Spoiler alert: in doing this colour changing investigation, I’ve come up with recommendations for how best to manage your yarns when you make multiple-colour amigurumi.

If you’re not interested in my experiments and how I reached my conclusions, you can skip the rest of this post, and jump straight to the Changing Colour: Managing the Yarns tutorial 🙂

I’m often asked how to deal with the other yarn when changing colour in my amigurumi patterns. If there’s a specific technique I recommend for a specific pattern – one that makes the colour changes much neater or faster than any alternative – I give you that information in the pattern itself.

But, in general, I don’t give specific details within a pattern for every colour change, because a) there’s no one ‘right’ way to deal with yarn ends and carrying colours, and b) it’s up to you which method(s) you find to be the best combination of fast, easy, and with a good end result.

In fact, I tend to intuitively use a combination of several options, but how do you know what to use when? Time for another crochet experiment, so we can see the the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, and I can give you a better recommendation…

Note: Not interested in the investigation and just want my recommendations for how to deal with the other yarn when you’re changing colours? Go straight to my page Changing Colour: Managing the Yarns!

Method

I crocheted the same amigurumi-style sample piece 4 times, using the same pattern each time but changing the method for dealing with the other yarn in each sample, as a basis for comparison.

The pattern was a two-colour cylinder worked in a continuous spiral in the round, changing colour every five stitches on one side and every two stitches on the other side, so we can see any differences between short and long blocks of stitches between colour changes.

The techniques I used were:

• 1. Cut-and-tie: Cut the yarn at every colour change and tie each resulting pair of ends together.
• 2. Stranding: Carry a float of yarn behind the work, and pick it back up when you resume crocheting with that colour.
• 3. Tapestry crochet (yarn on top): Lay the unused yarn across the top of the stitches, and crochet around it with every stitch.
• 4. Tapestry crochet (yarn behind): I don’t think there’s a real name for this technique: crocheting around the other yarn with each stitch, but holding it behind the back loop, instead of across the top, of the stitch below. (But does that really make a difference? Let’s find out…)

Results

The overview picture below shows the results of the four different methods.
L-R for each method:

• Wide blocks of colour, right side
• Wide blocks of colour, wrong side
• Narrow blocks of colour, right side
• Narrow blocks of colour, wrong side

(You may be wondering why I’m looking at the wrong sides too, when the inside will never be seen in an amigurumi piece. It’s important for the experiment to see what’s going on behind the scenes as well as comparing the look of the finished outside.)

By comparing each of these samples, I could see the advantages and disadvantages of each method, which will let me figure out which is best to use when, and why…

Cut-and-tie vs Stranding

Stranding is much faster than stopping to cut the yarn and tie knots at every colour change, but the quality of the stranded result depends on the width of the yarn that’s floated on the back of the piece:

For long stretches between colour changes, the floated yarn on the back of the piece can distort the shape of your work (if too tight), or cause the stitch before and after to work loose (if too loose). Cut-and-tie leaves yarn ends, but gives a consistent result.

However, for frequent colour changes of only a stitch or two, cut-and-tie is fiddly and leaves a big mess of ends on the inside of the piece. Stranding works very well for these shorter colour changes, provided you tension the stranded yarn so it sits snugly along the inside of the piece.

Conclusion: Stranding the yarn behind your stitches saves time and yarn vs cutting and tying at each colour change, but it works best when you’re only carrying the yarn for a short length before swapping back.

Tapestry crochet vs Normal crochet (cut or stranded)

There’s a big problem with using tapestry crochet for amigurumi – unless, of course, the pattern was designed to be worked this way! Let’s compare the stitches formed with standard crochet vs those with tapestry crochet:

Working in the round without turning always introduces a bias to your stitches – a stacked colour change will travel by approximately 1 stitch per 5 rounds (above, right). But with tapestry crochet (above, left), that bias is intensified, so a stacked colour changed will travel by approximately 1 stitch per 2 rounds. So, if you use the tapestry technique where it’s not intended (or, use non-tapestry for a pattern designed for tapestry), the colour pattern will become skewed.

The tapestry stitches are also slightly taller than standard stitches, but I’m not sure there’s enough of a difference there to skew the overall shaping significantly on the scale of an amigurumi piece. The colour shifting is a much more obvious problem, and a good enough reason to abandon this method for amigurumi colour changes without further investigation.

Conclusion: Don’t use tapestry crochet (working over the carried yarn with every stitch) for amigurumi with colour changes, unless the pattern specifies it.

Tapestry crochet (yarn on top vs yarn behind)

The modified tapestry crochet technique, where you carry the yarn just behind the back loop of the stitch instead of across the top, does make a difference: looking at the green stitches in the samples below, you can see that the carried (pink) yarn is less visible on the front of the piece, and more visible on the back (where it doesn’t matter for amigurumi).

Conclusion: If you’re going to work over yarn (to carry a yarn, to catch a floated yarn, or to work over a yarn end), for amigurumi it’s better to hold the yarn behind the back loop of your stitch instead of across the top of the stitch.

(This modification doesn’t help with the bias effect, so I still wouldn’t use it for amigurumi colourwork, unless the pattern was designed to be worked in tapestry crochet. But I have incorporated this technique into my recommendations in a specific scenario, as you’ll see…)

Verdict & Recommendations

Putting it all together, we can see which techniques may be most effective when a pattern has frequent/infrequent colour changes that span few/many stitches, and I now have solid reasons for recommending different yarn-wrangling methods in different situations.

You always have a choice of how to deal with the other yarn(s) when you change colour, but I’ll give you my recommendations – together with some case studies so you can see how these methods work in practice for amigurumi – in my tutorial page:

Continue to ‘Changing Colour: Managing the Yarns’ >>

I first started sketching ideas for a bright and colourful tropical fish collection over 2 years ago, and I’m thrilled to finally bring my concept to life. These Tropical Fish may be the most varied and visually interesting group of related patterns I’ve tackled to date!

Although it’s easy to recognise each as a fish, the colours, shapes, patterning, and even the number and shape of the fins vary hugely between species, and I couldn’t stop myself from designing more and more different types…

Meet the Fish

Each of the 8 fish in my Tropical Fish collection is based on a real-life species of tropical reef fish.

Set 1: Ocellaris Clownfish & Yellow Tang

Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris), above left. Instantly recognisable as Nemo from the Disney films, Ocellaris Clownfish form a symbiotic relationship with a sea anemone: the fish cleans and defends the anemone, while the anemone gives the fish a safe place to hide from predators.

Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens), above right. A very popular aquarium fish, the Yellow Tang is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region, but especially in reefs around the Hawaiian Islands.

Set 2: Royal Blue Tang & Amethyst Anthias

Royal Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus), above left. The fish you’ll recognise as Dory also goes by many other names, including Regal Blue Tang, Hippo Tang and Palette Surgeonfish. These fish are almost impossible to breed in captivity, so fish for sale are harvested from the wild, which endangers their wild populations and reef habitats – far better to crochet one instead…

Amethyst Anthias (Pseudanthias pascalus), above right. With over 60 different species, the colourful anthias family hail from the Indo-Pacific region and are found in lots of different colours, so you can make one in yellow, orange, pink, purple or red and it’ll still be realistic!

Set 3: Copperband Butterflyfish & Royal Gramma

Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus), above left. Butterflyfishes’ deep, narrow bodies and long fins give them a flat triangular appearance that’s fun to crochet! The Copperband Butterflyfish is also commonly called the Beaked Coralfish.

Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto), above right. With its distinctive half-purple and half-yellow appearance, the Royal Gramma comes from the Caribbean and is also known as the Fairy Basslet.

Set 4: Pajama Cardinalfish & Flame Angelfish

Pajama Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera), above left. This strikingly-coloured spotted fish is popular in aquariums. The Pajama Cardinalfish hides a special secret to ensure the survival of its young – the male incubates the eggs in his mouth until they hatch!

Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula), above right. A beautifully coloured dwarf angelfish, the Flame Angelfish has a bright red, black-striped body and electric blue patches at the back of its fins.

About the Patterns

• These mini amigurumi offer a variety of shapes and crochet techniques (shaping, colour changes, spots and stripes, assembly and finishing). All techniques include tips, step-by-step photos, and/or links to my online tutorials, so you’ll be able to learn or practise a range of amigurumi styles and techniques with these patterns.
• You’ll love their mini size (they’re all between 4.5 and 5.5″ long), so even the most complex fish won’t take forever to finish, and you can whip out the simpler ones very quickly!
• All the fins (the pieces that aren’t worked in the traditional amigurumi single-crochet-in-the-round technique) include charted stitch diagrams in addition to full written instructions, so you can follow the patterns in the way you find easiest.
• Each of the 4 pattern sets includes 3 pages of helpful instructions and finishing tips that apply to all the Tropical Fish (including a basic illustrated guide to fish anatomy so you’ll learn the right names for the fins!)

Tip: If you’re printing all the patterns, you can save paper and ink by printing those 3 pages (Instructions for All Tropical Fish, p2-4 in each pattern) just once.

Links to Buy & Launch Discount

You can buy each set individually from my shop, but I highly recommend you pick up the multipack of all 8 fish instead! I’ve priced it at less than the cost of buying 3 sets, so that’s a great deal for you, and it’ll save you from having to try to pick your favourites from such a variety of different fish 🙂

Let’s make that deal even better: for one week only, you can buy the complete Tropical Fish collection (Sets 1-4, which includes all 8 fish patterns) for the extra-special low price of $15. To take advantage of this deal, add Tropical Fish Sets 1-4 to your shopping cart, and enter the discount code DORY at checkout! (Offer ends Friday 24 June, 2016.)

Or, if you’re not ready to buy them just yet, please remember to heart and queue them on Ravelry!

Set 1 (Ocellaris Clownfish & Yellow Tang):
Set 2 (Royal Blue Tang & Amethyst Anthias):
Set 3 (Copperband Butterflyfish & Royal Gramma):
Set 4 (Pajama Cardinalfish & Flame Angelfish):

Under The Sea Crochet-Along

And, from today until the end of August, join us in the PlanetJune Ravelry group, where we’ll all be making fish (and their other aquatic friends – I have lots of other AquaAmi designs to choose from too…)

I can’t wait to see all the colourful fish popping up from all over the world! Please join us, and share pics of your fishies 🙂

I hope you enjoy my cheerful new Tropical Fish collection, and you’ll have fun trying out all the different patterns. So now for the big question: which fish will you try first..?

Hello! I’ve just got back from travelling to the other side of the world to realise one of my life’s ambitions of watching sea turtles in the wild (and I’ll share more about that once I’ve sorted through my thousands of vacation photos…)

This blog has also been quiet for a while because I’ve been working on big PlanetJune projects – including a huge new pattern collection – so I’ll have lots to share with you very soon, but first it’s time to celebrate a big milestone: my 10th anniversary as a blogger!

10 years ago today, I started my blog with a small goal:

I hope I’ll be inspired to be more creative by keeping track of my crafts here.

Little did I know that this blog would change my life and my career path, allow me to build a successful business, and help me to meet some of my best friends and inspiring crafters all over the world. PlanetJune (the business, and my career) has all come about as a direct result of starting a little blog as a way to document the things I make, way back in 2006.

10 Years of Crafting

Here’s a sampling of my last decade of making:

During my 10 years of blogging, I’ve made and shared several hundred projects, written over 800 blog posts, and received close to 12,000 comments… It’s amazing how it all adds up!

The Changing Face of Blogging

In the past decade, the blogging landscape has changed dramatically. Social media has made blogging unnecessary or irrelevant for many people, and I’ve seen a lot of my craft-blogging compatriots from the early days either abandon their blogs, shift their focus, and/or delete their old content (which always makes me irrationally sad to see).

For me, the situation is complicated: my blog is now a place where I share information about my business (new patterns and tutorials, details about my books and crochet-alongs, and general PlanetJune news) but it’s still also a record of my personal creative pastimes. That includes both the things I make, and the things that inspire me to make, and sharing some of my wildlife and nature photos has also become an important part of my blogging.

This blog isn’t – and never will be – a cynical tool to try to drive sales. My policy has always been to only post when I have something worth posting about, so I’ve never developed a blogging schedule or strategy, or felt guilty during quiet times. I think that freedom is what makes it easy to keep my blog going, because it never becomes a burden or a chore.

Creativity & Inspiration

When I moved to South Africa five years ago, I started sharing some of my wildlife photos. Amateur wildlife photography has been a big part of my life for many years, but I’d never thought anyone else would want to see my photos until I moved somewhere ‘interesting’. Of course, now I realise that everywhere is interesting, and I take and share wildlife photos wherever I travel – 4 continents so far!

The photography itself is just a hobby for me, but learning more about the natural world is a big part of my creative inspiration for new patterns. I’m so happy that many of the people who enjoy my work also enjoy my wildlife posts – I love being able to share a few of my photos with you, and I hope to find time to put together wildlife posts more regularly in future.

Through Thick and Thin…

I didn’t have a chance to mark my last two blogiversaries (due to my traumatic home invasion experience in 2014 and my knee surgery in 2015). I’ve spent a lot of time in recent years battling ill health and stress. Crafting is a way to regain some sense of control at times when life deals you a hand that’s hard to deal with – all you need to think about is making the next stitch.

Business-wise, it’s been a massive comfort to know that PlanetJune keeps ticking along, whatever happens, and I can keep making ends meet, no matter what I’m going through behind the scenes. But I feel that I’ve reached a turning point with my personal situation now, and things will continue to improve from this point on, so I’ll be able to get back to making things in all sorts of crafts, just for the fun of it – yay!

These days, I may not post here as often as I used to – or as often as I’d like to – but I make fewer, larger projects than in the early days of my blog when I had more time and energy to tinker and experiment with various crafts. The act of making, and my love of wildlife, are more important to me than ever, and my blog will continue to reflect those themes 🙂

Thank You!

I’d like to thank you for visiting my blog and sharing in my enjoyment of making, creativity, and nature, whether this is your first visit or you’ve been travelling with me for the entire 10 years! I have a huge list of ideas for projects waiting to be made – both new crochet patterns, and new fun craft projects to try – and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you as my blog continues into its second decade.

I could never have imagined, 10 years ago, that PlanetJune would change my life so completely, and I’m so grateful to this blog, and to everyone who has ever read my posts or left me a comment, for playing a role in that process.

Now, I wonder what changes the next 10 years will bring…

There’ll always be a special place in my heart for UK wildlife, and Britain in springtime is especially lovely. I’ve just got back from visiting my parents, and I thought I’d share a few British wildlife photos with you – a change of pace from my usual African pics!

Ahh, a glade of bluebells – the quintessential sign of spring in British woodlands:

My all-time favourite British bird, a happy robin:

A wild bunny in a field (straight out of Watership Down):

A cheeky wood pigeon gobbling up pretty cherry blossoms:

And, best of all – my first ever photo of a red squirrel! I just love their gorgeous colouring and tufted ears. (This is a wild squirrel, by the way – it was just eating nuts from a squirrel feeder.)

Whenever I post photos of South African wildlife, I get comments saying “you’re so lucky; there’s no interesting wildlife where I live”. I’d like to dispute that – everywhere I’ve lived (various places in the UK, three cities in Canada, and of course here in Cape Town) I’ve enjoyed photographing my local wildlife. It may not always be as ‘exciting’ as zebras and flamingos, but, as I hope you can see from the above photos, that doesn’t make them any less interesting, or enjoyable to watch out for. Even in cities, there are parks and wilder areas, and venturing out into the local countryside is a great way to look for photo opportunities when you have time (and, as an added bonus, getting out into nature is good for your physical and mental health too).

If you just take the time to look, I bet there are always some birds or animals you could try to spot and/or photograph fairly close to home…

I hope you’ve enjoyed my photos, and that this post will inspire you to keep your eyes open and enjoy the wildlife that lives on your doorstep 🙂

We could all use a little less pressure in our lives, so I’m changing the PlanetJune crochet-along model to give you a bit more choice and flexibility. We’ll still launch a new CAL roughly every month, but I’m extending the runtime of each so there’s plenty of time to make whatever you want, even if a month turnaround time is too fast for you. So, in future, you’ll see 2-3 CALs running simultaneously, and you can join in with as few, or as many, as you want to.

I’ll keep this model going for the rest of the year as a trial run, but so far it seems to be working well, with Turtle Beach still going strong, while the new Hoofing It CAL is just starting…

Hoofing It CAL

I’m really enjoying seeing the first projects posted for my new Horse, Unicorn and Pegasus patterns, for example:

Photo credit: these lovely projects were crocheted by Ravellers CrochetChrisie, Stormwhisper and craftywhizzbang

Don’t the Unicorn and Pegasus look good in all the different mane and tail colours? Oh, and when I launched these patterns last week, there was so much to say that I actually forgot to mention that my Unicorn & Pegasus pattern includes bonus instructions for the rainbow mane and tail option (pictured middle bottom) – so if you want to make a Rainbow Unicorn, I’ve got you covered 🙂

If you’d like to share your project(s) too, please join the crochet-along in the PlanetJune Ravelry group – I love to see what you’re making from my patterns!

Commissions Update

I’ll be relaunching my crochet pattern commissions system later this year, to make it easier, faster, and more fun. With the completion of my new Horse pattern, I’ve finally cleared the queue of commissioned designs, so I’m temporarily closing PlanetJune Commissions to new pledges while I complete the upgrades.

(If you sign up for my new Commissions newsletter, I’ll let you know when the new system is ready to go, and give you a tour of the new features and a sneak peek at the new design options on the list!)

With the relaunch, I’ll be adding new options to the commissions list, and I’d love to know if you have any requests for new animal or plant designs. Are any of your favourites missing from my pattern range, or is there something special you’d love to see me tackle? Let me know in the comments below!

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.

April’s winner is Annette H‘s review of my Primroses pattern:

Everything is very clear described with pictures where necessary. Even the assembling – where most other patterns just say nothing about – is described and very easy to follow. 100% recommendation.

Congratulations, Annette – I’ve emailed you to find out which pattern you’d like as your prize!

What’s Next?

I’ve been planning a very cute and colourful amigurumi collection for a couple years, and I’m finally making it happen. It’s coming together nicely, but I’m putting it on hold for a couple of weeks while I visit my parents in the UK. (So, if you email me, please understand that it may take me a little longer to respond than usual! See my FAQ for the best and fastest ways to get PlanetJune help.)

I’m so driven to make my ideas into reality that I end up working really hard all the time. When it’s just you making it all happen, it’s hard to ever stop thinking about the business and new designs and planning for the future, and that’s a situation I need to improve. Although I truly love what I do, I’m looking forward to getting a little distance from PlanetJune for a short while, and some rest, fresh air, and walks on the beach with my family.

See you when I get back!

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

I’m not even sure where to begin this post, as I have so much I’m excited to show you… I’ll just dive straight in:

Horse crochet pattern

First, the pattern that started it all – my latest commissioned design, for a Horse, is now complete:

My horse has a sweet face, a realistic shape and bay colouring. In addition to detailed assembly instructions, this pattern includes two amazing new techniques to make a really special mane and tail:

• The mane is thick and full, and the strands are attached neatly and firmly.
• The tail hangs beautifully with no knots or visible attachment points.

Both techniques require no additional materials and are explained in full in the pattern, with lots of step-by-step photos so you can make a perfect horse!

Unicorn and Pegasus Expansion Pack

And, of course, having a horse design opens up a whole world of possibilities for other designs, and I couldn’t wait to add a Unicorn and Pegasus Expansion Pack for the Horse. And I’m so thrilled with the result – I hope you agree!

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.

This Expansion Pack lets you convert my Horse into a Unicorn, a Pegasus, and/or an Alicorn (that’s a winged Unicorn – or a horned Pegasus if you prefer!) – so you actually get three options in one Expansion Pack:

I’m especially pleased with the elegant wings – they’re a combination of sturdy and decorative, as they’re stiff enough to stand up by themselves, while still looking delicate with the feathered edge.

Hoofing It CAL

In honour of the new patterns, we’re starting a new crochet-along in the PlanetJune group on Ravelry – you can make any of the new designs, or any other PlanetJune designs with hooves (see the CAL thread for the full list). The CAL runs right through till the end of July, so you have time to make one of each if you want 😉

I hope you’ll join us – I can’t wait to see everyone’s horses, unicorns etc!

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 Horse pattern to be able to make a Unicorn or Pegasus), 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 (Horse, Unicorn & Pegasus) if you buy within the next 7 days, so you can get all three for only $7.50 – that’s only $2.50 per pattern!

So, here are your options:

• Buy the Horse, Unicorn and Pegasus multipack (and use discount code EQUINE by April 27th to save even more)
• Buy the Horse pattern alone
• Buy the Unicorn/Pegasus Expansion Pack (please note, the Expansion Pack only includes the modifications – you’ll also need the Horse 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!

Horse:

Unicorn & Pegasus:

Can you resist these sweet faces? I hope you love these designs as much as I do – please leave me a comment if you do! Which will you be making first?

I always like to experiment and see if there are ways to improve amigurumi techniques to give better results, and today I have a new one to share with you.

Back loop only (BLO) stitches are often used to add detail in amigurumi designs, particularly for turning sharp corners. For example, look at the bottom of a crocheted plant pot (where you turn a sharp corner from the base of the pot to begin the sides) or the bottom of a foot (where you turn from the flat base to the side of the foot).

Stegosaurus and Succulent plants both have a round of BLO around the bottom edge (of their feet and pot, respectively)

But BLO stitches are looser and more open than standard stitches worked in both loops, so the corner round will lose the solid, firm fabric of the rest of your amigurumi. My new modified BLO technique solves this problem!

The holes above the unworked front loops are eliminated with my technique

Now, before we get started, I should explain what this technique is not: this is not a new method for patterns that are worked in BLO throughout. Using it in that way would change the shape of the finished pieces (more about that later).

This technique is best used to replace occasional BLO details in a piece worked in both loops, e.g. the round of BLO stitches used for turning sharp corners in amigurumi patterns. Just as you can replace a “ch 2” start with a magic ring, and an “sc2tog” with an invisible decrease, you can replace that round of BLO with my modified BLO (in any amigurumi pattern) and it’ll give your amigurumi a much nicer result.

What’s wrong with BLO?

The problem with BLO stitches compared with stitches worked in both loops is that they can easily stretch open. When you’re making amigurumi, where the stitches are stretched by the stuffing, this results in taller stitches with larger gaps between each round.

L-R: sc worked in both loops, sc in back loops only

(I discussed this in more detail in my tutorial Front Loops, Back Loops, Both Loops.)

Why Use BLO?

But BLO has several uses as an accent in amigurumi designs, for example:

• to add textural detail with the unworked front loops
• to add anchor points for additional stitches worked back into in the unworked front loops
• to turn sharper corners than you can achieve with regular single crochet stitches

This last one is the main use of BLO in amigurumi, and the situation that you can most improve with my new technique! Although BLO makes a nice corner, it does leave the fabric looser and more floppy around that round, because the stitches can stretch open.

A Better BLO

When you look at a single crochet stitch, you usually work into both the front loop and the back loop at the top of the stitch:

But, if you rotate your work forwards a bit, you can see that there’s another horizontal bar just beneath the back loop, at the back of the stitch (below, left).

To improve the appearance of your BLO, work each stitch into both the back loop and this back bar (below, right).

Are you left-handed? Here’s how it’ll look for you:

You can see the stitch in action in the videos below:

Video Tutorial (right-handed)

Video Tutorial (left-handed)

Note: The videos may look a little small embedded in the blog: if so, you can fullscreen them or click through to YouTube (links: right-handed; left-handed) to watch them full-sized 🙂

Stitch Comparison

So you can see the difference this technique makes, let’s compare the modified BLO stitch with a standard single crochet (worked in both loops) and a standard BLO single crochet.

I’ve crocheted the same sample 3 times, once using each stitch.

#1: single crochet in both loops
#2: modified BLO single crochet
#3: BLO single crochet

As you can see, the modified BLO does not stretch out like a BLO stitch; the stitches are much closer in size to a standard single crochet (although very slightly smaller still, as the stitches are tighter).

Comparing the BLO and modified BLO in close-up:

Left: BLO; right: modified BLO

You can see that the gaps that result from standard BLO stitches are eliminated with this technique, and the stuffing doesn’t show through between the stitches.

So this modified stitch is a much better match for a standard single crochet, as it keeps the tight, solid appearance of a regular amigurumi, and doesn’t leave any unwanted gaps.

Caveats

• Do not use this technique for a piece designed to be worked in back loops only. As you can see, using the modified BLO stitch with a pattern designed to be worked entirely in BLO would give the same problem as working the pattern in both loops – the shape would be compressed vertically.
• I recommend you use this technique only as an accent stitch for pieces crocheted predominantly in both loops. (The only reason I crocheted the above sample piece entirely in modified BLO is to give you a clear way to compare the differences between the size and shape of the stitches.) This stitch is more difficult to work than either standard or BLO single crochet, because the back bar is tighter, so I don’t suggest you ever crochet an entire piece using this technique!

In Practice

I crocheted this little amigurumi-style pot as a sample to demonstrate this technique. The corner formed by the modified BLO round is neat and firm, and it’s actually a little sharper than the corner you get from a standard BLO stitch.

Conclusion

You can safely use the modified BLO to replace a single round of stitches (or any number of individual stitches) worked in back loops only in any amigurumi pattern.

It prevents the gap from forming below each BLO stitch as the fabric stretches, and it maintains the firm solidity of the amigurumi fabric throughout your piece.

While this isn’t an essential technique, it’s another ‘upgrade’ you can use with any pattern (like my invisible increase) to improve the look of your amigurumi.

I know I’ll be using it for all my BLO details in future, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

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…)

Isn’t it frustrating when external factors affect your productivity? There’s an ongoing construction project happening on my street at the moment, and my house is filled with loud machinery noises all day long. I’m finding it hard to get much of anything done – there’s nowhere I can go to escape this noise!

I like to work in silence so I can really concentrate, so this is proving to be a big problem for me. If you have any suggestions for coping with a noisy working environment, please leave them in the comments – thanks 🙂

Turtlemania CAL

The Turtlemania crochet-along is in full swing and I’m really enjoying seeing the large and small turtle blankets that have already been finished, for example:

Photo credit: these lovely projects were crocheted by Ravellers jomeigs and sujavo

I’d love to see more baby turtles popping up in the PlanetJune Ravelry group – please come and share if you’re making the turtles and/or beach blankets too! 🙂

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.

I didn’t do a draw last month, so today I’m drawing the winners for both February and March:

February’s winner is Virginia B‘s review of my AmiDogs Miniature Schnauzer pattern:

I needed a schnauzer pattern to make for a friend of my daughter’s. Found the perfect one on Planet June. Very cute. After I downloaded the instructions, I was very pleased with the clarity of the directions, the pictures included and even detailed assembly directions-quite a reasonable price and very professional. I have been crocheting for years and realized a good design when I saw it. I immediately ordered the cat pattern because it was even cuter and I have cats. Told my son about the website and he ordered June’s book The complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi for me as a gift. It is also excellent and well written. Thank you June for your excellent patterns.

March’s winner is Megan W‘s review of my Baby Guinea Pigs pattern:

I love this pattern! The guinea pigs are perfectly chubby and I have a whole family of them! The pattern is very well-written and helps you place the eyes and the legs in the right spots!

Congratulations, Virginia and Megan – I’ve emailed you both to find out which pattern you’d each like as your prize!

What’s Next?

My Horse design is just about finished and looking good. I’m working on the pattern, and my next challenge will be to figure out the wings for my Unicorn and Pegasus Expansion Pack! All being well, the patterns should be ready in the next few weeks, so look out for them soon 🙂