The Yarnival of the Animals

Just a cute, evil-looking pumpkin as part of my annual Halloween decorations. The pattern used is by Tessa van Riet-Ernst ( https://woolytoons.com/ ).     If you want to go for a more grown-up look for your autumn decorations, I've written a pattern for some less cartoony pumpkin decorations here .     Text  

I originally made this doll to cheer up my office at work, but since I've mainly worked from home these last two years, it hasn't actually spent any time there :-) The pattern used is by Bunnies and Yarn and you can by it on  https://www.amigurumipatterns.net/shop/Bunnies-and-Yarn/Santa-Claus/  (a very dangerous website to go on, they have so many great patterns!).  This project was made with 100% cotton Ricorumi yarn and a 3.00 mm hook. This will make the doll quite massive, so downgrade to a finer yarn if you want a smaller doll that can fit on shelves etc.

Never too early to start thinking about autumn decorations! These pumpkins are really easy to make and are crocheted in rows, not rounds to achieve that nice ribbing effect.   You can of course make them in less cartoony colours to suit your home decor a bit better, like mauve or brown.  In fact, a friend of mine used to grow pink pumpkins! You can find the pattern for the big pumpkin here , and the pattern for the two smaller ones here . Of course, you can mix and match stalks, bottoms and bodies to create differently sized and shaped ornaments. I've used cotton SMC Catania yarn, suitable for a 2.00-2.50mm hook.

The pattern for the big pumpkin is very similar to that of the small pumpkin, but scaled up slightly. Just make sure that your work is loose enough so that the the sides don't crumple too much when you cinch in the sides. Big pumpkin: Body: R1. Ch 26 in orange (26) R2. Sc into the backbump of every stitch starting with the 2nd stitch on the hook (25) R3-54. Sc into the back loop of every stitch (25) Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Use this tail to sew the two short ends together. Then fold the pumpkin inside out.  Cut of two lengths of yarn and weave each one into the long sides of the crochet work and pull them tight to squeeze the rectangle into a sphere. Stuff with fiberfill and tie down the ends and weave in.  Top: Start a magic ring in green. R1. Sc 6 into the magic ring (6) R2-6. Sc into every stitch (6) R7. Sc2 into every stitch (12) R8. Sc2 into every 2nd stitch (18) End with a slip stitch and fasten off, leaving a long tail. Use this tail to sew the ...

The bodies of these pumpkins are crocheted in rows, not in the round. The tops and bottoms in green are crocheted using the in the round technique.   Small pumpkin: Body: R1. Ch 17 in orange (17) R2. Starting with the 2nd stitch of the hook, sc into the "backbump" of every stitch . Ch 1 (16) R3-34. Sc into every stitch in back loops only. Ch 1 (16)  Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Use this tail to sew the two short ends together. Then fold the pumpkin inside out.  Cut of two lengths of yarn and weave each one into the long sides of the crochet work and pull them tight to squeeze the rectangle into a sphere. Stuff with fiberfill and tie down the ends and weave in.  Top:  Start a magic ring in green. R1. Sc 6 in the magic ring (6) R2-3. Sc into every stitch (6) R4. Sc2 into every stitch (12) End with a slip stitch and fasten off, leaving a long tail. Use this tail to sew the stalk onto the top of the pumpkin.  Top with vines: Start a magic r...

These little Christmas trees look amazing, but are in fact really easy and quick to make. They're from a pattern by The Lazy Hobby Hopper . The brown stumps are my own humble addition. I personally use them as amigurumi to stand around the foot of my Christmas tree, but for a friend I added loops of yarn to turn them into tree decorations (if you want to go meta).    For the stump, start a magic ring in dark brown.  R1.sc 6 in the ring (6) R2. 2sc in every stitch (12) R3. 2sc in every second stitch (18) R4. 2sc in every third stitch (24) R5. in backloops only, sc in every stitch (24) R6. sc in every stitch (24) R7. sc2tog every 11th and 12th stitch (22).  Fasten off and use the tail to sew the tree to the trunk.  For both parts, I used SMC Catania cotton yarn in the colours green (412) and brown (157). Both tree and stump may be filled with a little bit of fiberfill, but you won't need much.   

 This one is perhaps my favourite Christmas ornament of all the kitschy stuff in my tree. This adorable little snowman may also function perfectly as an amigurumi, but if you give him a loop through his head you can hang him in a tree just as well. The pattern used is by the talented and very brilliantly named Repeat Crafter Me . This particular snowman is made from SMC Catania cotton in white (106), black (110), orange (281) and blue (146). The eyes and buttons are 6mm safety eyes. 

Yet another Christmas ornament, and again one designed by the brilliant Sewrella  (see link for a free PDF of the pattern!).  This Rudolph was made of SMC Catania with a 2.00mm hook in the colours dark brown (157), camel (179) and red (424) with two 6mm safety eyes. 

These little Santa hats are incredibly quick and easy to make and are really useful to use up leftover bits of yarn. The pattern I used is in Spanish, but the video is easy enough to follow by just pausing it and following the steps.  These are made as ornaments to hang in a tree, but they are easily adaptable to give an amigurumi of your choice a Christmassy accessory. Size is of course also influenced by yarn weight and hook size. These tiny hats are just big enough to fit on your finger and are made with SMC Catania cotton in red (424) and white (106). 

Another ornament from my tacky Christmas tree is this cute little gingerbread man by the brilliant I Heart Gantsilyo . Do send them some love if you make one for yourself!  This little fellow was made from camel SMC Catania (179) with a 2.00mm hook. The decorative details can be made of whatever you want really. The eyes and mouth here are made of scraps of white SMC Catania yarn and the other decorative details are some spare buttons and bits of decorative ribbon. 

This simple Christmas wreath is a perfect way to use up left-over bits of yarn and may be made from a variety of different colours. The pattern is by Creative Crochet Workshop .  For this one, I used SMC Catania cotton in the colours green (412), white (106) and red (424). 

This is definitely the fanciest thing I've ever crocheted. My style is usually more on the cute or cartoony side and for a while, this angel looked a little out of sorts in my Christmas tree. This incredibly impressive looking, but relatively easy to make pattern is by Oombawka Design Crochet . Their website is definitely worth a look around, as they make many more great angel ornaments.  Because of the open-work in the skirt, I wanted a relatively clean look and opted for cotton ( SMC Catania ), in white (106) with a fairly small hook size (2.00mm). 

If you want to show your support for the LGBTQ+ community, or just like rainbows, I figured a little patch to sow onto bags or clothing would be ideal. This simple little pattern can be made from scraps of any type of yarn as long as all the main colours of the rainbow are there. For size, it is also more advisable to use a thinner yarn and for sturdiness I would recommend cotton over wool or acrylic (end result would be quite floppy).  For this pattern I had some SMC Catania in various colours available (see list at end of pattern), but only managed 6 out of the 7 colours, although personally I do think the division of blue and indigo is a bit of a scam.   Start by chaining 15 in purple (15). Row 1: sc in the second stitch from the needle; (2sc in the next stitch, sc in the next to stitches) x2; (sc in the next to stitches, 2sc in the next stitch) x2; 1sc in the last stitch (18). Chain 1 to turn. Row 2: (sc in the next 3 stitches, 2sc in the next stitch) x2; sc in the n...

My parents had one box of fancy glass-blown Christmas decorations that we put in our tree each year and for some reason, these included some mushroom-shaped baubles. Sure, the fly agaric has Christmassy colours with its red cap and white dots, but otherwise I always associated mushrooms and funghi with autumn, not winter.  I just always assumed we were peculiar in this, until my favourite crocheting magazine ran these cute little mushroom amigurumi decorations. Apparently, fly agarics at Christmas time is a thing? If anyone knows why, please let me know! I think the original pattern suggested to stick on some white dots on the caps, but I think I prefer them plain for a slightly more sophisticated look. Not to suggest that my Christmas decorations are anything but a cobbled-together heap of cute and weird, but some appearances must be kept up :-) These are made with a 2.00mm hook and my favourite amigurumi yarn, cotton SMC Catania in the colours red (300) and white (106) and a li...

3D hearts are incredibly easy and quick to crochet, and any basic pattern can be scaled up or down without any difficult maths. For this little heart, I used cotton yarn ( SMC Catania ) with a 2.00mm hook. To start, make a magic ring in the colour of your choice.  Round 1: sc 6 into magic ring (6) Round 2: sc2 in every stitch (12) Round 3: sc2 in every 2nd stitch (18) Round 4: sc in every stitch (18) Fasten off and leave a long tail.  Make a second one, but don't fasten off. Fix the two halves together with a sc. Round 5: sc 15, skip 2 stitches, sc 16 (32). Sew up the middle section with the tail.  Round 6: sc in every stitch (32) Round 7: sc 6, sc2tog x2, sc 12, sc2tog x2, sc 6 (28) Round 8: sc 5, sc2tog x2, sc 10, sc2tog x2, sc 5 (24) Round 9: sc 4, sc2tog x2, sc 8, sc2tog x2, sc 4 (20) Round 10: sc 3, sc2tog x2, sc 6, sc2tog x2, sc 3 (16) Round 11: sc 2, sc2tog x2, sc 4, sc2tog x2, sc 2 (12) Stuff. Round 12: sc 1, sc2tog x2, sc 2, sc2tog x2, sc 1 (8) Round 13: sc2tog x...

As a child and young adult, I always wanted to learn how to crochet, but never had the courage to try it (my mother always said it was really difficult). As a result, I always muddled along knitting and embroidering (neither of which I was particularly good at), but never daring to venture into the magical realm of the crochet hook. Until I saw a book by the brilliant Dutch designer Tessa van Riest-Ernst with all these cute little crocheted monsters and creatures and I knew I had to get over my fears. And, as it turned out, my mother was absolutely demonstrably wrong and my love of crocheting was awakened.  This witch with cat pattern was the final pattern in the book, and by the looks of it the most complicated. Again, it took me a few years to attempt it and I'm really happy with how they turned out. The cat, with its forlorn eyes, is especially amusing.   I'm also really pleased with how the hair turned out, I was a little sceptical at first that it would cover the en...

This miniature Christmas stocking has been a big hit with the few visitors to our home we've been allowed to have this year and I've been busy making them for everyone! They're made from a very easy to follow pattern by Sewrella that you can access for free <3 You can also make these in one colour with contrasting toes and heels, but I think the stripey pattern is quite festive and reminiscent of candy canes. You can scale them up or down of course by choosing thicker yarn, but these are made of scraps of my staple amigurumi yarn SMC Catania in the colours red (300) and white (106) with a 2.00mm hook. You can sew them shut at the top, but I've stuffed them with a little bit of fiber fill.  This same  post , and many other patterns can also be found on my  DeviantArt   

As a quick and easy filler in my Christmas tree I rustled up these chrochet Christmas baubles. They consist of a small fitting and a basic sphere pattern made with two colours crocheted in a spiral.  These are made from scraps of SMC Catania yarn in the colours 300 (red), 412 (green), 179 (light brown) and 106 (white) with a 2.00mm hook.   Fitting: R1. Sc6 in a magic ring (6) R2. Sc6 in backloops only (6) R3. Sc6 and fasten off. Leave tail for sewing.  Bauble: R1. Sc3 of your first colour and 3 of your second colour in a magic ring (6) R2. Sc2 with first colour in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stitch, pick up second colour and sc2 in the 4th, 5th and 6th stitch (12, 6 of each colour)  R3. Sc2 in every second stitch (9 of each colour) R4. Sc2 in every 3rd stitch (24, 12 of each colour) R5. Sc2 in every 4th stitch (30, 15 of each colour) R6. Sc2 in every 5th stitch (36, 18 of each colour) R7-12. Sc in every stitch (36) R13. Sc2tog every 5th and 6th stitch (30, 15 of each colou...

It looks slightly macabre to have just an elf head in your tree, but they're quick and easy and a great way to use up ends of yarn. I just can't quite remember how I did the hat.... Everything is made of SMC Catania yarn with a 2-2.5mm hook, as well as two 8mm safety eyes.  For the head, start with a magic ring R1. Sc 6 (6) R2. Sc2 in every stitch (12) R3. Sc2 in every 2nd stitch (18) R4. Sc2 in every 3rd stitch (24) R5. Sc2 in every 4th stitch (30) R6. Sc2 in every 5th stitch (36) R7-12. Sc in every stitch (36) Put in safety eyes.  R13. Sc2tog every 5th and 6th stitch (30) R14. Sc2tog every 4th and 5th stitch (24) R15. Sc2tog every 3rd and 4th stitch (18) R16. Sc2tog every 2nd and 3rd stitch (12) R17. Sc2tog every 1st and 2nd stitch (6) Fasten off and sew shut.  Ears (x2): sc 3 in magic ring and fasten off. Sew onto the side of the head.  Nose: Sc 3 in magic ring.  R2. Sc2 in every sc (6). Fasten off and sew below eyes.  The hat is made of rings of double ...

One of the very first amigurumi I ever made, and as you can see by the amount of dust he's collected, it's been awhile! He's made from a pattern by Tessa van Riet in her brilliant series of monster amigurumi.  At the time, I couldn't get the type of yarn she recommended for the head and hands and I remember spending a long day in Amsterdam trying different craft shops to find something suitable. In the end, I bought some hideously expensive Texan hand-dyed merino wool as it was the only thing I could find in the right sickly colour! And I only needed a couple of strands...