All About Ami
a blog about my love of ami-gurumi & crochet
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As you know, when I was pregnant I went on a crochet spree, trying to crochet as many cute items for our baby as I possibly could! I knew we would be doing a newborn photoshoot, so I tried to crochet some special props for it (including this cute stork pouch). While looking up crochet ideas for newborn shoots, I came across this adorable turtle outfit as well as this sweet ladybug outfit. I wanted to make Myla a little outfit too, so we decided to go with a panda bear!
I had already made some owl hats using Sarah’s pattern on “Repeat Crafter Me”- I loved how the seam was hidden and how she had hat patterns for newborns all the way to adults! And so, I followed her newborn pattern to make my panda hat. I used Martha Stewart Crafts Extra Soft Wool Blend in “Bakery Boxy White” to crochet the hat and some black yarn for the braided tails.
Next, I crocheted the ears using black yarn and Ryan cut these oval shapes out of black felt for the eyes.
We sewed the black ovals onto the white hat and then sewed these black buttons onto the black ovals. Ryan then stitched on this sweet little nose consisting of an upside down triangle and an upside down “Y” (see my “Amigurumi Nose Tutorial” HERE for detailed instructions).
Here are some more views of the face…
I think this panda has such an adorable, tender face :)
Then it was time to attach the ears…
We looked for these specific buttons that had a smooth surface on one side and could be attached with little loops on the other side. Typical buttons with holes in the center could work too but we wanted to go for this smooth look as they kind of look like amigurumi safety eyes! We ended up buying these buttons in both black and white from Fabricland as we wanted to see how both would look for our panda hat!
I followed this pattern to make a matching diaper cover! It’s a great pattern as it consists of double crochets and the flaps on the sides can be attached onto the black button at various points, depending on how big your baby is, making it adjustable! We used this diaper cover in Myla’s birth announcement HERE and I hinted how it was part of a special animal set that I had crocheted. Haha, five months later we’re finally revealing that it’s a panda set!
I made a black pom-pom using this tutorial HERE and added it to the diaper cover. I did not secure it with a knot (I just tied the loose ends into a bow) so that the this pom-pom tail was easily removable.
Here is our finished Panda set: an adorable panda earflap hat with a diaper cover!
Here it is again with the diaper cover flipped so that you can see the cute black pom-pom tail!
I was incredibly excited to see Myla wear this little outfit! The hat was actually a little small for her, but the diaper cover fit well. It’s hard knowing how big to make your hats since you never know how big your baby’s head will be! We tried to get a cute sleeping shot but our little girl woke up, haha… And so, we made the most of it by taking some shots while she was awake! Doesn’t she look so adorable with her little tail and hat and her expression? You can see her neck was already quite strong as she could lift her head up at less than a week old! Myla was probably thinking, “Mom and Dad….how dare you disturb my slumber? And why am I dressed like a panda? Where are my clothes?!?”
We tried again another day, but this time with just the hat, making it easier…here you can see the face of the panda better! Doesn’t Myla look so sweet?
We made a bigger panda hat for our friends who were expecting a baby boy, this time using the white eyes! You can see how using the black or white buttons gives the hat a different look :)
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Here are the patterns for the small and big panda hats:
Materials:
- Black and white yarn
- 5 mm crochet hook
- Black felt
- Black or white buttons (for eyes and diaper cover)
- Black embroidery floss
- Yarn needle
HEAD
Using white yarn, follow Sarah’s pattern to crochet the earflap hat with black braided tails. Follow the newborn pattern HERE for the smaller panda hat and the 3-6 month pattern for the bigger panda hat HERE. I know many of you are interested in making this panda hat in an ADULT size too! Sarah offers these earflap hats from toddler to child to adult sizes as well, so check them out HERE!
EARS (make 2)
Smaller hat:
R1: 6 sc in Magic Ring (6 sts)
R2: 2 sc in each sc around (12 sts)
R3-6: Sc 12
Fasten off and leave long end for sewing. Sew open end together. Sew ontop of white hat.
Bigger hat:
R1: 6 sc in Magic Ring (6 sts)
R2: 2 sc in each sc around (12 sts)
R3: *Sc 1, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times (18 sts)
R4-7: Sc 18
Fasten off and leave long end for sewing. Sew open end together. Sew ontop of white hat.
*** To make bigger ears, try increasing by intervals of 6 [e.g. R4: *Sc 2, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times (24 sts)]. If you need help figuring out how to keep increasing by 6, follow the pattern for Sweetheart Bunny’s head HERE.
Adding details:
- Cut oval shapes out of black felt. Sew onto white hat.
- Sew buttons towards top part of black ovals.
- Embroider nose (upside down triangle and upside down “Y”) with black embroidery floss (refer to my “Amigurumi Nose Tutorial” HERE).
DIAPER COVER WITH TAIL
Using white yarn, follow this pattern HERE to crochet the diaper cover using a black button for closure.
Make a pom pom with black yarn following this tutorial HERE and add to the diaper cover.
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Sarah of Repeat Crafter Me is the queen of cute hats, and she offers so many free patterns! Check them all out HERE. If you like my baby panda set, here are some other sets that Sarah has made, including this Mickey & Minnie Mouse set! Some of you guessed that I was making a bunny set since Spring officially started this week- you can check out Sarah’s Bunny set here!
I’m so glad we have Myla’s newborn photos to look back upon as time is flying by so quickly. Myla turned 5 months old this week! Here I am with our sweet, precious little strawberry :)
Hope you like this little baby panda set we made! They’d make a great gift for a baby boy or a baby girl, and you could even adapt this set to make different animals, like a koala bear too! Who is going to try making an adult panda hat? I’d love to see your pics! Connect with me through e-mail (all_about_ami@hotmail.com), Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@AllAboutAmi). If you absolutely love pandas, you could also try making our amigurumi Panda since his face looks very similar to this hat :) You can get the free pattern HERE. Happy crocheting, everyone!
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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d do a round-up of special Valentine crocheted projects that you could make for your loved ones or for yourself to celebrate ♥ The free patterns are available for all of these projects (click through the links to access them)!
Row 1: Valentine Teddy by me (my second ever original design!), Hearts by Little Birdie Secrets (I LOVE using these hearts to embellish cards- see here and here), Valentine Popsicles by Jennygurumi (her first original design!)
Row 2: Lovebirds by Lion Brand (a cute set that you can personalize with your own special colours, a hat, or maybe initials), Amigurumi Hearts by Roxycraft (perfect if you want a 3-D heart instead of the 2-D ones above), Sweetheart Bunny by me (my Valentine project from last year!)
Row 3: Heart Box of Chocolates by Red Heart (How amazing is this? These chocolates will last forever…and are calorie-free ;D), Valentine Envelopes by Lion Brand (such a cute way to send a special letter or photo), Chocolate Truffle Scarf by Twinkie Chan (super kawaii for chocolate lovers to wear proudly!)
Hope these give you some ideas of how you can add some crocheted touches to your Valentine’s Day! They’re a fun take on your traditional chocolate, flowers, and stuffies that are typically gifted for the occasion! Much love to you all ♥
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Two years ago on this day, I wrote my very first blog post! I still remember how excited I was to finally start a blog and share my brand new hobby with the world :) I never in my wildest dreams imagined how far we would come in this amigurumi-making and blogging journey! We feel so blessed and thankful to God that we can share our passion and creativity with you all through “All About Ami”. Thank you to all our readers who have been with us since the very beginning and to those who have recently found out about our work, in large part due to Pinterest, Craftgawker and Ravelry! It is always such a joy reading your thoughtful, encouraging comments and even getting ideas of what to do on our travels (e.g. Paris & Tokyo)!
I spent the vast majority of this past year pregnant, so my crochet blog took somewhat of a turn with many baby-related projects! “All About Ami” has been such a wonderful way for us to chronicle where we are on our life journey, from being a newly married couple, to expecting a baby, and now as new parents! Thanks for coming along this journey with us and uplifting us in your prayers, thoughts and messages! God has blessed us with such a precious gift in baby Myla this past year and we are so thankful to be given the opportunity to be parents. She is growing up so quickly before our eyes as she is almost 3 months old!!!
253 posts, 3700 Facebook fans, 599 Twitter followers, 633 Instagram followers and 5649 Tumblr followers later, here we are. I’ve blogged about 15 original amigurumi designs and on my Facebook page I asked which ones you thought were my most popular! Many of you guessed correctly: the ones pictured above are my most popular amigurumi, namely Dragon, the Spring Bunnies & the Teddy Ornaments! Which one of our designs is your favourite? Surprisingly, our most popular blog post is not an amigurumi! Can anyone guess which crochet project garnered the most views?
Thanks again for all your support, and we pray that “All About Ami” will continue to inspire you to take up a new hobby, try out new projects and go beyond what you think you can do! Let’s continue to use our God-given talents and passions to love and connect with others! We hope that we can continue to bring smiles to your faces and help bring some positivity and love into your lives, especially on those days when you need it most! God bless :)
~ Stephanie, Ryan & Myla
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I can’t believe it’s the end of August already! I’ve always loved the summer, from all the wonderful festivals and the long hours of daylight to traveling abroad (in our case, to Tokyo at the beginning of June!). It’s been a great summer, and I’m thankful I’ve been able to enjoy the summer months in my pregnancy with enough energy. I thought I’d share some of our adventures with you through these photos!
It’s been a tradition ever since I was young to visit the exhibition whenever it came into town (known as Klondike Days or Capital Ex for us). Indulging in carnie food is a must, so we ended up trying “The Colossal Onion” (a delicious deep fried onion that looks like a blooming flower!), freshly cut and fried chips, cotton candy, a caramel milk chocolate apple (this has always been one of my favourite treats), and a corn dog. Don’t worry…we shared all this food among five people! This would’ve been wayyy too much for just the two of us!
One of the most beloved festivals here is called the ”Heritage Festival” in which 62 pavillions representing over 85 cultures from all over the world are featured to showcase Canada’s multiculturalism. Each pavillion makes their own specialty dishes and crafts and demonstrates different performances. This festival always happens during the first weekend of August, and it is always very hot since it takes places in an open park with little cover and shade! We braved the heat and tried some delicious food items. One of our favourite items was the “Mango’s Loco” from Guatemala, which is a mango on a stick rolled in lime juice and spices. Everyone was carrying these, and they were so juicy and ripe! You can try making your own with this recipe here!
It’s also been fun trying different recipes this summer too! Last month I blogged about our lychee frozen yogurt recipe. I decided to try making a pineapple sorbet as all you need to do is puree pineapple, add sugar, churn it and then freeze it! Sorbets, gelatos, ice creams and frozen yogurts are perfect for summertime :) We’ve also been eating a lot of fresh fruit, and I had to use up some blueberries before they went bad, so I found this absolutely amazing recipe here for blueberry muffins (they are aptly titled “To Die For Blueberry Muffins”!). The streusel topping is so delicious, and the muffin itself is very moist- I highly recommend checking this recipe out!
One summer day I had a baking date with my foodie friend Lillian who blogs over at “Beyond Umami”. We made madeleines, which are small French sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape. It was my first time making them, but Lillian brought all the necessary supplies and gave me baking tips along the way. Check out my piping skills and the beautiful finished products :)
I love love love Chinese desserts, from sweet tapioca soups and tong yuens to lian gao. Whenever we go to Chinese bakeries, I always search for “boot jai goh’s”, which are chewy Chinese pudding cakes with a delicious almond flavour. I’ve been trying to make some of these desserts at home, and I found a recipe for boot jai goh that I really like! You can find it here. I’ve been experimenting with different recipes, but this one is the best so far. Apparently if you’ve followed the recipe correctly, a “belly-button” in the little cake should form…thankfully they appeared in mine! Don’t they look yummy and nicely-shaped? I substituted yellow rock sugar instead of typical white sugar which gave them a more authentic taste!
I’m so glad I got to finally host another give-away this summer too! It’s always fun with the level of participation and hearing from people all over the world. Two of these prizes went to the US and one went to Australia!
Another exciting thing that happened this summer was the purchase of our sewing machine! Home ec was never offered at my school, so learning how to thread the machine and sew was a daunting task for me! I’m so thankful for sewing blogs, tutorials and youtube videos that made everything a whole lot easier. There were mishaps along the way, but it was fun trying out all these different stitches. Our first major project were the curtains for our nursery! I will show you the results once our nursery is finished, but I’m pretty proud of how the curtains turned out! I’m such a newbie at sewing and I can’t wait to try more projects! Do any of you pro sewers have any tips or ideas for good beginner projects?
We went to some fabric stories to look for patterns for our nursery, and look at this awesome sale on buttons we found- 2 bags for $1! I picked up these green and fuscia pink buttons to use on baby hats and future projects :)
At a friend’s birthday tea party this summer, everyone made their own fascinators! There were shoulder pads (for the base), flowers, lace, ribbon, tulle and plenty of materials available, and I thought it was such a great idea. Everyone’s fascinators looked so unique and beautiful, and group photos were cute with these lovely pieces adorning everyone’s hair! Here is the one I made! It just so happened this lace matched perfectly with my crocheted top :)
I love Broadway musicals, and I was disappointed when we were unable to get tickets to see Mary Poppins the last time we were in New York. I was very excited when I heard they were touring across Canada and making a stop here! The magical effects and tap dancing were wonderful, and I loved the choreography and performance of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”!
Ryan is a big anime fan, and we’ve been watching plenty of anime shows and movies since getting married. One of the events we were greatly looking forward to attending this summer was the “Animethon”, and we went with my brother (another big anime fan)! I love seeing all the cosplaying and although we didn’t cosplay (I’m sure one day we will!), I wore my Hello Kitty glasses from Tokyo and ”Nerdy but Cute” Hello Kitty shirt! We watched some anime, browsed Artist Alley (so many talented anime artists!), watched the cosplay contest and some of a Smash Bros tournament and shopped around the Vendor Hall. While in the Vendor Hall, I got to try out the “Necomimi”, a set of battery-powered cat ears that supposedly react to brainwaves, making the ears wiggle. It was fun trying them out, but I couldn’t control them very well…plus they were a hefty price!
Trying to get into the spirit of all things cute and kawaii, this is the bag I carried around the Animethon: my popsicle/ice cream/dessert bag adorned with some Totoro keychains I got from the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, buttons courtesy of Oborocharms and my cotton candy amigurumi teddy from last year’s giveaway. I also picked up this absolutely adorable pink dumpling from the Vendor Hall of Animethon- wouldn’t this make a cute amigurumi? I’ll have to keep this in mind for a future project…
The other purchase I made were these kawaii buttons! Food looks so much cuter when they have faces :D I thought these all would make great ideas for future amigurumi too! Animethon was lots of fun, and one day we hope to go to Comic-Con in San Diego….it is definitely on our must-do list!!!
Thanks for joining me as I recounted my highlights of the summer! It’s a great way for me to journal and chronicle what we did over these past few months. I’m currently 33 weeks pregnant now, so our due date is fast approaching! We had our prenatal classes during the last weekend of August, and they were very informative as they taught us everything from breathing and relaxation exercises to swaddling and bathing baby. September is absolutely going to fly by (we will be having a baby shower too- so excited for that!) and then October will be right around the corner. I am very thankful for all of you who have been reading my blog and expressing your support and encouragement throughout the months! I hope you had a great summer too, and let’s look forward to the fall with new adventures ahead!
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I can’t believe it’s been a year since my brother graduated from high school already! Our family had a great time attending his commencement and grad, and he’s had a wonderful first year of university. I made him this little ”Graduation Teddy” to help him commemorate this special time in his life, complete with a diploma, mortarboard and tassel matching his school colours. Since graduation season is upon us once again, some others have used my free pattern to make sweet Graduation Teddies for their friends too!
Makayla of Illinois made this teddy for her cousin who is graduating! I love the purple she used, and she did an absolutely fantastic job with the diploma, mortarboard, and yellow and red tassel. I’m sure her cousin loved this special, personalized gift! What a cutie!
Emily was new to crochet, so she watched some videos and learned how to read crochet patterns as she attempted her own Graduation Teddy. She did a wonderful job, particularly since this is her first amigurumi project! I love the light, airy colours she chose, and I think she did a superb job stitching the nose. Emily wanted to include the year on her hat, so she used glue! Way to go, Emily :)
Nicollette of Louisiana found my pattern and made this bright orange Graduation Teddy for her sister-in-law! I love how everyone uses such different colours for their teddies :) She stitched on the year as well!
Maria of Indiana made this Graduation Teddy in a similar blue colour that I used! He looks very dashing with his white and blue tassel! She also did a fabulous job stitching “2012” on the hat as it is very bold and thick- the year really stands out!
Mandy made this Graduation Teddy using a yarn called “Oatmeal”- she decided to name her teddy “Oatmeal” too! What a cute name :) He has a lot of texture with this variegated yarn, and he looks very proud to be graduating!
Mandy had a great idea of also making a Graduation Cupcake Bear! She said that this project went by really fast, and she added polly pellets to the cupcake liner to give it some weight. This is such a great idea as not having to crochet the body and limbs and attach them together will save a lot of time! And as Mandy says, there are so many fun and fabulous cupcake liners out there to really make this project unique!
Fadilah of Rojak made this bright green Graduation Teddy and even added a little bit of felt to the neck as his graduation robe! That’s such a cute idea :)
Fadilah didn’t make just one teddy! Her friend asked her to make one for her boyfriend, so she made this purple one for him and a green teddy keychain for her! I love how Fadilah wrapped up the purple teddy so beautifully and even had the teddy holding a lovely bouquet of flowers! I’m sure her friends were very touched when they received these special gifts.
Since Fadilah had many friends graduating, she made many Graduation Teddy keychains in a vast array of colours! Similar to Mandy’s idea, this is a great way to save time when you have a lot of gifts to make. It must’ve been fun handing out these special bears to her friends with their adorable sideways graduation caps :)
I love seeing how other people’s creations turn out using my patterns as well as how they modify them. If you have a special grad in your life, do check out my free Graduation Teddy pattern as well as the step-by-step photos to personalize a special teddy for them! Thanks for sharing your pictures and stories with me, everyone! Congrats to all the new grads of 2012!
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Hey everyone! It’s been a long time since my last Crochet Corner post, but I thought it’d be another great opportunity to highlight YOUR work based on my patterns since Valentine’s Day was this week! Valentine Teddy still remains very popular, and I absolutely love seeing photos of your teddies since everybody has a different take on him (see my first Crochet Corner post on Valentine Teddy here). Here is my fuzzy cutie in case you haven’t seen him before:
I love how Ziale of Florence, Italy gave her teddy red pants to match his red bow! Her Valentine Teddy looks very suave and ready to go out on the town, doesn’t he? What a great idea! A matching girl teddy wearing a red dress and a red bow on her ear would be perfect!
Emilee of California gave this sweetie to her Mom for Valentine’s Day, and she tells me that her Mom absolutely loved it! Who wouldn’t? Emilee even used the same yarn that I did, which is why they look so similar! She didn’t have a dog slicker brush, so she fluffed up her little guy with a brush they use for their cats! This is only Emilee’s second amigurumi project and fourth crochet project ever. She did such a great job! Beginners can do absolutely beautiful work :) I would’ve guessed Emilee had years of experience by looking at her Valentine Teddy!
Shannen of Sweet N’ Cute Creations is another amigurumi artist who I’ve become friends with since since starting my blog (we’re both on tumblr!). She is a sweet girl who is only 16 years old- she is definitely inspiring the younger generation! Shannen provides many cute free patterns on her blog here, and is very prolific as she’s done many many amigurumi projects! Here’s a big-eyed teddy that she made using my pattern :) Keep up all your great work, Shannen!
Julie of One Little Red Fox made a grey Valentine Teddy with a snazzy gingham bow. What a great idea to use a different colour! Julie says that she loves to crochet since she finds it easy and because it helps her with her insomnia. Crochet certainly helps pass the time away…
Lastly, Malarie from California was looking for a gift for her boyfriend, so she decided to give my pattern a try even though she was new to amigurumi. Malarie loves to crochet, but her carpal tunnel hinders her from crocheting all the time. And so, she spread out her crocheting over time and was very happy with the results. Her boyfriend absolutely loved him! You did a wonderful job, Malarie, and I love the little buttons you added. Thank you for sharing your story with us! Keep on crocheting with all your love and patience!
If you’re interested in making your own Valentine Teddy, check out my free pattern here! It’s neat to think that these Valentine Teddies are being made and loved all over the world :) Thank you so much to everyone who’s taken the time to send me photos! I still have more photos to share, so if you didn’t see your work yet, it’ll probably be featured in the coming weeks! Happy crocheting :)
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Ryan and I have absolutely loved getting all your wonderful feedback about our Christmas teddy ornaments through our facebook page, twitter, tumblr and blog. I’ve never received so many comments or tumblr hearts for a post before, and I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to stop by and leave a kind message! I know a lot of new people have been introduced to my blog through other sites and through Ravelry, so I would like to welcome you all here! It’s wonderful seeing people explore all my previous projects and I really appreciate the support I’ve received for my blog overall :)
Within a day of my posting the pattern, people already started sending me photos of their own teddy ornaments! We were absolutely blown away to see how popular they were! It warms our hearts to know that these teddies are being made and hung on trees all around the world! In this Crochet Corner post, we have a whopping twelve teddy ornaments to share with you :)
Catherine made her own rendition of the brown teddy complete with a festive red scarf and attached red bell! He’s a perfect addition to her Christmas amigurumi set with her absolutely adorable snowman and penguin :)
Jill of Dapper Toad made a brown teddy for her tree as well! See those cute little mini snowmen also hanging on her tree? Jill provides a free crochet pattern for them here! You can never have too much amigurumi for your tree, right?
Grace also made a brown teddy for herself, and she might make some to give away as presents! Cute brown and white loop to attach him to the tree!
Emily made an adorable little matching hat for her brown teddy! It’s cute how he’s posed with her cat :) She says she’ll be making more for her co-workers as Christmas gifts!
Stephanie of the UK made her own panda ornament with a red scarf and has been requested to make another one for a friend’s tree! These teddies are popping up everywhere :)
Camille said she saw my teddies and made her very own the same day! Her panda has extra big eyes with her big eye roundies :) I love how she positioned him next to an orange to show his relative size!
Theaie of Micca Design from Germany also made a panda. Doesn’t he look so sweet sitting in her mug? Adorable!
Jourdan made both the brown teddy and the panda, and she tells me that the recipient of these teddies loves them both dearly! Who wouldn’t? Love their facial expressions with their cute smiles and big eyes. I love how our teddies have similar scarf colours!
Irina of the Ukraine made these teddies as presents for her friends. Her teddies are so colourful with the variegated yarn and bright scarves!
Michelle’s koala is very unique: instead of crocheting her koala, she knitted the body and then turned it inside out. She then placed the knitted piece around an actual ornament ball instead of filling it will stuffing! What an interesting idea!
Nng House Adm of Malaysia posted this pic of a Snowman ornament she made using my pattern! It’s neat how you can easily adapt my teddy ornament pattern to make many other ornaments :) Love his carrot nose, wide smile, and red scarf!
And lastly, Bunny of Malaysia made this sweet brown teddy complete with a Santa hat! Love his big eyes and how she positioned him atop her furry white carpet and in front of the Eiffel tower in this photo. The Eiffel Tower is getting me excited for Paris!
Thank you for sending me all your photos and for posting them on Ravelry, everyone :) I see that the brown teddy and panda are popular to make! Are there any others out there who have tried to make the koala?
It still amazes me that something we’ve worked on in our home is spreading to homes all around the world, and that people are following the patterns I’ve written up! We’re very thankful for all your support and encouragement and we can’t wait to share more projects with you all and see where this journey takes us. Hopefully you’ve been inspired to make your own teddies after seeing all these cuties too! I know some people have already made plans to make them for next Christmas! Check out my step-by-step photos here and the free pattern here! And keep sending us photos of your ornaments because we absolutely love seeing them :)
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Get ready to “amigurumi-fy” your Christmas trees with these adorable round teddies all bundled up in their colourful scarves! Whether you prefer pandas, koalas or ordinary teddies, they’re sure to add a touch of cuteness and craftiness to your trees this season!
Materials:
- Lightweight yarn (3): brown for the teddy, grey for the koala, black and white for the panda; turquoise, pink, green and white for the scarves (I used Patons Grace mercerized cotton all throughout except for the brown)
- 2.00 mm crochet hook
- Yarn needle
- Fiberfill
- Black felt (around eyes of panda and koala’s nose) and white felt (around eyes of koala)
- 6 mm safety eyes (for brown teddy) and 7.5 mm safety eyes (for koala and panda)
- Black cord
- Black embroidery floss (for brown teddy and panda nose)
- Metal ornament hooks
Note: I worked in continuous rounds (vs. joined rounds).
***Please follow along with MY BLOG POST HERE to see step-by-step photos.*** If you are new to crochet, please see my “Amigurumi for Beginners” and “How to Read Amigurumi Patterns” blog posts :)
HEAD/BODY
Using desired colour,
R1: 6 sc in Magic Ring. (6 sts)
R2: 2 sc in each sc around. (12 sts)
R3: *Sc 1, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times. (18 sts)
R4: *Sc 2, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times. (24 sts)
R5: *Sc 3, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times (30 sts)
R6: *Sc 4, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times (36 sts)
R7: *Sc 5, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times (42 sts)
R8: *Sc 6, 2 sc in next sc*, rep 6 times (48 sts)
R9-20: Sc 48 ***For Panda, change to black yarn after finishing Row 11. Then switch to white yarn after finishing Row 19.
R21: *Sc 6, dec 1*, rep 6 times (42 sts)
R22: *Sc 5, dec 1*, rep 6 times (36 sts)
R23: *Sc 4, dec 1*, rep 6 times (30 sts)
Attach safety eyes (for panda and koala, cut eye roundies from felt, make a small x, and place safety eyes through before attaching). Embroider nose and smile with embroidery floss. Begin stuffing head.
R24: *Sc 3, dec 1* rep 6 times (24 sts)
R25: *Sc 2, dec 1*, rep 6 times. (18 sts)
R26: *Sc 1, dec 1*, rep 6 times. (12 sts)
R27: *Dec 1*, rep 6 times. (6 sts)
Fasten off and weave in end.
(For Panda, R1-11 are white, R12-19 are black, and R20-27 are white).
SCARF
Using desired colour,
Ch 62
R1: Starting in third chain from hook, half double crochet (hdc) 60. Fasten off.
R2: Join middle colour (white for my scarves) with sl stitch in first stitch. Ch 1. Sc 59. Fasten off.
R3: Join original colour (from Row 1) with slip slitch in first stitch. Ch 2. Hdc 59. Fasten off.
Add fringe. See my photos here or video here on how to do this. Trim fringe to desired length. Glue or sew scarf around bear just below mouth to make them cozy and snug.
TEDDY & PANDA EARS (make 2)
Using brown or black yarn,
R1: 5 sc in Magic Ring.
R2: 2 sc in each sc around. (10 sts)
R3-4: Sc 10.
Fasten off and leave long end for sewing. Sew open end together. Sew ontop of head.
KOALA EARS (make 2)
Using gray yarn,
R1: 6 sc in Magic Ring.
R2: 2 sc in each sc around. (12 sts)
R3-5: Sc 12.
Fasten off and leave long end for sewing. Sew open end together. Sew ontop of head.
* Loop black cord through top of teddy’s head. Tie the ends in a knot and hide it in teddy’s head. Attach teddy ornament to tree with ornament hooks.
* Or, make a series of chain stitches and use it to attach teddy to the tree.
Have a very blessed and Merry Christmas, everyone :) May these teddies bring some warmth, joy and love into your homes this season! I would love to see your versions of these teddies on your tree, so please send me photos of your work through my e-mail (all_about_ami@hotmail.com), facebook page or twitter!
[Update #1: People have been sending me photos of their own teddy ornaments, and I’ve compiled them all in a Crochet Corner post! Check out everyone’s own rendition of my teddy ornaments here.]
[Update #2: Anne of “A Gamer’s Wife” has modified my pattern using thicker, worsted weight yarn. She has clearly laid out her edits in her blog post here. Check it out if you want your ornaments to remain the original size but you want to use thickern yarn!]
This pattern is an original pattern by Stephanie of All About Ami (December 2011). Please do not claim this pattern as your own. If you wish to share this pattern, you may link to this pattern but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for your own personal use but you may not sell or distribute it, or sell items made from this pattern.
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This was our first year setting up our Christmas tree in our new house. We bought our tree last year at Walmart after Christmas when all the prices were heavily reduced, so we had to wait almost one whole year before we could set it up! As we assembled our tree and placed the lights and ornaments upon the branches, Ryan and I thought how it’d be so adorable if we could somehow incorporate our love of amigurumi onto our tree. I had been wanting to make some sort of Christmas-themed amigurumi, so we came up with the perfect solution: make amigurumi ornaments! Our tree had round ball ornaments, so we thought of making round teddies- you all know how much I love my teddies! To play up the Winter/Christmas theme, we talked about adding colourful scarves to show these teddies all bundled up!
Ryan did a preliminary sketch of our design. I thought it was so cute how the scarf was positioned so high up! We ended up omitting the arms since we thought they looked cuter without :)
I had ALWAYS been wanting to crochet a panda bear, so now was our chance! I absolutely melted when Ryan sketched this little guy up!
And so we began! I worked on crocheting a very round ball first starting with white, then switching to black, and then switching back to white.
Ryan used his phenomenal attention to detail to help add the safety eyes by first placing them through oval pieces of black felt, and then stitching the nose and mouth. Who could resist such a sweet face? We then stuffed him up to give his full roundness :)
Next I worked on the scarf. I started with a green row of half double crochets, a white row of single crochets, and then another green row of half double crochets. These striped scarves add a nice pop of colour to the teddies!
I added some fringe to the ends of these scarves. You can watch a video on how to do this here or follow this series of pictures below:
I added five strands of fringe on each side, alternating between green and white. I then trimmed the strands to my desired length.
Then we wrapped the scarf around our panda, overlapping the ends and making sure it was positioned very close to his eyes, nose and mouth (adding to the snuggliness look)! You can either sew or glue the scarf on. It’s nice that the scarf covers the transition from the white to black yarn of the body.
I crocheted some ears and then sewed them onto his head. We added the ears after the scarf to make the positioning easier.
Next we got ready to attach him to our tree! We used this black cord and ornament hooks to do so…
We used a needle to thread the black cord through…
And tied a knot on the top.
We then hid the knot within the panda’s stuffing. With this loop, he’s now ready to be attached to the tree with the ornament hook! Of course, you could also attach these ornaments simply by looping some yarn through their heads or making a loop with a series of chain stitches.
Here are some step-by-step photos of the brown teddy. I really like the colour of his scarf: it’s called “Aquifer”.
And here is the Koala ornament! Ryan used white felt around his eyes, black felt for his nose, and also gave him a tiny smile. Once again, I LOVE his scarf because pink is my favourite colour :) Pink and grey make such a great colour combo!
Did any of you notice any differences in the quality of the sneak peek photos? Up till now, I’ve been using my point and shoot camera to take photos for my blog. But recently, Ryan and I got a digital SLR camera! Ryan has taken a keen interest in photography and has been learning how to use it over these past few days, soaking up information like a sponge. I have no doubts that he’ll be a great photographer as he is very creative and has a great eye. He’ll have to teach me how to use it too!
Now, may I present to you these beautiful photos that Ryan graciously helped me take :) First up, we have Panda!
Next is Brown Teddy!
And lastly we have Koala! Koala has slightly bigger and more curved ears than the other two…
Here are my three teddy ornaments together! I love their different facial expressions and their colourful scarves together!
The actual ornaments from our tree are in the background. Don’t you love the roundness of all these ornaments?
The overlapping scarf and fringe gives the side a cute look :)
This is one of my favourite shots. I always try to take pictures of me holding my amigurumi so you can see the relative size. I’m obsessed with this gold nail polish at the moment because it’s perfect for the Christmas season with its beautiful shimmeriness!
And now to finally hang our amigurumi teddy ornaments!
Using the black cord and ornament hooks adds a more discrete way of hanging them as the focus is more on the ornaments themselves (the cord and hook blend in).
They all stand out so nicely against our white tree!
Last week I tweeted a picture showing our very first Christmas tree, and now you can see it with our special additions! Don’t the blue, silver and white ornaments + our new amigurumi teddies look stunning on our tree?
They all look so cute together! Maybe we’ll have a new Christmas tradition where we design some new amigurumi ornaments every year :) Then we’ll eventually have a fully “amigurumi-fied” tree! How cute would that be?
I hope you all like these teddy ornaments we designed and created! They’re relatively quick to make since you only have to attach ears and a scarf (no arms, legs or tails). I wanted to post them in early December so you would all have enough time to make them for your own Christmas trees! These crocheted ornaments would certainly add a splash of cuteness and craftiness to any tree. They’d make pretty cute stocking stuffers as well! ***The free pattern can be found HERE!***
I had to end off with a photo of me wearing a colourful scarf with these three cuties :) Thanks for reading and for your wonderful response so far to these teddies! Leave a comment below and let me know who your favourite teddy is and whether you’ll be making any for your own tree! We love reading each and every single comment :)
[Update: People have been sending me photos of their own teddy ornaments, and I’ve compiled them all in a Crochet Corner post! Check out everyone’s own rendition of my teddy ornaments here.]
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