All About Ami
a blog about me and my love for amigurumi
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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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Last month I blogged about finding Calypso Gray’s wonderful free pattern for beautiful crocheted slippers and the modifications I made to her pattern. Please refer to my blog post called “Crochet Slippers Part 1” to see step-by-step photos of the making of a pair of slippers from the toe-cap to the sole to the upper portion. I love this pattern because the slippers are crocheted in one piece and no seams are required. The sky’s the limit in terms of the modifications and additions you can make, so please join me as I show you how I made five different pairs of slippers, each unique in their own way!
I knew I wanted to make my mom a pair of slippers as soon as I found this pattern. Mother’s Day was coming up, and it’s wonderful being able to give hand-made gifts that are so practical too! I knew my mom would prefer a darker colour for her slippers so they wouldn’t get dirty as easily, so I chose a grey theme. I used a dark grey for the body of the slipper and a light grey for the edging. To add a little “pizzaz”, we picked up these small translucent buttons and sewed them on using hot pink thread. The result is a clean, modern look that my mom absolutely loved!
The only tricky thing about making these slippers and giving them as gifts is sizing. The pattern calls for a 5 mm crochet hook, and my first pair of slippers that I made using this hook fit my size 8-8.5 feet perfectly. However, all subsequent slippers I made ended up being a little too tight! I tried my best to keep consistent gauge, but the end result can vary a lot depending on the yarn you use, even if it states that the weight is the same. Thus, I used a 5.5 mm crochet hook for my own slippers so they fit me comfortably. Knowing that my mom has slightly smaller feet than mine, I stuck with a 5 mm crochet hook for hers. Don’t they look great on her?
I absolutely LOVED this yarn colour when I saw it at the store, so I picked it up to make a fun, bright pair of slippers. The colour is called “lemongrass”, and we used a similar colour in our wedding theme along with a fuscia pink. Isn’t it a gorgeous colour? We used white on the edging for contrast. Ryan and I found these stunning buttons at Michaels and thought they’d be a great statement piece on our slippers.
They kind of remind me of the medallions found on the super chic Tory Burch flats!
I really wanted to make a pair of slippers adorned with sweet little bows. They make the slippers look so dainty and ladylike, and it’s fun choosing bright colours and figuring out which colours go well together.
I followed this video here to get a general idea of how to crochet a bow. Then I figured out what size i wanted for my slippers and made up the following pattern:
Using a 2 mm crochet hook, Ch 12
R1: Starting in second chain from hook, Sc 11.
R2-4: Ch 1. Turn. Sc 11
From there, I single crocheted up the right side of the resulting rectangle, across the top, down the left side and across the bottom, doing three single crochets in each corner stitch. Please see the picture below for clarification. Doing three single crochets in each corner gives the bow a nice rounded look. I then scrunched the bow slightly and wrapped yarn around the centre, then attaching it to the slipper.
Prettyness! Bows are just so cute :) I made these slippers for my sister because she loves all things cute and pretty!
When I went shopping I noticed that many flats and heels had a modern twist on the traditional bow with straighter lines, giving the bows a more geometric shape. A reader pointed out that they kind of look like ruffles too!
I thought these grey and pink flats from Zara were super cute! The pink square in the middle was quite the statement.
And so, I tried to emulate these Zara flats by crocheting some grey and pink slippers with a similar pink design ontop. I wanted to add more pink to this slipper so I used grey for the toe-cap, switched to pink for the sole, and then switched back to grey for the upper portion. The pink sole adds a bright pop of colour!
I crocheted a long rectangular strip with the following pattern:
Using a 3.5 mm crochet hook, Ch 36
R1: Starting in second chain from hook, Sc 35.
R2-6: Ch 1. Turn. Sc 35
We folded the rectangular piece inwards towards the middle and sewed the piece in place, flattening it so it would not be too puffy.
I then sewed this pink piece onto the grey slippers. They’re pretty unique-looking! And they match perfectly with my pajama pants :)
Since it was so much fun crocheting a pair of slippers based on some flats I saw in store, I wanted to crochet another pair of slippers inspired by some of my favourite flats of all-time! I bought these white flats with elastic rainbow straps years ago from Town Shoes and I’ve managed to keep them fairly clean! They are incredibly comfortable as the leather molds to my feet…it feels like I’m wearing socks when I wear these! Aren’t these flats awesome?
To start off the rainbow strap, I did a series of chain stitches using red embroidery floss. I then single crocheted ontop of the red embroidery floss using orange for about ten stitches and then did more chain stitches so that the orange would then be disconnected/independent from the red. I then joined the orange back with the red by single crocheting the last ten stitches.
I continued with this pattern for the rest of the colours. I followed good ol’ “ROY G. BIV” (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) to get a range of colours for my rainbow strap!
We then attached the rainbow straps to my white crocheted slippers! Ryan also embroidered a border across the edge of the slipper using brown embroidery floss to make them more similar to my flats.
The rainbow straps make these flats so fun, colourful and unexpected!
It was quite a whirlwind when I went on this slipper-making frenzy!
I felt like a shoe designer, dreaming up what designs I wanted to make and wear!
It is so simple to personalize these slippers as there are many great yarn colours to use and many fun buttons and great little crochet embellishments (bows, hearts, flowers) that you can add.
Which one of these crochet slippers are your favourite?
I hope I’ve given you some ideas on how you can adapt and modify a basic pattern to make many different designs! Do you have any favourite flats or shoes that could be made into a pair of slippers? Inspiration can come from anywhere! Once again, the free base pattern can be found here and you can check out my step-by-step blog post with plenty of pictures and a detailed list of the modifications I made here. Thanks for reading this heavy post and continuing along this crochet journey with me!
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Here is a recap of all the crochet slippers I made! Detailed blog post coming soon :) All slippers were made using the free pattern by Little House by the Sea with modifications!
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Hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day over the weekend! I crocheted my Mom her very own pair of slippers and here she is proudly modeling them :) She likes darker colours, so I used two shades of grey and adorned them with two small buttons with hints of pink thread!
Everyday this week I will post a photo of a new pair of slippers I made using the same free pattern by “Little House by the Sea”, so keep on coming back to see what other ones I’ve made! I’ll do a big blog post at the very end to explain and describe them all in greater detail!
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![JUMP for JOY!
Sneak peek of upcoming blog post: Crochet Slippers [free pattern by “Little House by the Sea” (modified)]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m286wqx0GI1qg61s6o1_500.jpg)
JUMP for JOY!
Sneak peek of upcoming blog post: Crochet Slippers [free pattern by “Little House by the Sea” (modified)]
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Since this past Tuesday was the first official day of Spring, I thought I would do a Crochet Corner post on my Spring Bunnies! I’m hoping the weather will be Spring-like, but we’re known to have unexpected blasts of winter where I live *fingers crossed*. It was also exactly one year ago when my first pattern for CRAFT got published on their website. I was beyond thrilled when former editor-in-chief Natalie Zee Drieu commissioned me to design a Spring project even though I had only been blogging for two months. After it went live, Natalie told me that the Spring Bunnies pattern was extremely popular, and I’ve seen more final pictures of the Spring Bunnies than any of my other amigurumi designs! So, without further ado, let’s check out some Spring Bunnies that have been popping up all over the world!
First up, we have Grace of Craft by Grace from Indonesia. It’s neat because Grace used my “Amigurumi for Beginners” post and the Spring Bunnies project to teach some people to learn how to crochet! She started from the very beginning, teaching the basic stitches and how to read a crochet pattern. Below is Grace’s first Spring Bunny.
Grace taught Erni how to crochet, and here is her first ever amigurumi project! They took this picture during their last class together. Great job, Grace and Erni! You make a wonderful teacher-student combo!
Oraflana made this beautiful pink Spring Bunny. I love how everyone chooses their favourite fabric for the lining of the ears, so each Spring Bunny looks very unique. What a lovely bunny!
Christine of Oh So Pathos from Montreal, Canada made this bunny for her mom. Her mom was going through a rough period at work and wanted something ”comfy and warm-hearted” to remind her that her job wasn’t everything and that there was more to life. Christine made her mom this bunny so that she could take a moment to breathe and relax whenever she saw it. I’m sure Christine’s mom loves her handmade bunny and is always reminded how much her daughter loves her too! I love the funky fabric that Christine used and how black, white and pink contrast so nicely together.
Hilary of Buzz & Lola from Ireland made her own Spring Bunny and plans to make him a smaller friend once she masters using a smaller crochet hook! People are always surprised to hear what a tiny crochet hook I actually use, but that’s how I get those tight, small stitches :) I love the colours that Hilary used with the grey felt and pink nose on his cream body. He looks very snuggly and cute!
Bogee made her own Spring Bunny with both a flower and a carrot- lucky bunny! Bogee found it difficult to sew the felt on the feet and ears, so she actually sewed the stitches on the felt pieces first and then used fabric glue to stick the felt pieces onto the crocheted pieces. What a great trick! This bunny looks very well-made, and the stitching looks so even :) Great work, Bogee!
Kitty of Belgium used my Spring Bunnies pattern for her very first amigurumi project. She made a pair of bunnies and used yarn for the eyes. Kitty says that working on these bunnies made her fall in love with crochet all over again. I’m so happy to hear that your love for crochet has been reignited, Kitty :)
Candy from Singapore crocheted some bunnies and donated them to the Rabbit Society who is helping abandoned bunnies. I think it’s very sweet how these plush bunnies are helping their live counterparts in Singapore :) Candy did a wonderful job with her pink bunny with ears sticking straight up! So adorable!
And here is Candy’s floppy-eared bunny. Love the dainty floral fabric she used for the lining of the ears. What a sweetie!
Victoria of YarnRoundHook from the UK made these two Spring Bunnies, Flower and Petal, for her two children. Victoria writes that they are so well-loved that some stuffing is even escaping! She also points out that Flower turned out bigger than Petal- it’s interesting even how a little difference in the weight of the yarn can make a difference in the overall size of the amigurumi. They both look very well-made and very cute, Victoria! I’m so happy to hear that Flower and Petal are getting so much love from your children!
As always, I have many more pictures of Spring Bunnies to show you, but I’ll save them for a future post. Be sure to check out my Spring Bunnies step-by-step blog post here and download the free pattern on the CRAFT website here. Keep sending me your pictures on facebook, twitter and e-mail! I hope your Spring has been off to a great start and that you’ve enjoyed reading about all these amigurumi bunnies who’ve been brightening up people’s days all around the world :)
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Gather round, everyone! Check out my most recent amigurumi projects if you haven’t so already! We’ve got Dragon, Sweetheart Bunny, and the Teddy Ornaments (who would be just as cute as non-ornaments as well :D)!
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Back in October, I was perusing Facebook when I noticed a picture that my fashionable friend Erika posted of herself wearing a crocheted earwarmer/headband. She is studying overseas in the UK, and she told me that she purchased this headband from Topshop for 10 British pounds, or about $15. I thought her headband was so cute and chic, and I immediately wanted to try making one, especially since hers was crocheted and looked so simple to make!
I had seen some other knitted and crocheted headbands on-line through Craftgawker and on Etsy, and they were definitely very popular as stores such as Aldo and Urban Outfitters were also selling them. Below is my friend Erika wearing her Topshop earwarmer, and below her is a similar headband I found from ASOS. This earwarmer/headband is also commonly referred to as a turband (knotted look of turban + headband), and knitted/crocheted turbands as well as silk/fabric turbands have been spotted on many celebrities as part of the boho chic trend.
What I loved about these headbands in particular were the horizontal rows vs. the vertical rows. Working with horizontal rows can be more challenging off the get-go as you need to start with the appropriate length (you don’t want your headband to be too big or too small!). When working with vertical rows, you keep crocheting row upon row until you get your desired length. Both have different looks, but I decided to go with the horizontal rows to make my Topshop and ASOS-inspired knotted headband!
I started off by crocheting a series of 70 chain stitches. To tell you the truth, I actually started off crocheting too many chain stitches and my headband turned out too long! I had to undo my work as I wanted my headband to stretch a bit, and not be too oversized!
I used double crochets for more height, and it appeared that the Topshop headband also consisted of double crochets.
Once I finished six rows of double crochets, I was done the headband portion! This is a very quick project :)
Next I folded the crocheted piece in half and sewed the ends together…
I wanted my headband to be very ruched (pinched edges) around the knot just like the Topshop earwarmer, so I pinched the middle rows of my headband together (approximately Rows 2-5) and then sewed them together. I pinched the middle rows where the edges of the headband were sewn together as I wanted this seam to be concealed later on.
This is what my crocheted headband looked like from the front with the ruching.
Next up, I created the narrow strip that serves as the knot! Once again, I worked with horizontal rows to make it consistent with the rest of the headband.
Once I was finished making the strip, I wrapped it around the ruched part where the ends came together.
I sewed the edges of the knot together and hid the loose ends within the knot. You can’t see any more seams with this clean finish!
Here is my finished knotted headband! I actually used the same taupe yarn that I used to make my brother’s slouchy beanie for my headband…
I also made my sister a knotted headband using the same mustard colour yarn I used for my own slouchy beanie. It’s nice being able to use up that yarn that’s been lying around!
Here is the very simple pattern I made up for this Knotted Headband, perfect for beginners:
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Materials:
- 5 mm crochet hook
- Yarn, medium weight (I used Lion Brand Yarn’s Vanna’s Choice in taupe and mustard)
Headband:
Chain 70, or until 20”/50 cm long [keep in mind that head sizes vary, so please check your piece along the way to make sure it will fit your own head]
R1: Dc in 4th ch from hook and in each chain across (68 dc) [my piece now measured 18”/46 cm across]
R2-6: Chain 2. Turn. Dc in 4th chain from hook and in each chain across (68 dc)
My piece was 3.4”/8.6 cm wide after six rows. Fold the crocheted piece in half and sew the edges together. To emphasize the ruching, pinch the middle rows of the headband (approximately Rows 2-5) and sew them together (about 3”/7.6 cm across). Be sure to pinch the middle rows where the ends of the headband were sewn together to conceal the seam.
Knot:
Chain 10
R1: Dc in 4th ch from hook and in each chain across (8 dc)
R2-8: Chain 2. Turn. Dc in 4th chain from hook and in each chain across (8 dc)
My piece was 4.6”/11.7 cm long after eight rows. Wrap this crocheted strip around the pinched portion of the headband. Sew the ends together and hide any loose ends in the knot.
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Here are some ideas of how you can make your own variations of this Knotted Headband:
- use thicker, chunkier yarn
- make the knot bigger
- add more rows to give more height
- do back post double crochets or work in the front or back loops only to make the headband appear ribbed
- instead of double crochets, try using different stitches such as half double crochets, puff stitches, triple crochets, etc.
- use different colours for different rows or for the knot
- try making vertical rows (start off with width of headband and continue crocheting the length; see what this looks by checking out the ribbed band of my Urban Jungle Slouchy Beanie here)
- make a longer, thinner knot and wrap it around the band twice (as in the ASOS headband)
- add a flower
I was so excited to wear my new crocheted Topshop and ASOS-inspired Knotted Headband!
I think this Knotted Headband looks great worn with your hair both up and down, so I took my sister Ashley with me so we could model our headbands!
These headbands make great statements in your winter outfits!
When worn with your hair up, I personally think it looks great with some extra poof or volume at the crown!
It was a brisk day when we shot these photos, but we had some good laughs and fun posing in the snow! Our purses below were both great finds from our recent travels. We picked up this bag for Ashley from a cute little boutique in Montmartre, Paris called “Anoki”. I found this gorgeous Deux Lux bag from a fun store called “Alice in Hulaland” in the hippie surfer town of Paia in Maui. I love these souvenirs since they remind us of our recent adventures!
[On Ashley, Scarf: Next, Jacket: Zara, Jeans: Citizens of Humanity, Boots: Sterling, Purse: Anoki. On me, Parka: Aritzia, Cowl Sweater: Costa Blanca; Jeans: Rock and Republic; Boots: Aldo, Purse: Deux Lux]
If you’re interested in this knotted headband/turban look, Kaley of “Let’s Make It Up” has a great video tutorial on “How to Tie and Style a Turban” using bandanas and scarves here, and she also shows you how to style your hair around it. She has some really great hair tutorials on her channel!
Be sure to check out my earlier posts about the Urban Jungle Slouchy Beanies and the Puff Stitch Scarf if you want to try and crochet more items that you can wear!
I wanted to post these crocheted Knotted Headbands earlier, but things got so busy with the Teddy Ornaments, the Dragon for Chinese New Year, and the Sweetheart Bunny for Valentine’s Day, along with all our recent travels. It’s probably warmed up in many places by now and clothings companies have definitely started rolling out their Spring collections, but here’s a fashionable way to stay warm and look chic during this last month of winter before Spring officially comes! I’m sure I’ll be revisiting this pattern in the fall and whipping up a few more of these in different colours since they’re so easy to make! Is it still pretty cold where you live? Will you be trying out this knotted headband? It’s a great project for beginners or for people who have been wanting to learn how to crochet! I’d love to see your pics on my facebook page or twitter! Happy crocheting :)
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Sneak peek of upcoming blog post: Crochet Slippers [free pattern by “Little House by the Sea” (modified)]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m286wqx0GI1qg61s6o1_1280.jpg)
