crochet
Here's my gallery, but you can also skip down to the resources below, if you want!
jirachi amigurumi (?)
We've missed the 7th day of the 7th month, unfortunately, but I could still use a bit of luck right now...
I freehanded this little fella and it definitely was not the most efficient or prettiest way to go about it, lol. Basically, I found a pattern for making triangles and I've just found them very calming to make and have been throwing them into everything and seeing what they can do. This little guy, for example, has 16 of this specific triangle motif in him. In other words, he's less an ~ amigurumi ~ project necessarily, and more a sewing project that I just happen to have also crocheted all the flat pieces, rather than using felt or something.
Other places / ways I've also used this specific triangle pattern recently include this little stingray fella:
and the shroomish's skirt.
(To be honest, I think the proportions are too off; he was cuter as just a head. Still, I just wanted a little project to get my hands moving, so I guess he accomplished that, if nothing else...)
shroomish amigurumi
Grumpy little mushroom fella! He's full of the weighed beans and it gives just a nice bit of heft to him. And the background is a painting I did a while ago with Neocolor IIs that's just been floating around my desk -- thought it suited him nicely!
various mats from rse
I wrote about these fellas in more detail on Dreamwidth, if you were curious. In sum, I think the mats from the secret bases are cool and wanted to see if I could make them in real life. I think I might have better luck just working at them like a normal tapestry crochet rather than in the round. Or, y'know, just straight up crossstitching the pixel art, instead, lol.
pumpkaboo amigurumi
Roughly based on Catartist MX's tutorial on Youtube, but I was kinda impatient (and also, I don't really know Spanish, lol) so I followed her basic construction and winged it the rest of the way.
mimikyu amigurumi
My first time trying to freehand something. She consists of basic shapes, so nothing too crazy -- I think it'd be interesting to experiment more with squiggly shapes and scalloped edges in the future, though! Also, the air soluble marker I used to sketch her face doesn't really want to come off, rip...
magikarp dice bag
Made following yeuyarn's pattern (which could be used for either a plush or a bag). It was very well written and I learned a lot over the course of making this, both in terms of various design techniques and basic crochet things (ex: oopsie, made her whole body inside out!). Also, I used a much bigger yarn & hook than the pattern calls for, so she ended up much bigger than I expected! Took a while to make, but I'm also quite interested in some of her other patterns, like the matching Gyarados taiyaki and the moogle & chocobo, omg...
oddish cutout tapestry
I took another break in the middle of making the magikarp bag to try a cutout tapestry crochet. I've seen some other really cool tapestries, like a butterfly shawl-thing or pillows, etc, so I wanted to see how difficult it would be to make one. The image is yoinked from Spriter's Resource, as usual, from the card flip game in Crystal (does it seem a bit familiar? lol), and I watched this video to get the basic jist of what I was doing and winged it for the rest . I'm still really bad at counting by the way, lol. Major things we've learn from this, I think, is that stitches aren't a perfect grid, so small details are a bit obscured... Perhaps a solution to this is to embroider or do slip stitches at the end?
spinda amigurumi
I found this pattern suddenly while exploring the ancient ruins of Deviantart and thought it seemed quick and cute! (I'm actually also in the middle of making a magikarp plush, but, uh,,, let's not talk about that right now, cough cough...) It seems that acrylic yarn felts much more readily than cotton, but I think it's a bit too obvious to use for large spaces (like the belly, oops). Also, it distorts the shape a bit, so that's something else to keep in mind...
victreebel dice bag
This was my first proper crochet project I've done! The body is based off this pattern from Ravelry, but I ended up Frankensteining a couple of different things together for the leaves... Mostly because I just wasn't experienced enough with written patterns and wanted to watch a video instead.
Overall, I think he turned out alright! Fits not only my set of dice, but also a deck of cards and a mini composition notebook, which is pretty handy!
resources
People seem very intimidated to try to learn how to crochet for some reason (and, I mean, for the longest time, I was one of those people also), but it's really not that difficult! Some links to get you started:
If you were interested to getting into crochet, here are some links to get you started:- a photo tutorial of how to do a magic ring (that actually worked for me!!). it's a bit fiddly for the first couple of rows, but just believe in the heart of the yarn and keep at it!
- series of photo & video tutorials and explanations of how to crochet, some basic stitches, and various faq
- ComplicatedKnots' video about how to design your own patterns
And a few more things to keep in mind when you're first starting out:
- the noodle goes in the bowl (in other words, the tail from your magic ring should be *inside* the shape you're working on). additionally, you should have your hook *outside* of the work and stabbing inward. it feels a bit fiddly if you're used to doing it the other way, but the stitches will look nicer
- be sure you're using the right size of hook! in fact, don't be scared of going down a size or two, if you want
- invisible decreases make a big difference!
- make a round of slip stitches on the edge of a color change to make a sharp, clean line
- I've found it easier to mark off the ends of my rows as well as any increases or decreases or what might have you in a row beforehand with a little piece of scrap thread rather than a proper stitch marker. a bit less fiddly
- this one isn't necessarily specific to crochet, but if you're embroidering details like a face, try using a whipped backstitch to make thicker, more solid lines