All About Ami
a blog about my love of ami-gurumi & crochet
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Make this adorable Sweetheart Bunny for your friends and family to show them your love this Valentine’s Day! Or make one for yourself ^__^ This little sweetie with her dainty heart and pretty bow will warm your heart!
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My sister Ashley came to me almost half a year ago, asking if I could design and make a special amigurumi for a silent auction that she was helping to organize. The proceeds of this special evening were going to a local children’s hospital, and the theme was the “Queen of Hearts” of Alice in Wonderland. Of course, I happily obliged and started thinking what crocheted creature I could make to tie in with the theme. I thought about the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland and thought it was the perfect opportunity to make this cutie on my pencil case:
I found this pencil case at a store along CityWalk at Universal Studios Hollywood and had been itching to make this sweet bunny ever since. Thus, we began planning how to turn this two-dimensional cute picture into a three-dimensional amigurumi!
I crocheted a wide, round head and Ryan added the sweet pink cheeks and petite nose/mouth.
I crocheted these long, relatively narrow ears and attached them to the head. Then we added pink felt for the lining!
This body was crocheted differently than my other amigurumi as I wanted to create a flat circular base that would serve as the bottom of her dress. I expanded outwards into a circle, crocheted in the back loops only to give it a distinct edge, and then decreased my stitches.
Once I reached my desired height for the dress, I fastened off my yarn. Then I reattached the pink yarn into any stitch, crocheted about 3/4 of the way around, turned, and then crocheted around the raised edge I had just created. The gap in the dress serves as the neckline for the bunny!
Next, I crocheted a small white panel as the bunny’s neck. We then glued this panel into the gap, making sure to leave a long end of white yarn to attach this part to the bunny’s head later. We also inserted a circular piece of cardboard into the base of her dress to give it more structure (see my Crocheted Desserts post to see this cardboard tip).
I then crocheted a dainty red heart using this pattern from Little Birdie Secrets and then some skinny arms and legs…
Ready for assembly!
First I attached the legs onto the base of her dress. Next, I used the white yarn to attach the white neck to the head, and then the pink yarn to attach the rest of the dress to her head.
I attached her arms around the same level as her neck so it looks like she’s wearing a cute dress or jumper!
We decided to use fabric to make her bow. Does anyone recognize this fabric? Once again, it’s the same fabric I used for the Spring Bunnies and as the lining of my cell phone cozy. That material sure has been well-used! You could also crochet a bow using your desired yarn colour by following the videos here or here.
And now the finished Sweetheart Bunny with her bow :)
Thus, I actually made this bunny back in September/October, around the same time I made the Minion from Despicable Me and the Scarecrow. I was so sad to see this little bunny go, as I really felt like she exemplified all that my blog is about: cuteness, sweetness, hearts, bows, pinkness and bunnies! And so, I decided to quickly whip another one up so I could keep the original and still give Ashley an item for the silent auction!
She’s pretty cute without a face too, hey?
Double the cuteness and sweetness!!!
I was so excited to hear how my Sweetheart Bunny did at the silent auction! Apparently there were two moms in particular who were outbidding each other, and you’ll never guess how much she went for in the end! I was STUNNED when Ashley told me: Sweetheart Bunny went for a whopping $200! I was ecstatic to hear that my little crocheted creation had raised so much money! Bless their generousity- they knew their money was going to a great cause. Ashley told me that the little girl presented the money to them and happily walked away with her new crocheted bunny in hand :)
Even though I made her so long ago, I knew I wanted to save her as my Valentine project on my blog since Valentine Teddy was such a hit last year! Time certainly flies by, and I can’t believe it’s February already…
I absolutely LOVE this picture! Doesn’t she look adorable sitting on the edge of our island? She looks like she’s waiting patiently for someone to give her a hug :)
A sweet bunny and some beautiful flowers…wouldn’t that be the perfect Valentine’s gift?
Here are some close-up’s of the Sweetheart Bunny: her floral bow and pink-lined ears!
Her cute smile and pink cheeks
Red heart and jumper
The bottom of her structured jumper and little legs :)
Her relative size! How perfect was it that I was sporting pink nails when taking this pic?
White bunnies galore! It certainly was a challenge getting all these cuties to balance on my arm, but Ryan thought it’d be such a great shot. Needless to say, I tried to stay as still as possible and not move a muscle. I was so worried I was going to sneeze or cough, but I managed to hold still long enough to get a couple shots! From left to right we have Sweetheart Bunny, the girl Spring Bunny, the Bunny from Ana Paula Rimoli’s book, and the tiny little bunny that was held by the Chinese New Year Doll last year for the Year of the Rabbit!
As you can tell, I do love my teddies and bunnies! We had so much fun creating this bunny based on the picture on my pencil case, and I am still beyond thrilled with how much money she raised for the children’s hospital! It makes me so happy when I can put my love and talent of crocheting to help benefit such a great cause. I’ve received e-mails from some of you who also use your love and talent of crocheting to raise money for charity, and I love hearing your stories. I commend you all! It’s amazing what we can do with our hobbies and passions! ***The free pattern can be found HERE, just in time for Valentine’s Day! Also be sure to check out my Valentine Teddy from last year too!
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Sneak peek of upcoming Valentine amigurumi: Sweetheart Bunny
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I’m so excited to begin my “Crochet Corner” series where I feature YOUR work using my crochet patterns and tutorials! I put a lot of effort into trying to create the right shapes and meticulously writing down my patterns, and I always wonder if people will be able to follow them or if anyone will even try them at all! And so, I’m always delighted to hear that people have indeed tried my patterns and I LOVE seeing pictures. I think it’s wonderful how people can interpret the same pattern differently and how each crocheted creation looks unique since people put their own touches on them!
The very first Crochet Corner will feature none other than Valentine Teddy! This is the second original pattern I made and it was very soon after I started my blog (I started my blog in January 2011 and posted him in February). I loved using the dog slicker brush to fuzz this guy up, and I’m so happy that he was well-received :) Many people fell in love with him…
Kay of I’m Hooked was the very first person to show me her work using my patterns. Since I had just recently started my blog, I was ecstatic that someone had actually used my pattern and was successful in creating their own teddy! Kay had previous crochet experience making purses, clutches and mini makeup bags, but she had never made amigurumi before. When she came across my pattern, she decided to try her hand at it with this teddy! She even documented the whole process step-by-step in her blog post here which was also her first official tumblr post! Kay was also the one who provided the pattern I used to make my Penguin here. Kay has been on hiatus from her blog because she just gave birth to a baby girl in June- congrats, Kay! I love the gray colour she used for this teddy since it’s different from the typical brown. His huge eyes make him look super adorable :)
Irma of Our Useless Blog made her own rendition of Valentine Teddy all the way from Holland. She used yarn that was fuzzy to begin with and in her blog post she talks about how challenging it was to use since it would frequently become tangled. Despite having to make the body parts numerous times, she persevered and finished this super soft teddy! I love how he turned out, Irma :) He looks so cuddly!
Yolanda of Alberta, Canada wanted to crochet a teddy bear for her boyfriend when she stumbled upon my pattern. This was the very first amigurumi she ever made! I love how she even made the dapper red bowtie and red heart to accompany him :) Yolanda said her boyfriend absolutely loved this teddy she made just for him!
Serena of Malaysia made these two adorable teddies named Lexie and Ace during the summer when she had no school. I absolutely love how she made Lexie a girl by placing the bow on her head :) Serena actually went and found the exact same yarn I used which is why they look so similar to mine! It’s amazing because Serena had no previous crochet experience, but she watched many videos on youtube just so that she could learn to make these teddies! Isn’t that remarkable? When Serena left the country for school, her mom asked if she could keep the teddies since she loved them so much. She tells Serena that everytime she sees these teddies, she’s reminded of her :) Isn’t that sweet? Lexie and Ace make such a cute pair!
I love hearing the stories behind all these teddies, from what it was like making them to who they were given to. All of the people in this post had very limited amigurumi experience, but look what they accomplished! I find that very inspirational, and I hope you do too :) If you’ve been hesitant about starting or wondering if you could do it, I’d strongly encourage you to give it a try! Be sure to check out my “Amigurumi for Beginners” blog post if you don’t know where to begin. Making amigurumi is a fun hobby, and they make such great, personalized gifts. Everyone’s creations turn out differently, and even people with no crochet experience can make such beautiful amigurumi!
If you did not see your Valentine Teddy in this post, that means he’ll be featured in another upcoming post :) Please feel free to keep sending me pictures and telling me the stories behind them (e-mail all_about_ami@hotmail.com, post on my facebook page or tweet me)! Or, try making them for the very first time! The pattern for my Valentine Teddy can be found here. Happy crocheting, and thanks for sending in your pictures and sharing your stories, everyone!
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Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! To learn how to make these sweet little crocheted hearts, click here. They’re super quick and easy to make, and look great as additions to cards and scrapbooks :) Love ya, Mom!
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After making the little fuzzy white bear with brushed fur, I wanted to make another teddy bear, but this time a bigger one using thick brown yarn that I had picked up. I took inspiration from Pepika’s absolutely adorable bears with big fuzzy heads and limbs of a different colour.
We did a very rough sketch of what the bear would look like and thought it would be sooo cute to give the big bear a tiny bowtie. I made up my own pattern for this bear and excitedly began…
I started off by crocheting a big round head, placing 12 mm safety eyes, and then stuffing it. He kind of looks like an alien since he doesn’t have a nose or ears yet, hey?
Then we brushed the yarn vigorously with a dog slicker brush (see fuzzy white bear post to see what this brush looks like) to fuzz up the yarn. To make the nose, we used a piece of felt and black yarn.
I crocheted the head, body and ears using the same thick brown yarn that was easily fuzzed up. I used a different yarn for the arms and legs to give a nice contrast. Once all the pieces were crocheted, we were ready for assembly!
Before assembly, however, we decided to add more details to the arms and legs. Ryan helped me add a piece of felt (we used a glue gun, but you could also sew it on) and then sewed three black lines on the top portion of the felt, giving a cute ”bear paw” effect.
Then it was time for assembly! We attached the body, the arms, the legs, and the ears! Teddy bears look so funny without their ears, hey?
I must say that sewing the body and ears to the head proved to be a bigger challenge than expected. I used the same thick brown yarn to attach these parts, and this particular yarn became stretched very thin when I pulled too hard. You can see how wispy it could get in the picture below:
There were a number of occasions where it actually just came apart when I was sewing. This was quite frustrating, so I tried to be as gentle as possible. Thankfully, I used the “normal” yarn to attach his arms and legs, so that was done much more easily.
To make the bowtie, I made three separate parts: two “triangular-ish” parts and one round ball. Then I attached the three pieces together! The bowtie gives the teddy a classy look, hey?
I also made my teddy bear a tail so that he could sit more easily. These pics are funny because it looked like poor teddy face planted onto the ground :(
Here is how he turned out!
I thought it’d be nice to make this bear a Valentine Teddy since Valentine’s Day was coming up, and he already looked so classy with his red bowtie. I followed Pepika’s free tutorial on how to make a 3-D heart.
And now to give the teddy this special heart!
This is the biggest amigurumi project I’ve ever made! Look how big he is when I hold him up!
And this is how big he is compared to the little fuzzy white bear!
And here’s one last pic of the Valentine Teddy sitting atop my shelf :)
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope this teddy brings a smile to your face no matter how you’re spending the day :) The free pattern to this Valentine Teddy can be found HERE. Check out how other people’s Valentine Teddies turned out in my “Crochet Corner” post here! Please “like” my facebook fan page if you would like regular updates on my projects!
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