…u find helpful. If you get stuck on a tricky spot, feel free to leave me a comment (and I’ll help you out!), or come over to the FreshStitches Ravelry Group and chat about your troubles! Gathering your Materials You can’t crochet a cow without materials, right? A peek at the cow’s pattern page gives us a listing of supplies… I’ll show you what I’ve gathered! The Yarn If you’re doing a cow-colored cow, you&…
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Pineapple Shawl, Tutorials and Sharing the Love
…-book The Beginner’s Guide to Amigurumi. It’s really good. And free. So download it. TinCanKnits just updated their 6-part Gramps Sweater Tutorial. It’s an amazing pattern (do you remember when I knit Maddie her adorable rainbow sweater? This is the pattern!) Marly Bird shared 10 secrets to perfect planned pooling in crochet. So many possibilities! Amy Herzog Announced Make. Love. Wear. West 2017 Craftsy shared 12 stash-busting b…
Continue ReadingChild-safe Crochet Amigurumi Eyes
…st for a free pattern and assembly instructions! Guess what? Crocheting stuffed animals is easy! If you can single crochet, then you can make an adorable animal… don’t let pattern-reading scare you! Download my free e-book:The Beginner’s Guide to Amigurumi! I’ll walk you step-by-step through how to crochet an adorable penguin… you’ll be ‘hooked’ in no time!…
Continue ReadingChristmas Pickle, Etsy & Stamp Tutorial
…uares to make 140 blankets for Nepal. On the charity topic, check out my latest post on donating stuffed animals. 12 Days of Yarnie Giveaways are happening. Isn’t this yarn bowl gorgeous? Lost in the Woods is a beautiful new knitted pattern collection by Julia Günther, Robynn Weldon & Emily K Williams I LOVE these swatch experiments by Kelbourne Woolens Super cute KnitStrip Ornament pattern by Mason Dixon Knitting More Great Links If you…
Continue ReadingSupport your Indie Designers (and this isn’t about money!)
…their Ravelry group? Just like I did in my yoga studio, helping to build a community is invaluable! Recommend the designer to others Okay, so your budget’s tight. But, do you have a friend looking for a pattern suggestion? Or a relative looking to learn to knit/crochet? How about pointing them to your fave designer’s pattern? Or a class that they teach? Advertising is expensive for a designer… so your spreading the word helps a t…
Continue ReadingUltimate Crochet Hook Review: the review!
…someone who wants to hold onto wood, but crochet with metal. Unlike other comfort hooks, the handle begins comparatively high up the shaft, making this hook comfortable for those with smaller hands. Pitfalls: This hook is about 1/2″ shorter than other hooks, so it may not be comfortable for those with bigger hands. Verdict: If you have arthritis (that’s helped by working with wood over metal), this hook and the Kollage are two hooks o…
Continue ReadingHow to add hair to your amigurumi
…friendly unicorn, who will be available as a pattern this Thursday, January 24th! Step 1: Make your amigurumi This process is done after all of the crocheting & stuffing & assembly has been completed. Step 2: Cut your yarn into pieces The pattern will specify the length of your hair pieces. If you’re making it up as you go along, just remember that each ‘hair’ will be folded in half. So, if you want your piece to have 3…
Continue ReadingReview: Lacis Yarn Ball Winder
…ho weren’t using the ball winder correctly. So, I gave it a try. The test I started out winding some balls, and they all came out beautifully. Then, I gave it the real test: a skein of lace-weight 100% silk yarn. And here’s how it did: Success! No slipping… just one beautifully wound ball! The cons I wound a whole lot of yarn! Here are what I think are the negatives of this ball winder: The clamp is only 1.25″. So, for me (…
Continue ReadingDye yarn with Wilton Icing Dye!
…Experiment with adding less dye for more subtle colors. Purple is notoriously difficult. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but the blue & red tones separated out quite a bit. I love the look, but you’ll want to always test swatches if you want a certain look. A true black is very hard to achieve. I’ll play around with adding a higher intensity of dye. Always do a test swatch! These 8 yard skeins were just perfect, you can w…
Continue ReadingTips and Techniques for felting
…t it will felt! Different brands felt differently, so you may want to do a test swatch. Also, different colors felt differently. For example, white yarn sometimes doesn’t felt very well: the bleaching process occasionally removes the felting ability of the fiber. That said, many whites do felt, so try a test to find out if yours does! Okay, so you’ve picked your yarn, and you went ahead and crocheted your amigurumi. Now it’s time…
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