Author Archive
Heartless Soldier Fan Art
Posted on: September 30, 2017
- In: Fan Art | My creations
- 2 Comments
If anybody wonders where I have been this whole month I can tell you that I have been spending my time in a land called Kingdom Hearts, wandering around with no other luggage than my bag of yarns and crochet hooks. I spent it with a little character called Heartless Soldier, a fierce and challenging little guy that gave me a run for my money!
the Heartless Soldier was my summer project, a crochet challenge suggested by one of my youngest friends who used to play the video game when he was a kid. I am not one to say no to challenges, especially when they are as exciting as this one. Obviously I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I was going to do it no matter how much time it would take to achieve my goal.
One month… One month that included big fails, small victories, small fails, and big victories. The easiest part was the head and the body which is very standard if you are experienced with that type of crochet. The fun started with the feet which I thought was going to be the most difficult but ended up being a piece of cake compared to what was to follow.
The hands… Even though I loved working on the hands I managed to make them too big the first time around. I had been so proud of the result, it broke my heart when I realized that there was no hope for them, no hope at all. I had to say goodbye to the beautifully crafted hands to start on a smaller set. RIP larger than life hands, life of a crocheteer is tuff and full of heartbreaks.
I was almost there, I could already feel the triumph of overcoming this challenge! I just had to crochet the helmet, but a second look made me realize that it wasn’t going to be that easy, oh no, sir! I couldn’t figure it out and for a week I just stared at my doll thinking that I was so close but so far away. First, the heartbreak, now the frustration… Life of a crocheter is tuff, full of heartbreaks and frustrations.
I wasn’t going to let a helmet let me declare defeat, no way! I woke up one morning and a light bulb turned on, I had to make it in three parts! I crocheted the top of the helmet, the bottom and the cone shaped top separately and sew everything together around the head. Life of crocheter is tuff, full of heartbreaks, frustrations, and triumphs.
I am so proud and so happy with my doll, I absolutely adore it. I bought a little doll stand where it proudly sits on top of my dresser. It’s a reminder that for every challenge there is an accomplishment, it’s one of the many things I love about crocheting.
Little Piggy
Posted on: August 2, 2017
May I present to you my latest creation, a little pig plush made out of yarn and love.. Oink! This is a crochet project I had in mind for a while because I love pigs and I have been playing a lot of farm games on Facebook.
I am very happy with the result, he looks exactly like I pictured it in my head (I have terrible artistic skills so I never draw what I want to crochet).
Actually I should have said that “he almost look like I pictured” because I had to redo the eyes. I had crocheted round bulgy eyes but the result was harsh, my little plush looked unfriendly. I really wanted big eyes but a soft look, felt and a pair of scissors did the trick.
I also made a pattern available on ETSY if anybody is interested in this project, the skill level is easy and it is really fun to make. Now, I already have a lot of farm animals in my collection: a chicken, a cow, a duck, a pig… What should I do next?
I hope you enjoyed this post, happy crocheting!
Sackboy
Posted on: July 27, 2017
I will be honest, I have never played Little Big Planet but I immediately fell in love with its main protagonist when one of my friends showed it to me. I usually like to make fan art based on movies, video games, or music artists that means a lot to me, and Sackboy is somewhere on that list even though I still have to try the game (shame on me).
Sackboy is a knitted character, but since I do not knit I thought it would be fun to make a crocheted version. It was not very difficult to make, and the result looks very similar to the original. Now he spends most of his time sitting by the computer, but sometimes I catch him wandering around the house…
The arms and legs are jointed with pins that allows him to sit or stand, and take different poses. I couldn’t find a small zipper so I had to cut one down to the size I needed, then used a glue gun to stick it to the body.
He is quite small, 8 inch tall standing. I really wanted the mouth to be three dimensional so I used a method that is explained in one of my tutorials that you can check out here: How to Make a Three Dimensional Mouth .
I think he turned out really cute, I absolutely adore him. If he gets too lonely I will make a Sackgirl to keep him company, they would make a great pair on my office table!
I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it will inspire you to learn crochet, or to keep on crocheting! 🙂
Tinkerbell Fan Art
Posted on: June 18, 2017
I don’t crochet Fan Art dolls often, but every once in a while I like to challenge myself with a project that involves characters I love from movies, video games, or books. Last week I got inspired, and decided to try my hands on a Tinkerbell, the beloved fairy from Peter Pan.
When I said I like a challenge, I wasn’t joking. It took me three weeks to make her, with trials and errors, and even though I am very happy with the results I would modify a few things on the pattern if I was to crochet something similar.
The two challenges I encountered are the facial features, and the hair. I really wanted to give her eyes an almond shape but I wasn’t sure how to proceed. At first I wanted to make them just using felt, but I changed my mind and insted used a pair of 12mm blue safety eyes, white felt for the shape, and black felt for the contour. I added some plastic eyelashes to make her look more girlie. I feel that the eyes are a little too big, but it still look cute.
I don’t know why but I always thought that Tinkerbell had her hair pulled back in a bun, that tells you how much I pay attention to detail! She definitely have a bun, but the rest of her hair is shaped into a pixie cut style. I was tempted to crochet a wig to put on her head, but I opted for strands of yarn instead.. Lots of them! I did crocheted the bun however, which I embroidered afterward with yarn.
The wings on her back are very simple, I used double crochet and treble that I worked around a chain. I sprayed them with starch to keep them from flopping over. I will upload a tutorial next time if anybody is interested, they are very easy to make.
Voila! This was my attempt at crocheting a Tinkerbell. I learned a lot from it, and even though she is not perfect I still like her a lot. Practicing crochet on characters that inspire you is a lot of fun, it helps you improve your skills and gives you inspiration.
Happy crocheting!
Fuzzy Panda
Posted on: May 21, 2017
- In: Misc | My creations
- Leave a Comment
Two months ago I made a post about a panda bear pattern I had created for my ETSY shop, a cute little amigurumi crocheted with regular acrylic yarn. I enjoyed that project so much, I thought it would be fun to try a different version of the panda using the same pattern but with a type of yarn that would give it some fur. Both versions are cute, but the result is so different that it doesn’t look like it was made from the same pattern.
the second version of the Panda, so fuzzy!
The first version was made with Caron Simply Soft, which is labeled as a medium weight #4, and 100% acrylic. It is quite small for a yarn of that category, I usually end up with smaller plushes when I use Caron.
the first version of the panda
You can really tell the difference in size. The first version of the panda is about 5.5 inch tall, the other one is 7 inch. I used the same 2.75mm crochet hook for both plushes without any alterations in the rounds, but the yarns I used for my second panda are thicker, hence the result.
Big fuzzy panda and its little acrylic version.
I used two different brands of yarn to crochet the fuzzy panda. I usually prefer to work with the same brand on one project when I need different colors but in this case I couldn’t find both in the same collection so I settled for Butter Cream Angel Air in black, and Yarn Bee Tender Touch in white. The black yarn is 50% Acrylic, 28% Nylon and 22% Wool. The white yarn is 100% acrylic but still has a fuzzy feel to it, which is what I needed to create fur.
In order to create the fur, I gently brushed each parts of the panda with a pet brush before sewing the parts together. I think it is better to brush after the parts are stuffed with fiberfill, otherwise you might end up with stretched parts (it happened to me the first time I tried this method).
On top, the fuzzy yarn and at the bottom, regular acrylic yarn
the magic pet brush (which I never used on my cat)
Trying two versions from the same pattern was a fun experiment, and I cannot tell you which one I like best because I love both pandas. I hope you enjoyed this post and that it will inspire you to also try different type of yarns for your projects.
As always, happy crocheting!
Little Giraffe
Posted on: April 13, 2017
- In: ETSY Shop | My creations
- 1 Comment
I can’t believe it’s been a month since I last posted on my blog. I have been so busy that I didn’t see time go by. Finally, I am able to take time off to get back to my favorite hobby, crochet. This month I worked on a little giraffe pattern for my ETSY shop, and I can say that I am quite please with the results!
This is my first time trying to crochet a giraffe, I wasn’t sure how I wanted it to look like, there are different ways to do it (long nose, big nose, tall leg or short legs) but I finally opted for something little kids could play with, one with a big nose, long neck and short legs.
I will admit that it took trials and errors, I had intended to make the head, neck and body separate but as soon as I finished the head I realized that it would be better to start with the body and seamlessly continue with the neck and head.
I tried to make long legs at first, but it didn’t look right. I ended up making them very short, I think it makes the giraffe look very cute and easier to play with. It ended up being about 12 inch tall, which is a good size but not too big.
This pattern is available on my ETSY shop. The skill level is easy, I put lots of step by step pictures to help along the way.
Now I am ready to start my next project, a different version of the Panda Bear I made last January. This one will be crocheted with a different type of yarn, and a safety nose. I can’t wait to get started.
Happy crocheting!
Hippo Hippo
Posted on: March 1, 2017
- In: ETSY Shop | My creations
- 3 Comments
Do you know this song? “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, Only a hippopotamus will do, Don’t want a doll, No dinky tinker toy, I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy”
Well, it’s not Christmas anymore, but one can wish for a hippo all year long! I was looking for ideas for baby showers and small gifts easy to make, so I made this hippo and wrote a pattern that I have made available on my ETSY Shop
As usual I used acrylic yarn, and a small hook to make the stitches really tight. He is only 6 inch and fits in the palm of my hand. I think he turned out really cute! All he needs now is a puddle of water to splash in it.
I really enjoy making small animals, I have a lion, an elephant, a monkey and now a cute hippo with big dorky eyes. My next project is a giraffe, soon enough I will be able to open a zoo!
