something a bit simpler, and test out the quality of my notes from an earlier design that I’ve got a lot of use from: my green ribbed cardigan (#5).

I decided to make a pullover version, with just a couple of modifications: I added a couple of inches more length (the green one was slightly shorter than I’d have liked as I was working with the constraint of only having 4 balls of yarn!), adding a little more ease so the extra length wouldn’t be too tight over my hips, and modifying the positions of the rib stripes so the side seams would continue the stitch pattern flawlessly.

Other than that, and making a pullover with a single front instead of two half-fronts for the cardigan, I followed my previous notes exactly. I used the same yarn in a different shade and assumed my gauge would be the same (it was!) instead of swatching again.

To make the neckband, I again followed the style of my cardigan’s neckband. I overlapped the neckband at the point of the V instead of trying to make a mitred corner in pattern. Although it’s a little bulkier this way, it looks neat, and I stitched down the excess fabric on the inside so it doesn’t get in the way.

It’s good to know I can follow my own notes if I want to remake any of these sweaters, and it was refreshing to work from a pattern (of sorts) and not have to make design decisions and size calculations at every step.

But now I only need 2 more sweaters to complete this project (wow – I’m so close now!) so no more laziness; for the next sweater it’s time to tackle the one big design element I’ve never even tried to date: cables…

It’s here! My final commissioned pattern, Farmyard Goats, is now available to purchase!

Farmyard Goats is a mix-and-match pattern that lets you choose the options you want, to make many different types of goat:

• Ears – floppy, upright, or none?
• Horns – long and curved, shorter, tiny nubs, or none?
• Beard, or no beard?
• Contrast-coloured horns and hooves, or not?

You choose! Make any of my three pictured options in any colour(s), or assemble your own custom goat from all the included options – it’s up to you. 

Meet the Goats

My billy goat has upright ears, long horns, and a beard.

I invented a fun new technique to make the curved horns – it’s almost magical how it works, and yet it’s super-simple to achieve! I think you’ll enjoy it 🙂

To me, this is the definitive goat, but I know that’s not the case for many people, so I decided to include other options in the pattern, so you can make lots of different goats…

My little kid goat has upright ears, short horn nubs, and no beard.

He’s a bit smaller than the other goats because, although I used the same pattern and hook size, I used mohair [goat!] blend yarn that was slightly finer than the worsted weight yarn recommended for the pattern, and 9mm eyes.

My Nubian goat has floppy ears, no horns, and no beard.

But, of course, you can make a Nubian with any length horns and/or a beard, just by mixing and matching the pattern elements – this is a very versatile pattern 🙂

Ready to Crochet?

If you were one of the commissioners of this pattern, or had early access through the crochet-along, I hope you’ve been enjoying the pattern over the past few weeks!

If you’ve been waiting for the goat pattern, you can pick it up from my shop right now – and then join our Farmyard CAL in the PlanetJune Ravelry group 🙂

Or, if you’re not ready to buy just yet, please add my Farmyard Goats to your queue or favourites on Ravelry, so you don’t forget about it:

I hope you’ll enjoy my Farmyard Goats pattern! Which type of goat is your favourite?

Stitching the various pieces of an amigurumi together is arguably one of the least enjoyable parts of amigurumi-making. I have a wealth of knowledge gleaned from making hundreds of amigurumi, and I’d like to share those tips with you, to make your amigurumi assembly less frustrating!

Today I’m going to share my tips on how to best attach the legs evenly on a standing 4-legged amigurumi animal, so the joins look neat and the animal can stand straight with all four feet touching the ground.

For more tips to make your amigurumi look even better, check out the new Perfect Finish category on my crochet tutorials page!

1. If They Touch, Pre-Join the Legs

Depending on how wide the legs are and how wide the body is, the legs may meet in the middle. Check your pattern’s cover photos to see if this applies, or test it out by positioning a pair of legs at the correct position beneath the body and seeing if the legs need to touch each other at the top to fit underneath the body.

Tip: If you place the legs too far apart, the feet will tend to splay outwards and the legs won’t support the body. That’s a look you’d probably like to avoid!

If Legs Don’t Meet:

If there’s a space between the tops of the legs (as with the animals pictured above), skip down to Step 2, below.

If Legs Do Meet:

If you determine that the pair of legs will meet in the middle (as with the animals pictured above), you can stitch them together first, before attaching them to the body. This helps to attach them evenly and makes it easier to stitch the inner edge of the second leg to the body.

To do this, simply hold the pair of legs together, and stitch the tops together where they touch. (The number of stitches to attach will depend on the diameter of the legs.)

Repeat the check for the second pair of legs (remember, the body and leg shaping may mean that one pair of legs meet while the other doesn’t). If they do touch, stitch the pair of legs together as described above.

2. Attaching the First Pair of Legs

I prefer to stitch the front legs to the body first, as it’s easier to position them in relation to the head, to make sure the legs are centred beneath the body.

First, stitch just the middle of the joined pair of legs (or just the inner edge of each separate leg) to the underside of the body (below, left), making sure they are lined up with the head (or other means of recognising the top/bottom of the body).

Stop and check: is the middle of the pair of legs exactly at the bottom of the body (below, right)? If not, pull out your stitches, adjust the leg positions, and try again. Once they are centred, you’ll know that the pair of legs will be joined to the body symmetrically, without having had to pull out many stitches!

Next, move to each leg in turn and begin to stitch around the remainder of the open edge, using the Seamless Join technique (below, left). To create the smoothest join, when you reach the outer edge of the leg, try positioning your stitches onto the body slightly further out than usual, so the leg is stretched slightly as you pull each stitch tight.

When you’ve finished, the pair of legs should sit directly beneath the body (below, right).

3. Attaching the Second Pair of Legs

Move to the second pair of legs. Turn the animal upside down, and position the pair of back legs so their midpoint is in line with the midpoint of the front legs:

Again, stitch just the middle of the joined pair of legs (or just the inner edge of each separate leg, to the body, then pause and test the amigurumi to make sure the second pair is straight in relation to the first.

To do this, stand the amigurumi up on a flat surface and make sure both pairs of legs can sit squarely at the same time:

If the back legs are skewed slightly to one side or the other, only one back foot will be able to touch the ground. If this has happened, pull out your stitches, adjust the leg positions, and try again. Checking this now has just saved you from potentially having to undo all the stitches later!

As before, move to each leg in turn and begin to stitch around the remainder of the open edge, using the Seamless Join technique. To create the smoothest join, when you reach the outer edge of the leg, try positioning your stitches onto the body slightly further out than usual, so the leg is stretched slightly as you pull each stitch tight.

Congratulations! Now your amigurumi should have nice looking leg joins, and be able to stand stably on a flat surface, with the legs neatly beneath the body and all four feet making contact with the ground:

Give it a try on your next four-legged amigurumi and see if my technique makes the task a little less daunting for you! Let me know how it goes…

If you’re looking for my Farmyard Goats pattern, it’ll be going on general release in a couple of weeks. But if you join the Farmyard CAL in the PlanetJune Ravelry group, you can have exclusive early access to the pattern! See the Farmyard CAL thread in the group for full details 🙂

UPDATE: The Farmyard Goats crochet pattern is now available to purchase 🙂

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…)

Today I have a colourful new addition to add to my AquaAmi crochet pattern range: the Starfish Collection! These puffy starfish are a fast and easy no-sew pattern and look equally good as toys or home decor.

Starfish Collection is a mix-and-match no-sew pattern that includes 4 sizes of sea stars, ranging from 3 to 7 inches (7.5 to 18cm) across:

L-R: Tiny, Small, Medium and Large Starfish

You can make each size in any of three colour patterns (plain, striped top, and pale underside):

Clockwise from top left: striped top, pale underside, plain underside, plain top

The pattern also includes options (for any size and style) for making a flat appliqué starfish, and amigurumi-style starfish with a cute happy face:

Left: flat starfish appliqué; right: happy amigurumi starfish

About the Designs

These Starfish are fun to crochet – with no sewing needed (yay!), and the same basic technique for all the different sizes and options, once you’ve made one, you’ll find them very fast to work up.

Choose size, pattern, colour(s), flat or 3D, and whether it has a face – you can mix-and-match endlessly to make new combinations. Choose whites and pale neutrals to decorate your home with an elegant seaside vibe, or make colourful smiley toys (as they are made in one piece, they’re perfect baby-safe toys too, with embroidered or no features).

And that’s not all! Why not make a starfish Amigurumi Wall Hanging, or add a couple to a Turtle Beach blanket..?

Starfish on a Turtle Beach square

About the Pattern

Starfish Collection is a detailed pattern including written patterns, step-by-step photo tutorials, and right- and left-handed stitch diagrams for each size of starfish.

This is a modular pattern, so you can save paper and ink by reading all the background tutorial information on-screen and just printing the pages you need for the written instructions (p6-8) and stitch diagrams (right-handed p10-12; left-handed p14-16).

Buy Now & Launch Discount

Ready to start crocheting? You can pick up the entire Starfish Collection from my shop right now for only $5.50!

If you’re not ready to buy just yet (or even if you are!), please remember to heart and queue it on Ravelry:

But let’s make that deal even better: for one week only, I’ll give you an extra 10% off the price! To take advantage of this deal, add the Starfish Collection to your shopping cart, and enter the discount code SEASTAR at checkout! (Offer ends Wednesday 30 August, 2017.)

I hope you’ll enjoy my new mix-and-match pattern – I can’t wait to see which size, colours and options you choose for your first starfish. (And if you don’t feel like mixing it up, please feel free to copy my sea stars exactly – that can be just as much fun!)

Amigurumi is a special subset of crochet that requires its own skills. Even the most experienced crocheters can be startled when they pick up their first amigurumi pattern and discover it’s full of new terms and techniques!

In this post, I’ll cover all the essentials you’ll need to be able to tackle an amigurumi pattern with confidence and end up with great-looking crocheted stuffed toys.

Note: All the posts linked below include both right- and left-handed video tutorials!

1. Magic Ring

The magic ring gives the perfect start to any piece of amigurumi: you can start crocheting in the round without any trace of a hole in the middle.

L: magic ring; R: standard ‘chain 2’ start

2. Invisible Decrease

Decreasing without leaving any bumps or gaps sounds too good to be true, but the invisible decrease (abbreviated invdec) really does live up to its name!

3. Changing Colour

Changing colour correctly lets you make clean colour changes without dots of the wrong colour peeking through.

Note: To manage your colour changes perfectly, you’ll also need to deal with the yarn you’re not currently using. My Managing the Yarns tutorial explains how!

4. Seamless Join

My Seamless Join technique creates a smooth, almost invisible join whenever you’re stitching an open-ended piece to a closed piece.

5. Ultimate Finish

The Ultimate Finish is the equivalent of another magic ring at the end of your piece! Close up the remaining hole with a smooth, gap-free finish.

Practice Makes Perfect!

Master these 5 techniques and you’ll be all set to conquer any amigurumi pattern and get a beautiful result!

Why not pick a favourite from my extensive nature-inspired PlanetJune pattern range and practice your skills?

Further reading:

• If your amigurumi aren’t turning out as expected, try my Amigurumi Troubleshooter to discover the most likely reasons.
• For more amigurumi technique tutorials, see my main Amigurumi Help index.
• Read all about my amigurumi reference book: The Essential Guide to Amigurumi.

Love my tutorials? 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.

Twist-Trim Baby Blanket is the latest addition to my PlanetJune Accessories pattern range.

An easy-to-memorise 2-row repeating pattern with a subtle texture and no large holes make this blanket fast to work up as a baby blanket (or use the provided tips to enlarge it to any size). Choose two contrasting colours to crochet the eye-catching twisted edging (or omit the final row of the border for a faster finish).

Twist-Trim Baby Blanket will become your go-to pattern for baby shower gifts. It’s so easy to personalise by choosing different pairs of colours for the edging:

And of course you don’t only have to make a baby blanket with this pattern – it includes instructions so you can easily make an afghan of any size.

Here’s an update photo: Baby T – no longer a newborn! – can confirm that his blanket still looks as good as new after a few months of use and many washes 🙂

Smiley baby not included with this pattern!

About the Pattern

This detailed pattern includes full written instructions, clear charted stitch diagrams, a two-page step-by-step appendix for the special twisted edging (included separately both for right- and left-handers), and bonus instructions for fixing the edging if you made a mistake anywhere earlier, so the edging colours will always match up seamlessly.

To save on paper and ink, you can print just the written pattern (2 pages) and/or the charts (2 pages) and view the photos, tutorials and other supporting content on-screen.

About PlanetJune Accessories

Twist-Trim Baby Blanket is the latest addition to my PlanetJune Accessories pattern range, which helps you to crochet elegant and useful accessories for yourself (scarves, shawls, hats, etc) and for your home (blankets, rugs, containers, etc).

Don’t be afraid to try something new in crochet – PlanetJune Accessories patterns include detailed instructions for all the techniques you’ll need in order to complete them!

Links & Launch Discount

If you’re ready to try crocheting your own Twist-Trim Baby Blanket, you can buy it 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 baby blanket pattern by using discount code SNUGGLY at checkout. (Valid until Sunday 23rd July 2017.)

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

I hope you’ll enjoy making this afghan for all the little ones in your life – and maybe sizing it up to make a lovely throw for yourself too?!