UCLA Bruin Plushie

This week is the annual white elephant gift exchange in my department at UCLA. I wasn't sure what to make, but eventually decided on a Bruin (brown bear) which is the mascot of UCLA. I asked the /r/crochet community and they pointed me to the perfect pattern, Winston the Bear, which is free on Ravelry. I made it a tiny scarf from some dark blue and gold yarns to give it some character, otherwise I feared it might not be recognizable as the school mascot specifically.

The whole thing took me only a few nights of working on and off and procrastinating. Every time I see an adorable amigurumi I want to make it, but once I get to doing anything but the body, I start to despise it and usually want to quit working on it. Overall this guy wasn't too traumatizing, but I do hate sewing on those ears and legs. The nose turned out surprisingly well. Usually when I embroider something, it looks ridiculous or downright scary.

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Easy Cat Toys

I made these cat toys for my local animal shelter. I needed to get rid of a lot of yarn that I have no idea why I bought, and I had a lot of scrap yarn as well. I think they turned out great (once I remembered how to crochet, it's been a while)! These balls are great for using up scrap yarn. I had a lot of little bits and pieces which I joined together with square knots to make the multicolored toys!

For these toys I recommend using an H hook with heavier worsted-weight yarn like Red Heart Super Saver or Craftsmart Value, as opposed to Caron Simply Soft. I have found that the Red Heart and Craftsmart yarns make nice, stiff toys, while the Caron makes squishy toys and the slightly thinner quality has a tendency of showing the stuffing through unless you use a smaller hook. Another great idea is adding a little dried catnip when stuffing.

Pattern

Key:
sc: single crochet
sc2tog: single crochet invisible decrease

R1: 5sc in a magic ring
R2: 2sc in each st around
R3: [1sc in next 2 st, 2sc in next st, 1sc in next st, 2sc in next st] around
R4: 1sc in next 4 st, 2sc in next st, 1sc in next 4 st, 2sc in next st, 1sc in next 4 st
R5: 1sc in each st around
R6: 1sc in next 4st, sc2tog, 1sc in next 4st, sc2tog, 1sc in next 4st
R7: [1sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, 1sc in next st, sc2tog] around, stuff
R8: sc2tog around
R9: weave hole closed and secure end

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Rainbow Brocade Ripple Afghan

I decided I wanted to make a pastel rainbow afghan using the Brocade Ripple pattern from the book Reversible Ripple Afghans by Kim Guzman.

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn, as suggested by the pattern, as well as a J hook to ensure I didn't crochet too tight, as I did in the test squares. In addition to White, the six colors I chose are Blackberry, Soft Pink, Lemonade, Soft Green, Soft Blue, and Lavender Blue. I'm a bit sad that I decided to make the posts in white; the brocade pattern looks much nicer when the posts are the darker color. I couldn't do that with the rainbow colors though, so I had to settle for white.

I wish I could have omitted the Lavender Blue in favor of a light orange, but my local Michael's didn't offer anything other than burns-your-retinas bright orange. I also wish I had chosen a more muted yellow, but again they didn't have anything suitable.

The finished product is approximately 55" across and 72" long. Unfortunately, the couch monster ate several hooks over the course of making this blanket and I inadvertently switched to an I hook so the top of the blanket is more tightly crocheted than the bottom, but it isn't too noticeable.

Overall, I like the colors even though the purple is too dark and the yellow is too bright. I'm disappointed with the look of the white brocade pattern, so hopefully my example will help steer others away from the same mistake (or towards, if you prefer this look!). I much prefer the plain ripple side and honestly I wish I had just done that; it would have taken much less time to finish.

My cat also enjoyed the blanket even while it was still in progress. All she needs is a PopTart and she'd be NyanCat! Also being able to survive the vacuum of space would help.

Joining With Slip Stich Over Loose Ends

While making my second sampler afghan, I found that I needed to join the squares with slip stitch, but my squares had many carried strands and loose ends from color changes. I didn't want to weave in all the ends, but couldn't find anything on the internet about how to hide these less than desirable bits. The nature of slip stitch makes it less bulky than a single crochet join, but it also means the ends aren't hidden under the stitches. My method hides the ends and carried strands securely and even adds a zig-zag pattern to the slip stitch that adds some character when joins are made using contrasting yarn.

Begin joining yarn as usual, holding the two pieces with the right sides facing each other (wrong sides exposed). Slip stitch through both pieces in the far right corner (or wherever you want to start joining), and continue slip stitching across until you get to the loose end. Hold the loose end over the top edge as you normally would, going under the loose end for the first slip stitch. For the next stitch, move the loose end slightly down and slip stitch above it (essentially, the loose bit won't be in the stitch at all). Repeat alternating slip stitches under and "bypassing" the end, until you're satisfied with the join or reach the end. Because of the alternating stitches, you end up with a zig zag pattern.

If you have multiple loose ends, you can tie them in a square knot, ensuring the yarn stays flat against the edge, not too tight or hanging off loose. That will both ensure a clean and easier join, and that the loose ends won't unravel.

Once I'm able to take some pictures (or a video), I'll edit this post. Stay tuned!

White Baby Elephant Bookmark

After making the large blue elephant bookmark the other day, I wanted to make a smaller one. I decided to use Loops & Threads Woolike White yarn, as it's soft and thin. It's Super Fine (1) weight, so I used a B hook.

It took me a long time to make, longer than the larger elephant, because I had to be very meticulous with each stitch. Attaching the pieces together was even more difficult and slow going, but it was well worth it. The finished product is incredibly adorable. I didn't embroider eyes because I'm not very good at it, and I think it looks quite cute without them.

I took a picture with both the elephants together for size comparison. The small elephant measures approximately 2" across at the ears, 3" long body plus head, and 6" long from trunk to tail.

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Elephant Bookmark

I saw this pattern today on Ravelry, and just had to make it right away! I chose Lion Brand Pound of Love Pastel Green yarn and an F hook, but I'd also like to use Loops and Threads Snuggly Wuggly Big! in Denim, as it's a bit thinner yarn.

It only took me a few hours from start to finish, with many interruptions. The pattern was overall easy to understand, though it did use UK terminology so I had to keep myself in check. The only thing that tripped me up a few times was where to put the stitch where the rows start and stop, but that would have been easily remedied through the use of additional stitch markers. I wish there were fewer gaps where the legs are, and where the trunk is, but I think after some use it'll relax a bit. I used two small, white brads for the eyes.

The bookmark measures 4" wide at the ears, the body plus head are 6" long, and from tail to trunk it measures 11".

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More Tiny Chickens

I made some more tiny chickens for my Ingress group, this time using not only Vanna's Choice Oatmeal yarn but also Craft Smart Desert yarn. For the former I used an E hook and an F hook for the latter.

The Desert chickens turned out a bit larger than the Oatmeal, so I had to improvise the comb and beak a bit to make them more proportional.

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Vanilla Cream Ripple Afghan

My mom made this afghan for my brother's bed, to match his newly-painted room, which favors the same colors featured in this afghan. She chose Vanilla Cream Ripple as her pattern, from the book Reversible Ripple Afghans by Kim Guzman.
She did modify the pattern a bit to make the front posts thinner.

She used Caron Simply Soft Sunshine, Berry Blue, and Soft Blue with a K hook. She crochets much more tightly than I do, so her blanket turned out thicker (and arguably softer) than mine. The finished size is about 75" x 55".

One curious thing about it is that since all the front posts are parallel, it naturally accordions to just a fraction of its width.

Check out more projects using this pattern on Ravelry:

Chicken Tissue Box Cover Pattern

I was trying to think of more projects that could be chicken-themed for my Ingress group, and was considering making Mario themed tissue box holders. The ideas eventually combined into a chicken tissue box! I couldn't find a similar pattern online, so I decided to make my own.

My pattern fits a square tissue box 4.5" x 4.5" x 5.125".

Pattern

Materials
J hook
G hook
Worsted weight yarn - I used Loops and Threads Impeccable for the body and Red Heart Super Saver for the rest
Tapestry needle
Safety pins

Key
sc = single crochet
st = stitch
sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain
MR = magic ring tutorial

Note: body, face, and back pieces are worked all in front loop only. Beak and eyes are worked in both loops.

Body (make three)
Chain 16
R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each st across
R2-R15: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across
Bind off

Face (make one)
Chain 16
R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each st across
R2-R5: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across
R6: ch 1, turn, sc in next 5 sc, ch 5, skip 5 sc, sc in last 5 sc
R7-R13: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across
Bind off

Back (make one)
Chain 16
R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each st across
R2-R13: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across
Bind off

Feet (make two)
With J hook and brown yarn:
leg and toe 1: Ch 16, sl st in 2nd ch on hook, sl st in next 4 st
toe 2: ch 6, sl st in 2nd ch on hook, sl st in next 4 st
toe 3 and leg: ch 6, sl st in 2nd ch on hook, sl st to end of leg, bind off

Beak (make two)
With G hook and yellow yarn:
4 sc in a MR
R1: 2 sc in each sc
R2: (2 sc in next sc, sc in next sc) around
R3: sc around
R4: (2 sc in next sc, sc in next 5 sc) around
R5: sc around, leaving a long yarn tail

Eyes (make two)
With G hook and black yarn:
6 sc in a MR
sl st into first sc to join, pull ring closed, leaving long yarn tails on both ends.

Comb (make one)
With G hook and red yarn:
Ch 6, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sl st to end, ch 6, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sl st to end, turn and ch 6, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and to end.

Assembly
Using the safety pins, attach the face, back, and two body pieces together as desired, and either whip stitch or slip stitch to attach the pieces together. Make sure the mouth hole is on the lower half of the face.
Take the last body piece and attach using your preferred method to the four sides already assembled.

Attach the beak pieces to the face around the hole, using the long strands of yarn left on the pieces.
Using the tapestry needle and yarn ends, fix the eyes in place by "sewing" around the edges of the eye.
Weave the yarn ends onto the back of the seams on the body to attach feet in place.
Position the comb as desired and run the two ends of the yarn through the body, tieing them in a knot on the inside. Keep about one inch of yarn, in case the knot comes loose in the future.

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Tiny Power Star Plushie

After making my Super Mario Power Star Pillow I wanted to make a tiny version, so I made this one! It's based on Teena's pattern for stars.

Pattern

Materials
Small amount of worsted weight yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft Sunshine)
F hook
Tapestry needle
Small amount of black felt
Fabric glue

Key
Magic Ring = tutorial here
st = stitch
hdc = half double crochet
dc = double crochet
sl st = slip stitch

Star (make two)
9 dc in a Magic Ring, sl st into first dc and pull ring closed
ch 1, (*2 hdc, ch 2, 2 hdc* in next st, sl st into next st), repeat () around
Leave a long tail on one or both stars for stitching them together.

Weave both stars together using the whip stitch in the inside loops only (or your preferred join method). Begin stuffing when one arm of the star is left, finish weaving, continuing to stuff as needed. Fasten off yarn end and weave through the plushie to hide the end.

Cut eyes in the felt and attach with glue.

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Super Mario Power Star Pillow

Since I made my Legend of Zelda Triforce Pillow, I've wanted to make more geeky pillows. However, I couldn't think of one I wanted to make until I thought of doing a Super Mario star, but I couldn't find one out there, so I found April Dravin's "Twinkle Star" pattern and added some eyes.

I used an F hook with Caron Simply Soft Sunshine, so this might have turned out larger if I had used a larger hook or a thicker yarn.

I want to make another one with pointier tips. I'm not sure why mine turned out so rounded, but I think it makes it look almost cuter in a way. Or maybe it's just the eyes.

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Post Stitches Afghan

Since I started my 99 Post Stitches project, I wanted to make the squares into two afghans. For the first I collected together all the lighter-weight squares, and the heavier, thicker squares will go into the second afghan.

First I joined the squares into rows, and joined them with slip stitch. I picked a few colors and used those to attach all the squares touching those colors, then did the same for all the remaining colors. I slip stitched the rows together with white yarn, and tried to make the corners of each square line up. Once that was done, I finished the afghan off with a row of white single crochet around the outside for a simple edging.

The front looks very clean, as I only used the back loops for the joins.

I like the white lines on the back, and wonder if I should use white for all the joins on my next afghan, instead of matching colors.

The finished afghan measures 60" by 48" almost perfectly!

Tiny Bear Pattern

Here's an adorable tiny bear pattern that's great for a keychain or charm!

Pattern

Key:
sc = single crochet
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
sc2tog = single crochet two together
magic ring = see this video

Materials
Small amount of Very Fine yarn
C (2.75mm) size crochet hook
Blunt tapestry needle
Thread or brads for eyes/nose
Sewing needle to embroider eyes
Stuffing

Body and Head
R1: Make a magic ring with 6 sc, sl st in first sc to join (6)
R2-5: 2sc in each sc around (12)
R6: [sc in next 5 sc, sc2tog using next 2 sc] around (10)
R7: [sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog using next 2 sc] around (8)
Begin stuffing body
R8: [sc in next 4 sc, 2sc in next sc] around (10)
R9-10: sc in each st around (10)
R11: [sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog using next 2 sc] around (10)
R12: [sc in next 3 sc, sc2tog using next 2 sc] around (8)
If you want to use brads, you should attach them now.
Stuff head and use blunt needle to close up the head, secure.

Nose
R1: Make a magic ring with 3 sc, sl st in first sc to join
R2: sc in each sc around
Attach brad if desired.
Bind to head in position desired.

Ears (make two)
Ch 2, turn, sc in 1st ch, bind to head in position desired.

Front Legs (make two)
R1: Ch 4
R2-4:Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across
Bind off, leaving a long yarn end. Use some of the yarn and the blunt needle to form the square into a tube, closed on one end. If necessary, stuff with just a bit of stuffing.
Bind to upper body in positions desired.

Back Legs (make two)
R1: Ch 5
R2-5:Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across
Bind off, leaving a long yarn end. Use some of the yarn and the blunt needle to form the square into a tube, closed on one end. If necessary, stuff with just a bit of stuffing.
Bind to bottom of body in positions desired.

Use your sewing needle and thread to decorate your tiny bear, or fasten

I originally wanted this to look something like Dieter the Polarchuck from Neopets, but it turned out more like a regular bear and nothing like Dieter (mostly because I'm quite terrible at embroidery). His favorite food is snow, which is why I also crocheted some colored snow blocks for him as a snack.

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99 Days of Crochet - Day 99 It's A Wrap

Hooray, the last square! Sadly I was a bit disappointed with this stitch being the last square. It's so plain and boring; any of the previous few would have been so much nicer. For the puntastic title, I think Wrap It Up would have been a better choice of wrapped stitch.

I used Lion Brand Pound of Love Pastel Pink yarn with a J hook.

Front

Back

99 Days of Crochet - Day 98 Posted Shells In A Row

This square seems so familiar, I feel as though I must have done it already, but I suppose most of them started looking the same early on. I like it though, it's simple and quick and fancy looking.

I used Lion Brand Pound of Love Pastel Green yarn with a J hook.

Front

Back

99 Days of Crochet - Day 97 Chisel Stitch

I really like this stitch. It's a bit like the waffle/basket stitch combined with alternating posts, so it has quite a bit of volume but it isn't ridiculously thick and heavy.

I used Red Heart Super Saver Pumpkin yarn with a J hook.

Front

Back

99 Days of Crochet - Day 96 Vertical Chevrons

This is a pretty cute stitch, and didn't take too long to work up as it's all half double crochet. For the vertical posts, instead of double I did half triple. I was worried about running out of yarn starting about halfway through, but I ended up making the square slightly larger than I needed, and had yarn to spare!

I used Red Heart Super Saver Petal Pink yarn with a J hook.

Front

Back

99 Days of Crochet - Day 95 Spaced Dips

This looks suspiciously like Dip Stitch. It didn't take too long to work up, and I like the colors I chose. I was worried it would be too bright, but the white really helped blend the colors.

I used Loops and Threads Impeccable White and Red Heart Super Saver Turqua and Petal Pink yarns with a J hook.

Front

Back

99 Days of Crochet - Day 94 Bobbled Rib

My finished square didn't look much like the book's photo, but it wasn't any more interesting anyway. It took a while to do because the stitches are all single crochet height, and began folding so after the first few rows I switched from double posts to half triple posts.

I used Red Heart Super Saver Carrot yarn with a K hook.

Front

Back