I have lots of safari photos to share with you today, from our trip back in July. Of all my experiences in South Africa, this is the one I’d been most looking forward to; Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa and is as large as some European countries! In our short visit, we saw only a tiny fraction of the park and still it was more amazing than anything I could have imagined – we saw dozens of different animals and birds, including all of the Big Five and lots more.

Kruger is about 1800km (1100 miles) as the crow flies from Cape Town – South Africa is a big country!

I’ve taken quite a few of these selfies this year, with me looking dishevelled and slightly delirious at having such a wondrous wildlife experience:

Can you see the reason for my delight, over my shoulder? (Keep reading and you can share my excitement – I have close-up photos and even a little video to share with you…)

So now let’s move onto my proper photos; I’ve spent months trying to choose from over 3000 so I could show you a reasonable number! These galleries have left out a lot, but I hope they give you a taste of the real wild Africa. I’ve split the galleries so you can click into the groups you’re interested in, to see the full-size photos, and skip any you aren’t…

Today I’d like to show you a technique that’ll bring your amigurumi to life when you don’t use shiny plastic eyes. This is particularly useful when you’re making baby-safe or pet toys, where plastic eyes may be a choking hazard.

The Power of the Catchlight

A catchlight is the highlight or glint of a light source reflected in an eye. Compare these kestrel photos I took a few months ago, and you’ll see how appealing a glint in the eye can be:

Where the eye has the magic glint, it brings a spark of life to the photo that makes it irresistible.

The same bird, only a couple of seconds later, but the angle is slightly different, and I didn’t catch a glint in the eye. Although the kestrel is still lovely, do you see how this photo looks dull and lifeless compared with the first?

Now, this principle doesn’t just apply to wildlife photography – the same concept applies in amigurumi! Two-part plastic animal (‘safety’) eyes are the ideal eyes for most amigurumi, because the shiny plastic replicates the shine of real animals’ eyes, giving a glint in the eye which helps to bring your amigurumi to life.

But plastic eyes aren’t always the best solution, especially if you’re making toys for very young children or pets, where plastic eyes may be a choking hazard and should be avoided. Non-plastic eyes can look dull and make your amigurumi feel lifeless, but there’s a simple way to add that spark of life back again.

Adding a Catchlight

If you crochet eyes for your amigurumi or make them from felt or embroidery, I highly recommend that you add a small white dot with white embroidery floss in the upper right quadrant of each eye, to simulate the glint. It makes the eye look more realistic and gives your toy that spark of life. All you need is a tapestry needle and a short length of white embroidery floss per eye.

Compare these two gingerbread men. Even before they have any features added beyond the eyes, there’s a huge difference in appeal:

Without a glint, the eyes have a dull vacant stare. With the glint, they have a sparkle of personality!

How to Add the Glint:

• If you’re embroidering the eye directly onto your piece, you can stitch the catchlight on top of your other stitches.
• If you’re attaching a felt or crocheted circle for the eye, you may find it easier to embroider the catchlight before attaching the eye, as you can then hide the thread ends beneath the eye. (If you plan to glue the eye in place, it’s essential to embroider the catchlight before you apply the glue, as it’s very difficult to embroider onto fabric that’s been hardened with glue!)
• You can also add a catchlight with a dot of white fabric paint, but please do practice on a spare crocheted eye before adding paint directly to your amigurumi, to make sure you’re happy with the result.

Glint Size and Shape
The size and shape of the catchlights aren’t critical. A single stitch can be enough, or, if you prefer a more rounded/square shape, you can make a larger catchlight by making two or three stitches right next to each other. Whatever you decide, try to keep the glint the same size and shape on each eye.

Glint Position
You don’t have to use the upper right corner of the eye, but it’s very important that you add the glint in the same position on each eye – this is one situation where symmetry is definitely wrong! The idea of the catchlight is to suggest that the amigurumi is being lit from one side, and the side with the lamp/sun is the side that reflects that light as a glint. Light typically comes from above, so add the glint above the middle of the eye, but you can choose between the upper right or upper left side for both eyes.

Get Glinting!

This simple technique makes such a difference to any eyes made from fabric, yarn or embroidery floss. I hope you’ll use it every time you make crocheted, felt or embroidered eyes in future, to add an extra spark of life to your amigurumi!

Note: The samples used for this demo are made from my Gingerbread Family crochet patterns.

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…)

Now it’s November, I’m so excited to finally be able to launch my new Christmas patterns that I’ve been developing for the past few months: a perfectly-shaped Gingerbread Man and Girl!

Chunky and flat, just like the edible version, my Gingerbread Family are crocheted amigurumi-style (in a continuous spiral) and are almost seamless, so you have minimal sewing to complete them. I can crochet and assemble a complete Gingerbread Man (minus the face and any other embellishments) in less time than it takes to watch a TV episode, so under 45 minutes – how’s that for speedy?!

I’m imagining an army of amigurumi gingerbread for sale at Christmas craft fairs etc, and easy seasonal gifts for everyone who appreciates a little handmade whimsy. And because they’re flat but double-layered, they make great toys – they’re sturdy to play with and even somewhat poseable!

Gingerbread Man crochet pattern

Gingerbread Man stands 6″ (15cm) tall when crocheted in worsted weight yarn. Add a loop to his head to hang him on the Christmas tree, or stand him up on your desk or the mantelpiece – as he’s flat and stiff, he’ll balance very well if he’s leaning against a wall.

All the embellishment options pictured above are included in the pattern, but Gingerbread Man is the perfect blank canvas for you to decorate however you want – just like the edible kind!

You can create all sorts of expressions and accessories, personalise them to match your family members, and match the embellishment colours to your seasonal decor. Or keep the decorations as simple and fast as you want – it’s completely up to you…

Gingerbread Girl Expansion Pack

The Gingerbread Girl Expansion Pack gives you all the modifications you need to make to the Gingerbread Man pattern to make a gingerbread lady.

Gingerbread Girl is also worked in just 4 pieces, so she’s as fast to finish as a Gingerbread Man. Her skirt is built right into her gingerbread body, and you can either keep her embellishments simple, or add fun little girly details like necklaces, hair bows and a trim on her skirt.

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.

Choose Your Own Embellishments!

I’ve crocheted all the eyes and embellishments for my gingerbread people – and the patterns include all the details with lots of photos if you’d like to copy mine exactly – but you can also create features using your favourite crafty methods: embroider directly onto the gingerbread with yarn (for chunky details) or embroidery floss (for finer details), cut felt to shape and sew or glue it into place, sew on buttons or beads, use fabric paint, make polymer clay embellishments, and more…

Links to Buy & Launch Discount

As with all my Expansion Packs, you can buy the patterns separately (although please note that you do need the base Gingerbread Man pattern to be able to make a Gingerbread Girl), or there’s a discount when you buy both together.

For this first week of November 2016 only, you can save even more when you buy the Gingerbread Family combo pack for only $6.50 – let’s call that ridiculously low price my Christmas present to you! To get this deal, add the Gingerbread Family to your shopping cart and use code GINGY at checkout.

So, here are your options:

• Buy the value-priced Gingerbread Family multipack (and use discount code GINGY by November 7th 2016 to save even more)
• Buy the classic Gingerbread Man pattern alone
• Buy the Gingerbread Girl Expansion Pack alone (please note, the Expansion Pack only includes the modifications – you’ll also need the Gingerbread Man pattern to be able to make them!)

Or, if you’re not ready to buy yet, click through to Ravelry and favourite/queue them so you won’t forget about them!

Gingerbread Man on Ravelry:
Gingerbread Girl on Ravelry:

Please share pics of your amigurumi gingerbread people on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (and tag me @PlanetJune so I’ll see them!) and in the PlanetJune Christmas crochet-along in our Ravelry group.

I can’t wait to see how you choose to decorate your crocheted Gingerbread Family!

Today I have a new PlanetJune Accessories donationware pattern for you: the Leaning Ladders Scarf.

This beginner-friendly scarf is made of only basic stitches, so it’s fast and fun to crochet. The eye-catching diagonal eyelet stripes look great in any yarn, and the simple background highlights the colours in a variegated or self-striping yarn beautifully. Choose your recipient’s favourite colour and you have a perfect gift for anyone in your life – women, men, or children! 

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 a full stitch diagram!

As always with my donationware, the Leaning Ladders 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. PDF-only bonuses:

• The PDF also includes the full written pattern for an any-size piece using this stitch pattern, so you can crochet anything from a skinny scarf up to a large rectangular shawl or blanket. 
• The PDF is neatly formatted with one section per page (standard written pattern; stitch diagram with key; any-size pattern) so you can print just the page(s) you need.

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?

Go to Leaning Ladders Scarf pattern >>

More PlanetJune Accessories

I’ve just realised that Leaning Ladders is the 25th design in my PlanetJune Accessories range – wow!

If you like my accessory designs, you can also choose from lots more donationware patterns:

Or save when you buy a Custom Set of any 3 regular patterns:

You can also find all these patterns individually in the PlanetJune Accessories section of my shop.

Trendgarne kindly sent me some of their ONline Linie 346 Arona yarn, and I decided to try it out with my free Chunky Moebius Cowl pattern. Isn’t it lovely?

Arona is a 100% cotton ribbon yarn that comes in a 100g ball, which provides a generous 230m of (roughly) worsted weight yarn.

As you can see, it comes in a beautiful range of variegated shades with slowly-changing colours. I really love all these colourways – aren’t they gorgeous?

This yarn has an unusual flat ribbon construction, and there’s no recommended crochet hook size given on the ball band, but the recommended knitting needle size is 5-5.5mm. (A good rule of thumb in these cases is to go up a couple of hook sizes from the recommended needle size, as crochet tends to need a larger size so the piece drapes nicely and isn’t too stiff.)

I swatched with a few different hooks and decided I like the fabric I got with a K (6.5mm) hook. As this yarn is finer than my pattern calls for, I started with a 76 stitch foundation to make a 22″ circumference cowl.

The moebius construction means that the cowl is worked outwards from the middle, and I enjoyed watching the colours change as my cowl grew, from the blue-purple foundation, through light purple and then on to pink and beyond…

The yarn is easy to work with and the stitch definition is amazing. Even a simple stitch pattern like this stands out clearly and looks so good with the colour-changing yarn.

I worked 10 rows of my pattern until my cowl was 5″ tall. It was finished in no time, and took less than half a ball of yarn (making it a real bargain!)

The finished cowl is smooth and cool in the cotton yarn. It feels lovely against my skin and would be perfect for the first chill of breezy autumn days.

As you can see from my selfie at the top of the page, my new worsted weight yarn cowl looks just as good as the chunkier versions, and it sits beautifully against my neck under a light jacket without excess bulk while still keeping my neck warm (useful now I have such short hair…)

If you’d like to make a Chunky Moebius Cowl too, my pattern is free here – it’s a fast and fun stashbusting pattern, and a great choice if you’re making a start on your Christmas gifts!

As this is a donationware pattern, if you donate a dollar or more you can get the PDF version, which includes bonus content, including a fully illustrated explanation of how the Moebius construction works, standard measurements for man, woman, and child, and additional step by step photos.

I’m looking forward to coming up with the perfect pattern to use my other balls of the Arona yarn! I really enjoyed its smoothness, stitch definition, and, of course, the wonderful colourways. If you’d like to try this yarn too, here’s the Arona Ravelry listing (it includes some links to online stockists, in case you can’t find it locally).

Autumn is my favourite season, and, even though it’s spring here in the southern hemisphere, I still think wistfully of beautiful fall colours and the first chill in the air whenever October rolls around. So I decided to spend some time putting together a little PlanetJune Fall photoshoot that perfectly captures the essence of autumn for me:

Amigurumi Acorn, Apples, Pears, Pumpkin (all donationware patterns!); Pine Cone and Mushroom Collections – find all the patterns here

If you’re feeling the joy of autumn too, please join us in the PlanetJune Ravelry group and share what you’re making from my seasonal patterns.

Review and Win contest

You’re automatically entered in the next monthly draw every time you write a review for a PlanetJune pattern you’ve enjoyed – and you’ll also be helping future customers make an informed decision about patterns they are considering buying.

To highlight how easy it is now to review your PlanetJune patterns from the new My Patterns page in your PlanetJune account (see screenshot, above), I tripled the review prizes in September, and there were an unprecedented 86 new reviews written as a result – wow! Thank you to everyone who wrote a review last month; I’m sure all your reviews will be really helpful to other crochet fans. And here are the 3 contest winners:

Jackie M‘s review of my Horse pattern:

I have been looking for a good (small) horse pattern for forever, and this is it!!! Very clear and detailed, and the instructions for the mane and tail are SO unique and easy to implement!

Guinevere M‘s review of my African Violets pattern:

June’s patterns are by far the best I have ever seen for plants, and this pattern is no exception. This is your opportunity to create beautiful African Violets that never have to be watered, and that won’t be turned into salad by your overly adventurous feline. The pattern is clearly written providing different options to allows you to customize your very own pot of African Violets. It also includes lots of photographs and tips to assist you, and the end results are beautiful.

Nuria A‘s review of my Rippled Lace Rectangular Shawl pattern:

This was my first try on such a large crochet project, and on using lace yarn! The pattern is really well written and explained, just as I was able to do foundation single crochet for the first time and with no problem just by reading the instructions. Crochetting this shawl is easy, so you soon can do it without reading the pattern (I used to do it while watching TV). Since the color of the yarn goes changing each two turns, it encourages you to go on a little bit more, and the shawl is complete quite fast.

In conclusion, a really good pattern if you want to crochet a nice shawl and you don’t have so much time to spend on it.

Congratulations, Jackie, Guinevere and Nuria – I’ve emailed you all to find out which pattern you’d each like as your prize!

What’s next?

Continuing my half-a-world-away celebration of Fall, I’ll have a new donationware pattern for you very soon, and then I’ll be turning my attention towards Christmas..!

I have two new Fall-themed patterns to launch today: my new Mushroom Collection, and an Expansion Pack so you can crochet even more types of mushrooms!

Mushroom Collection crochet pattern

The Mushroom Collection includes 6 different realistic mushroom designs (3 domed and 3 flat, each in small, medium and large sizes). All the mushrooms in this collection are perfectly shaped, with gills hidden under the caps and a crisp colour change between cap and gills. They all use the same techniques, so once you’ve learnt them with your first mushroom, you’ll be able to whip up more in no time!

Choose the shapes and sizes you prefer, or create a mixed arrangement in a variety of shades of white and brown. Pile them in a bowl, arrange them on a window ledge, or add them to a seasonal centrepiece or wreath.

I’ve shown my mushrooms with either a dark cap and pale base, or a neutral cap and stem with dark gills, but you could also make a single-coloured mushroom, or one with different colours for the cap, gills and stem, giving 4 different colour options for each style of mushroom.

The mushrooms don’t use much yarn (15-35m each, depending on size/style) and look good in all sorts of colours, so they make great stashbusters! And you can stick with my neutral shades or get more whimsical with brightly-coloured caps – it’s completely up to you.

Mushroom Variations Expansion Pack

This Expansion Pack includes all the modifications required to crochet each of the mushrooms in the Mushroom Collection with any/all of these variations:

1. Red and White (top left): This colour scheme makes beautiful decorative mushrooms (perfect for Christmas!)
2. Short Stem (top right): Especially good for play food – these mushrooms look good enough to eat.
3. No-Sew (bottom left): A speedy crocheted alternative to the standard needle-stitched finish.
4. No Gills (bottom right): A quick and easy option – great if you want to whip up a large batch of mushrooms in a hurry.

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.

You can pick and choose to apply any or all of the modifications to any of the six mushroom sizes and styles from the Mushroom Collection, making 96 distinct mushroom possibilities (or 384 if you include the different colour options!)

All the variations (apart from the Red and White) make the mushrooms faster to crochet/assemble.

The spots on the Red and White mushroom obviously take a little more time (especially for the large one!), but the result is so cute, and they’d make gorgeous Christmas decorations as well as Fall decor, so you can repurpose them and keep them on display for months 😉

Fall CAL

We’d love to see the mushrooms you’re making in the PlanetJune group on Ravelry – you can make mushrooms galore (or any other fall-themed PlanetJune designs) as part of the current crochet-along. The CAL runs through till the end of November, so there’s time to crochet a whole variety of different mushrooms…

I hope you’ll join us – I can’t wait to see all the combinations that sprout up!

Links to Buy & Launch Discount

As with all my Expansion Packs, you can buy the patterns separately (although please note that you do need the base Mushroom Collection pattern to be able to make any of the Mushroom Variations), or there’s a discount when you buy both together.

But to sweeten this deal even more and give you an incentive to join the CAL right away, I’m offering an additional discount on the Multipack Set (Mushroom Collection & Variations) if you buy within the next 7 days, so you can get endless mushroom options for only $7.00!

So, here are your options:

• Buy the Mushroom Collection & Variations multipack (and use discount code FALL by September 27th to save even more)
• Buy the Mushroom Collection pattern alone
• Buy the Mushroom Variations Expansion Pack (please note, the Expansion Pack only includes the modifications – you’ll also need the Mushroom Collection pattern to be able to make them!)

Or, if you’re not ready to buy yet, click through to Ravelry and favourite/queue them so you won’t forget about them!

I didn’t think I’d ever be tempted to call mushrooms gorgeous, but these designs look so decorative, I think I might change my mind on that front: they’re both realistic and stylised, and the more you make, the better they look together…

What do you think? I hope you’ll have as much fun choosing colours and crocheting mushrooms as I did while designing them 🙂

I’ve just finished upgrading the PlanetJune shop with some helpful new features that I think you’ll enjoy, as well as a host of small functional and cosmetic updates to make the shop easier to use and bring the graphics in line with the rest of the site.

I’m really excited about the new features I’ve built, so let’s have a look at them now…

Save for Later

This first feature will be useful for everyone – I’ve added a ‘save for later’ option in the shopping cart. I’m sure you’ll already be familiar with this functionality from your Amazon account – the saved items appear below the items already in your cart, so you can check out without having to delete the items you aren’t ready to buy today. You can move items between the cart and the Saved for Later section with just one click/tap.

This feature replaces my old wishlist functionality, which was always slightly buggy – when you added an item with options to the wishlist, it sometimes neglected to save the options. To smooth the transition for you, I’ve imported all your items from your wishlist to your Saved for Later section of your shopping cart.

A couple of things to be aware of, regarding this transition:

• I couldn’t import any items that the wishlist hadn’t stored correctly. So if you’d added a custom set (AmiDogs, Fuzzy Friends, or Accessories), it’s probably not in your Saved for Later because your custom choices hadn’t been saved. (This won’t be a problem in future – yay!)
• I started exporting the wishlist items at the end of July. I’ve also added all new wishlist items added since then, but, if you deleted anything from your wishlist after July 27th, it’ll still be in your Saved for Later section.
• Saved for Later can’t tell if you’ve already bought an item, so there may be patterns there that you already own. (But my other new features will help you with that!)

The other new features are both available from My Account:

My Patterns

Go to My Account and choose My Patterns to see an alphabetical list of all the PlanetJune patterns you own. Whether you bought them individually, or in a multipack, you’ll see the individual PDF names, so it’s easy to see what you’ve bought, and click through to download the PDF from your order whenever you need to. (This is especially useful if you bought several custom sets – the old system didn’t show you which patterns you’d chosen for each until you clicked into the order!)

From this page, you can also see which of your patterns you’ve already reviewed, and click straight through to write a review for any of the others. (Useful if you’d like to get some more entries in my monthly Review & Win contest, but can’t remember what you’ve already reviewed!)

This page is available in 2 versions: Full and Lite. The Full version is easy to browse because it includes a little photo of each pattern, but if you’ve bought a lot of patterns, all those thumbnails may take a while to load. So, I’ve also given you the option of the Lite text-only version, which loads in no time.

And now onto the last new feature:

Patterns I Don’t Own

I love this new feature! It’ll be especially useful to those of you who’ve bought lots of my patterns – with so many in my catalogue now, it can be hard to keep track of which you’ve bought, especially as you may have bought something in several different ways: individually; as part of a multipack; or as an optional add-on. The last thing I’d want to do is to make you accidentally buy the same pattern twice, so this list will take care of that.

If you’re looking for a new PlanetJune pattern to buy, head straight to the Patterns I Don’t Own list (in My Account) and you’ll see an alphabetical list of all the patterns that aren’t in your My Patterns list. Click any pattern name to go to its listing in the shop, so you can add it to your cart (or to your Saved for Later).

Again, this list is available in Full and Lite versions, so you can stick to text-only if you’re on a slow internet connection or just want to check for a specific pattern, or enjoy browsing the photos in the Full version if you have a minute to wait for all the thumbnails to load!

These updates are the result of a month of development and hand-coding. Although I’ve tested everything extensively, there’s always a chance that something on the live site may give an unexpected result. If you have any problems using the shop or your PlanetJune account, or see anything that looks remotely strange, please email me to let me know, so I can fix it!

I hope you’ll find the new features helpful, and, while you may not notice all the other little changes and improvements, they should all combine to make the shop, and your PlanetJune account, easier to use from now on.