It’s Banana O’clock

You know it’s banana o’clock when crafters go crazy and challenge each other to post a craft photo with a banana in it. This slightly weird idea first struck our fellow designer Dendennis who not only posted stylized banana pics on his social media accounts, he also challenged others to do the same. The idea is to create a stylized craft photo and include a banana in it. 🍌

Another designer friend AmiFan slipped right into the challenge, banana peel and all, and then challenged me to participate. There was only one itty-bitty problem: there were no bananas at home (there were three left but I’d used them to bake a banana bread that very day)! When I used that bit of information to wiggle out of the challenge, AmiFan challenged me to be creative and figure out a way. So I did exactly that and created this little amigurumi Banana Boy—which I’m posting here as a free pattern—and bam! I had a banana for the challenge. 😎

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If you’re going bananas because of social distancing and want to join the banana wagon, take a picture of your craft alongside a banana and post it using the hashtag #craftandabanana (how bananas it this hashtag!). 🤪And in case you have run out of bananas, I guess you can bend the rules a little bit and substitute it with this little Banana Boy.

Stay home, stay safe, stay crafty.

Happy hookin’! ❤️

Stash bustin’ amigurumi teddy bear keychain

Long time! So this is sort of a ‘blast from the past’ post in which I revisit one of my earliest designs and give it a bit of a tweak.

I had written the pattern for these stash busting amigurumi teddy bear keychains back in 2013. Interestingly, I had picked up a crochet hook for the very first time only a year before that. Needless to say, despite being a very simple design, the pattern wasn’t very well written. 😁

So, this evening, I revised the pattern to make it easy to follow, and I hope you like the new revised version.

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I’m not sure if anyone would want to have a look at the original post and pattern, but in case they do for some weird reason, they can find it here. 😉

Happy hookin’! ❤️

Ash Vs Evil Dead Amigurumi

Raise your hands if you were bummed out by Starz network’s decision to cancel Ash Vs Evil Dead after its third season. I, for one, was totally devastated. Starz, how could you! Sob, sob. Sniffle, sniffle. Bawl, bawl. Not groovy, not groovy at all.

Now that Bruce Campbell has also announced he’s hanging up his chainsaw for good, I felt the time was right for a yarny tribute to our chainsaw-handed hero Ash J. Williams—portrayed by the charismatic Bruce Campbell—who has been fighting the terrors of the evil dead since 1981. So, in a true Ash fashion, I avoided all deadlines and responsibilities for a week to create this 8.5 inch amigurumi version of “jefe” Ash Williams. And because I want an amigurumi army of Ash J. Williams to colonize this planet, I wrote a pattern for it too. To join me in my mission, download this free pattern by clicking on the link at the end of this post, make as many Ash Willaims as you can, and gift them to your Ash Vs Evil Dead-loving friends and family.

Yes, Jefe, we are working on it. It should be ready by the end of this post.

 

So, about the amigurumi. It’s an intermediate level pattern that requires very small amounts of yarn. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is, since the pattern has a lot of details, it requires a bit of sewing and embroidery skills, working with wires and wire cutters, and a whole lot of patience.

 

Look at that! This groovy dude has a detachable chainsaw…

…and wired arms, which means you can pose his arms at different angles and take super awesome photos like this. Oh, and the amigurumi can stand on its own without any support. Isn’t that sweet! Now download the free pattern, make your very own Ash Williams and save the world from the Deadites.

 

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Happy hookin’! ❤

 

If you liked this free pattern, would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal, which runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals. This organization is also in the forefront of campaigning for animal rights. If you want to see the wonderful work these folks do, you can check out their Facebook page or their blog. You can also help them by donating here.

 Thank you for caring.

Crochet a cover for your Kindle

Raise your hands if you love crochet and reading. Now raise your hooks if you’ve been looking for a quick and simple [and free!] crochet sleeve pattern for your Kindle. I’m happy to tell you, your search ends here. 😄

They say you make handmade gifts for those you love. Since I love reading, I decided I needed to make something for the device that lets me read at night without blinding me. 😉 Now that I’ve made two of them for my Kindle and can personally vouch for how handy this little sleeve is, I’m sharing this pattern with you.

For this project, you’ll need around 50gm of sports weight yarn in the primary color and another 20-25gm in the secondary color, a 3.5mm hook, and a 38mm round button. The piece is worked flat and later joined at the seams. What makes this otherwise simple pattern fun to make is the use of spike stitch which—with its triangular motifs in a contrasting color—makes the design pop. If you are not familiar with this stitch, don’t panic. I’ve included a full-page photo tutorial on how to make a spike stitch. 😇

This crochet sleeve is designed for Kindle Paperwhite [7^th generation] but the pattern can be adapted to fit other eReaders and tablets as well. Look up the section on sizing [under Special Notes] in the PDF to see how this can be done.

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Happy hookin’!

 

If you liked this free pattern, would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal, which runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals. This organization is also in the forefront of campaigning for animal rights. If you want to see the wonderful work these folks do, you can check out their Facebook  page or their blog. You can also help them by donating here.

 Thank you for caring.

Twenty One Pilots Amigurumi Pattern

Chances are you’ve already seen these two if you’ve been following me on Instagram. In case social media is not your thing, please allow me to present *drum rolls* the amigurumi version of TWENTY ØNE PILØTS! 😀

Tyler Joseph as “Blurryface”

Six-inch star Josh Dun

Tyler and his backpack

Josh strikes a pose next to a clump of yarn ends

Honey I shrunk TØP!

If you’ve been looking to make your very own miniature TØP, your prayers have been answered. 😋 After almost 12 hours of typing, photo editing and illustrating diagrams, the pattern is now ready. Phew! So go ahead and download the pattern below; you can thank me later. 😉

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Enjoy!

If you liked this free amigurumi pattern, would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal, which runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals. This organization is also in the forefront of campaigning for animal rights. If you want to see the wonderful work these folks do, you can check out their Facebook page or their blog . You can also help them by donating here .

 Thank you for caring.

Lazy Bears

With the Holiday season almost upon us, there are gifts to make for those on our “nice list” and handmade gift shops to stock. And there’s soooo little time. Keeping in mind the craziness of the season, I designed (what I think is) the perfect little bear, which uses the simplest of stitches, requires only small amounts of yarn to make, and demands very little of your time. What’s more, you can customize the colors to make it appropriate for any season. And the pattern is free!

Made with sock weight yarn and a 2.5mm hook, these bears stand 3.5 inches tall (till the tip of their ears). Add the hat and the height comes up to approximately 5.5 inches. Because they are so quick and easy to make—and so very cute to look at if I say so myself, they’ll make great gifts for your amigurumi loving friends and family.

You can even add a string on top and use these Lazy Bears as Christmas tree ornaments (if you are into big ornaments) or you can use a lighter weight yarn and make smaller versions of them. When made with thinner yarn or crochet thread, they will also make great charms for key rings and tote bags.

I hope fellow crocheters who sell what they make and crocheters who hook for charity will love this pattern too because, as I pointed out earlier, it is a quick and easy pattern that requires very less craft resources.

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I hope you enjoy making these Lazy Bears as much as I enjoyed designing them for you. And I hope you’ll use your mad crochet skills to make a few of them as gifts because right now the world really needs hugs and teddy bears.

Hugs (and teddy bears!),

P.S. I named them Lazy Bears not because they’re lazy but because I think they make a perfect project for lazy crocheters like me. 😛 Also because they were inspired by my two lazy furbabies, one of whom turned seven today.

Our lovely birthday girl

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If you liked this free amigurumi pattern, would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal, which runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals. This organization is also in the forefront of campaigning for animal rights. If you want to see the wonderful work these folks do, you can check out their Facebook page or their blog. You can also help them by donating here.

Thank you for caring.

Cut Out + Keep: Knit & Crochet Superstar

Greetings, fellow hookers!

I have been featured as the (Knit &) Crochet Superstar on the UK based craft website Cut Out + Keep where, in an interview with its founder Cat Morley, I talk about my designs, my favorite knit and crochet toy designers, Animal Nepal, and how my first attempt at making an amigurumi went horribly wrong. You can read the interview here.

From May 9 to 15, seven of my amigurumi patterns will be featured on the Cut Out + Keep Superstar section, one pattern a day. The first pattern featured today is Baby Bitsy. Visit Cut Out + Keep from Monday to Sunday to see all the featured patterns.

Follow Cut Out + Keep on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to keep up with all the amazing craft tutorials.

Happy hookin’!

Serah

The Amazing SuperKids

Hello! Long time! I know I’ve not been posting much lately but you know how life tends to get in the way of crocheting. We’ve all been there. The struggle is real. 😉 This post is going to be short because I managed to get my right hand stuck between the jaws of an angry dog(!). Yeah, I know, I can be exceptionally good at being stupid but don’t worry, the dog is fine (and sleeping next to my desk as I type this).

So allow me to quickly unveil my first amigurumi pattern of the year (and it’s free!). Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the Amaaaazing SuperKids! 😀

Made with sock weight yarn, this adorable crime fighting duo stand 8 inches tall and come with their own removable capes.

Oh, and the boy has a cool eye mask.

I decided not to give the girl an eye mask because she already has too many details around her face (eyelashes and green fringe) and adding more to it—and this is entirely my opinion—would be an overkill. But you can totally make her an eye mask if you want. If I can design an prepubescent superhero with a mohawk, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t craft a pink eye mask for little superhero with green hair. 😉

DOWNLOAD PATTERN

To download the pattern in DUTCH, translated by our fellow crocheter Nanske, click here.

If you prefer to add the DUTCH version of this pattern to your Ravelry library, we’ve got that covered for you too! Amigurumi designer Amifan and I collaborated to  bring you this Dutch edition of De verbazingwekkende SuperKids. How cool is that! 🙂 Click here to get this pattern.

Before I wrap up this post, I want to thank amifan, Monika Weber, Mia Svensson, Anouska Wheeler and Jade Cordova for helping me test this pattern. You ladies are a joy to work with. Thank you so much! 😀 Thanks to P, my partner in crime, for coming up with the mohawk idea. This little superhero looks badass because of you. 😛

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If you liked this free amigurumi pattern, would you please consider making a small donation to Animal Nepal? Animal Nepal is a not for profit, animal welfare and rights organization based in Lalitpur, Nepal, which runs two sanctuaries for abused and injured homeless/working animals. This organization is also in the forefront of campaigning for animal rights. If you want to see the wonderful work these folks do, you can check out their Facebook page or their blog. You can also help them by donating here.

Thank you for caring.