Notizie
How to make perfect increases
When working in the round, it’s essential to know how to increase. You need to be able to increase if you crochet a ball or other round shapes. This is the ultimate guide.
Guide: Choose the right knitting needles
Choosing the perfect knitting needles can be a bit of a struggle if you’re new to knitting. What was supposed to be a nice time can quickly turn into utter frustration in the attempt to find the right knitting needles
Amigurumi - What Is It?
YES you read that right - amigurumi! It's not exactly a word that rolls off your tongue, and you'll probably be unsure of how to pronounce it - but luckily it's not that crucial. What is crucial, on the other hand, is that you know what it is if you are to get something out of this post ;-) So let me start by presenting the phenomenon: Cute and cute stuffed animals Amigurumi is a Japanese word that describes a variety of small cute animal designs. Loosely translated, amigurumi means small crocheted or knitted stuffed animals - ami means crocheted/knitted and nuigurumi stands for adorable/cute animals/teddy bears/dolls. Now that you know what amigurumi is, let me tell you a little about the techniques used, the appearance of the animals and which materials the adorable creatures require, and last but not least - how you best survive the assembly process. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with knitting techniques, but I will guide you through the general crochet techniques. What skills should you have? The most crucial technique you need when crocheting amigurumi is a magic ring. The magic ring is the beginning of crocheting in the round, and so it is indispensable in amigurumi. I have previously written a post on how to master the magic ring - read it here . You need to be able to make a magic ring as amigurumi always has some elements that require crocheting in the round. It could be the head of a teddy bear, the long ears of the rabbit, or the paws of a cat. When crocheting from a pattern, it will always tell you how many stitches you need in the magic ring for each item. Magic ring is not the only technique that is crucial to the process. You simply can’t proceed without increases and decreases. I have written two posts where I go in depth with each technique, and give you different tips to achieve the best result. See how to make the perfect increases here , and read in this blog post about making decreases. The stitches that are used the most are simple single crochet stitches, so if you already know that, you are well on your way to your first adorable stuffed animal! Color changes are often necessary and they can cause some trouble! In amigurumi, you usually crochet in a spiral, and this can create some very ugly transitions in the color change. I have personally had the best results with two different methods: 1. Finish each round with a slip stitch and start new rounds with a chain stitch. This means that you are constantly crocheting a new round, instead of continuing round and round in a spiral. That way, your color change starts in a new round, and not as a continuation of the existing round. Like so 👇 After you have completed the round with a slip stitch and chain stitch, you can start the new round where you have to change color. Wrap the new color around the hook and pull the yarn through the two loops on the hook. You have now changed color. Continue as usual. When you reach the end of the round make one slip stitch in the 1 st single crochet and start the new round with one chain stitch. 2. If you do NOT want to finish each round, but wish to follow the pattern, you can easily do so. It just requires a little extra work. This is my favorite method, as I prefer to crochet in a spiral rather than finishing each round. When it's time to change color, make a slip stitch and cut the yarn (if you are completely done with that color). Then attach the new color anywhere on the round. This means that you are starting a completely new round, and the transition will look fairly nice. You can do this every time you need to change color. It’s a good idea to attach the new color at different places on the round. This leaves a lot of ends to be woven in, but if you crochet the yarn tails into the work, then it is not that bad at all. Like so 👇 Attach the new color to a random place on the round. Make one chain stitch. Continue as usual and finish the round with a slip stitch in 1st chain stitch. Continue crocheting in a spiral by only using chain stitch in that round. What should it look like? Amigurumi can look exactly the way you want it. The original amigurumi always has a particularly adorable look to it, which is enchanting. Cuteness also characterizes the vast majority of patterns. Like this pattern for Gigi the Giraffe - it's a pattern set that contains everything you need to crochet the adorable giraffe. What about materials? The materials used for amigurumi are almost always cotton yarn and a crochet hook appropriate for the yarn. It is important that the holes in the crochet fabric are not too large, as that can cause the filling to fall out. I recommend a 2.5 mm crochet hook, but if you crochet very loosely you can easily go down to a 2 mm size. If you are unsure about which yarn is best for amigurumi, then I can recommend Rainbow. Rainbow is really lovely and it is available in 60 colorways! You will also need filling. If you crochet for babies, safety eyes can be a very good idea as small children and babies like to put everything in their mouths ;-) You can also embroider the eyes directly onto the teddy bear. All you need is a yarn remnant and a darning needle. I prefer Clover Soft Touch 2.5 for amigurumi because this crochet hook has a very good grip, which is crucial when working with very small and detailed crochet projects. I do not know if it's just me who finds it difficult to mount all the small parts… But you can make it a little easier by using safety pins to hold ears, muzzles, arms, etc. in place. This way you make sure that each part is placed identically on both sides and that the teddy bear turns out symmetrical - even though there is a certain charm to the asymmetrical creatures. At least that’s what I tell myself ;-) I hope I have shed some light on amigurumi, and if you feel like trying your hand at these adorable animals, why not start with the cute patterns from Hobbii 😍 Love Josefine, Hobbii
Achieve Successful Decreases
During your crochet career, you can hardly avoid decreasing in order to crochet something like a ball or amigurumi - if you do not know about amigurumi then read here and learn When I crochet a ball, or amigurumi, I prefer to crochet in cotton and with a Clover Soft Touch 2.5 mm crochet hook I will try to guide you through the decreases that are part of the process when making a ball There are 3 steps in successfully crocheting a ball: Step 1: Magic ring and increases The first step is a magic ring. If you are not familiar with it yet, check out my previous blog post: Magic Ring: This Is How You Master It . After starting your magic ring and crocheting the first single crochet stitches in it, proceed crocheting in the round. There are two methods of crocheting in the round. You can either crochet in a spiral - you usually see this in amigurumi patterns - or you can crochet in the round and finish each round with a slip stitch and start a new one with a chain stitch. I have made a detailed guide that shows you how to make the perfect increases, which ensure your circle is even and round - read it here: How to make perfect increases When you crochet from a pattern it will always say how many rounds of increases you have to make. If you want a larger circle, you can always add a few extra rounds before crocheting around without increases. Step 2: The ball takes shape In step two, simply crochet around and around without either decreasing or increasing. This means that you stop increasing your number of stitches, but continue to crochet rounds with the existing number of stitches - the number you ended up with in the last round of decreases. It gives the ball its height and shape and thus you get a round figure. It varies with how many rounds like this you need to make from pattern to pattern and from size to size. Step 3: Decreases The third - and final - step is decreasing. When you decrease, the number of stitches is reduced and the ball gradually closes. There are several methods to successfully do this. First, I will show you the most common technique. I have made a step by step picture guide which shows you how to decrease 👇 To do this, go into the stitch from the previous round, as indicated by the arrow, wrap the yarn over the hook and pull the yarn through the stitch. Now you have two loops on the hook, but do NOT wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through the two loops - in stead repeat exactly the same into the stitch next to it - go into the stitch from the previous round as indicated by the arrow, wrap the yarn around the hook and pull the yarn through the stitch. You now have 3 loops on the hook - wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through all 3 loops - you have now crocheted two stitches into one. Here, two stitches from the previous round have been decreased to a single stitch and thus the number of stitches for the entire round is reduced by one. Tips and tricks for the perfect ball I always use stitch markers to keep track of the rounds If, like me, you have experienced that your decreases turn out far from pretty and are very obvious, then check out this tip. An indispensable decrease trick is invisible decreases. Try this if you do not like the decreases you normally make. I often use it when crocheting a larger figure such as the body of a teddy bear or an animal. In that case the decreases are very apparent as they are spread over a larger area. In the ball, the decreases are only on a third of the work, which makes them less obvious. For invisible decreases, you only put the front loop of the stitch on the hook. You do this by going into the stitch from the previous round and pointing the hook upwards and up through the two loops - so you only have one loop on the hook. The arrow points to the front loop that should be on the hook. When you have two loops on the hook, DO NOT wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through, but repeat the same into the stitch next to it - into the front stitch loop. Continue as usual with intakes. It is important that you only use this method when crocheting in the round, as it will become apparent on the back of the crochet if you work back and forth. The most important thing when you decrease is that you make sure that the decrease does not leave large holes where the filling can poke through as in the picture below 👇 Finishing - closing and filling {{6809: pull-right}} After decreasing the number of stitches to the same number as you started with in the magic ring, put the filling in the ball. Then sew the hole shut with a darning needle. Be careful to close the ball tightly so that the filling does not slip out. Remember to fill the ball up completely, as it is almost impossible to open the ball up again without cutting the wrong threads. This also applies if you want to put a rattle or music box in the ball - I have learned this from the bitter experience, as I stood there with a ball in my hands after having closed it without putting the rattle box inside! Unfortunately I had to discard the ball and start over. Decreases when crocheting back and forth You may also need to decrease when crocheting back and forth - or crocheting flat. It could be when crocheting something like a triangle. Here you make decreases in the same way as the first picture guide shows. You insert the hook into the next stitch, wrap the yarn around the hook, pull the yarn through - repeat in the stitch next to it until you have 3 loops on the hook - wrap the yarn around the hook and pull the yarn through all the loops = one decrease I wish you good luck with your current and future projects 😘 Love Josefine, Hobbii
Lavori all'uncinetto sul lato dritto o sul rovescio?
Non è sempre facile capire se stai lavorando all'uncinetto sul lato dritto o su quello rovescio - parlo per esperienza. Normalmente non è fondamentale per il tuo progetto lavorare su un lato piuttosto che sull’altro, ma molte volte può influire sul risultato finale del tuo progetto ed essere un po’ più peloso o soffice, se lavori con il lato rovescio verso l'esterno. Leggi di più sul come e perché qui.
Out of Yarn? Why You Should Never Unravel!
Have you ever been in a situation where you can't complete a project because in the middle of crocheting or knitting you discover that the yarn basket is empty and you need additional skeins to continue?
