niedziela, 18 lutego 2018

Miniature Pug Pattern

Hi again! 
I've been crocheting a lot in the recent weeks, and even wrote down some patterns. One of the patterns I wrote down was a pattern for miniature pug toy (perfect for a keychain!), which was a huge success - people in crochet groups asked if I can share the pattern and I've decided to do it.

It's very easy to make and it can be made with yarn scraps, as it uses just a small bit of it, as well as of filling. If you don't have safety eyes, you can use felt or embroider them. This makes a nice, quick project - if you crochet fast, like me, you can finish the pug in 30 minutes :)
The only things you need are yarn in the dog's coat colors (I used beige and black), some stuffing and two safety eyes (I used 8mm eyes).


Abbreviations (US Terminology):
sc - single crochet
inc - increase
dec - decrease
(...) - number of stitches in the round.
Do not join rounds! (work in continuous spirals)

HEAD&BODY:
1. magic ring, 6 sc in ring (6)
2. increase around (12)
3. *sc, inc* around (18)
4. *2 sc, inc* around (24)
5. - 12. sc around (24)
(insert safety eyes between rounds 7 and 8)
13. *2 sc, dec* around (18)
Secure the body, put it aside and make the MOUTH part now. Once you're done, sew the
mouth somewhere around round 8. Insert safety eyes on both sides of the mouth, slightly
higher than the mouth itself, then continue on making the body/head.
Stuff the body.
14. *sc, dec* around (12)
- stuff more
15. Dec around (6)
Cut the yarn and use a needle to weave it through the 6sc in round 15. Then pull the hole
closed and weave in the end.

MOUTH:
1. magic ring, 7 sc in ring, then slip stitch in the magic ring



EARS: (make 2)
1. magic ring, make 5 sc in ring.
Do not join, fasten off and leave enough yarn to sew the ears on.
Sew the ears on the same height as eyes.


PAWS: (make 4)
1. magic ring, make 4 sc in ring
2. sc around (4)
Fasten off, cut yarn, leave tail long enough to sew it on.
Sew the paws to the body.
They should be placed at equal distance around the base of the body, to form a square.


TAIL:
1. Chain 5, turn, 2 sc in each stitch of the chain.
Curl the tail and sew it to the back of the body.


(another example of a pug made out of this pattern)

Feel free to make tiny pugs for your friends and family - you can also sell those in small quantities, but please credit me as the pattern designer if you sell online.
I hope you will have fun crocheting this quick project :)


sobota, 10 lutego 2018

Valentina doll pattern

And here I am again! I didn't post here for a long time, didn't I? I didn't really have any ideas for new patterns, and I was so busy I didn't have time to even think about keeping the blog active.
Today, though, I am returning with a new pattern!
Once again it's a pattern for an amigurumi doll, easy and quick to make.
The pattern is free, though I'd appreciate if you'd placed a "like" on my Facebook fanpage, where I post pictures of my work, or followed me on instagram (@szydelkowe).
Feel free to modify the pattern to your liking, but please DO NOT copy and paste it anywhere else on the Internet. You can sell dolls made out of this pattern in small quantity :)



Materials needed:

Cotton yarn in red, pink, black, white and skin color. You can use any colors you like.
I used Altin Basak Myra and 1.9mm hook, but you can use any yarn weight if you select a corresponding hook.
Toy stuffing
Yarn needle
Two safety eyes

Abbreviations:

sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet
dec - decrease
inc - increase
mr - magic ring
[blo] - back loops only
*...* - repeat from * to *.
(x) - number of stitches at the end of the round.

Starting with FEET:
1. magic ring, 6 sc in ring (6)
2. inc, 2 sc, inc, 2 sc (8)
3. [blo] sc around
- change yarn to white
4. 3 sc, dec, 3 sc (7)
5. - 6. sc around (7)
- change yarn to skin color 
7. - 11. sc around (7)
12. inc, 6 sc (8)
13. sc around (8)
Stuff the leg.
Fasten off. Cut off yarn. Make second leg.
Do not fasten off or cut off yarn on the second leg. Make chain 1 and insert hook to the side of the first leg. Make a sc to connect both legs. 






BODY:

Now we have to make a row of scs on top of the connected legs. Since we used a sc to connect them, we have to change yarn color to pink:
1. 8 stitches on the first leg, 1 in the chain 1 we did to connect the legs, 8 sc on the second leg, 1 in the chain 1. (18)
2. 4 sc, dec, 6 sc, dec, 4 sc (16)
3. sc around (16)
4. 6 sc, dec, 6 sc, dec (14)
5. - 6. sc around (14)


Take two pipecleaners and fold them three or four times (depending on how long they are), twisting them. Put the pipecleaners inside the legs. You can stuff the legs lightly, if you feel pipe cleaners are not enough. Continue crocheting the body:

7. dec, 5 sc, dec, 5 sc (12)
8. - 9. sc around (12)

Stuff the body part.

10. dec, 4 sc, dec, 4 sc (10)
11. sc around (10)
12. Only make one dec this round (9)
Cut the yarn and use a needle to weave in end.




SKIRT:
Change yarn color to red (or any color you want the skirt to be). Holding the doll legs up, join the red yarn in the round 3 of the body, in the back.


1. sc around in the round 3 of the body (16)
2. inc, 4 sc, inc, 4 sc, inc, 5 sc (19)
3. inc, 5 sc, inc, 5 sc, inc, 6 sc (22)
4. inc, 6 sc, inc, 6 sc, inc, 7 sc (25)
5. inc, 7 sc, inc, 7 sc, inc, 8 sc (28)
6. inc, 8 sc, inc, 8 sc, inc, 9 sc (31)
7. inc, 9 sc, inc, 9 sc, inc, 10 sc (34)
8. inc, 10 sc, inc, 10 sc, inc, 11 sc (37)
cut off yarn, weave in end.





SKIRT EDGING:
Take the thin white yarn, join it in the middle of the skirt's last round (in the back) and repeat the following for the whole round, in back loops only:
1. sl st, 3 dc in one sc.
Once you finish the round, sl st in the first stitch, cut off yarn and weave in end.


HEAD:
using skin color yarn:
1. magic ring, 6 sc in ring (6)
2. inc around (12)
3. *sc, inc* around (18)
4. *2 sc, inc* around (24)
5. *3 sc, inc* around (30)
6. - 12. sc around (30)
13. *3 sc, dec* around (24)
14. *2 sc, dec* around (18)
Insert safety eyes between rounds 8 and 9.
Stuff the head lightly.
15, *sc, dec* around (12)
16. 3 dec (9)
Leave a tail long enough to sew the head to the body.





MOUTH:
Using red or pink thread, embroider a small V-shaped mouth.

ARMS: (make 2)
using skin color yarn
1. magic ring, 6 sc in ring (6)
2. - 6. sc around (6)
change yarn to body color
7. [blo] sc around (6)
8. - 10. sc around (8)
leave a tail long enough to sew the arms to the body.
Insert hook in row 7, take white yarn and crochet around the arm (6 sc). Slip stitch to the first one and cut off and weave in the white yarn.





SEW THE DOLL PARTS.

Now, make the COLLAR:
white yarn, slightly smaller hook:
1. chain 12, turn
2. dc in the second chain from hook, dc, 6 sc, 2 dc. 
Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing.
Sew the collar around the dolls neck.


DETAILS:
Add shoe straps to the legs by simply attaching black yarn on one side of the 
foot and sewing and weaving it in on the opposite side.
Wrap some yarn around the dolls waist and tie it in the front, making a bow.

HAIR:
You can use any technique you like for the dolls hair, but in this tutorial I use one of the simplest techniques. Using textured yarn gives nice results. Cut strands of hair that will cover the head. Place it on the head and sew it on, using thin thread in a corresponding color. The sewing will be the hair parting. If you think the hair is too loose, you can also sew the loose strands to her hair, like I did. I made her hair short, as the yarn I use gives enough texture, but you can make it any lenght you want and style it any way you like.






Ta-daa! You should now have your own, cute, Valentine's Day doll. 
Feel free to put the pictures of the finished doll on Ravelry, Instagram or you can also send them to me via my fanpage's inbox.



Thank you a lot for visiting my blog :)