Patterns

Bubbles, realistic crochet otter pattern

Sonja

I finally took on the challenge of making a realistic crochet pattern one of my ultimate favourite animals, the river otter. Meet Bubbles!

realistic amigurumi otter

Some of you may think, ‘But you already made a river otter amigurumi’, and you are right. The first otter I made was Basil, and I later replaced Basil with Bubbly. They both are standing otters. Bubbly is a cute otter, but he didn’t turn out as realistic as I hoped.

And since then I have never dared to make a new version. Somehow otters are so difficult to capture in yarn … I even found that a badger pattern was easier to design. Otters have a special kind of face, with a very cute big snout. I had never managed to find a way to capture that.

This summer I was just playing around with some yarn and I suddenly had an idea for a muzzle: two bobbles above each other, one pushed in, one pushed out … It created a funny mouth that looked rather ‘ottery’. ‘Eureka’! I thought.

But even then I felt hesitant to make a new crochet otter pattern. The body was a dilemma too. Should I use the technique I used to make Bolthus the polecat, or could I adjust the dachshund body so it would resemble an otter’s body? I kept doubting what would work best.

In the end I preferred the technique used for the dogs on all fours. I could easily alter that shape to create an otter body with a high back and a wide tail. It’s surprising how much difference a few changes can make. I love this otter!

Here are some more pictures of this slippery but soft little otter and below them you can find all the info you need.

For an experienced crocheter this is an easy pattern, and I always try to write it so that beginners can make it, too. The otter’s body is rather small, so once you’ve connected all the pieces, it works up pretty fast. I explain very thoroughly what stitches you need to work with, and I’ve added extra images to make sure you understand how everything works.

This crochet otter is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 9 inch / 23 cm long from the nose to the end of the tail and about 4 inch/ 10 cm high from the head to the ground. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the doll, instruction images with notes next to the text, and pictures of the finished doll at the bottom. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own realistic crochet otter amigurumi. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry or Etsy.

And heads up! This pattern has a one euro release discount till the 22nd of March.

Patterns

Sjuffel, realistic crochet Basset Hound pattern

Sonja

Actually, this is Sjuffel the second! One of my first patterns was a basset hound. It’s funny to see how much has changed since then, and I proudly present this new Basset Hound amigurumi.

amigurumi dog

Bassets have a special place in my heart. When I was a child, we had a Basset puppy for a short time. My mother wasn’t too keen on dogs, on animals in generally really, but she knew my dad and I loved animals so she tried having a dog. A Basset Hound seemed like a safe choice. It didn’t work out, and Sjuffel had to go back to the kennel we got him from. I was heartbroken because I loved that silly-looking dog with all my heart.

Me, Sjuffel and mom. Just look at him!

I knew making a crochet pattern for a Basset Hound would be extra challenging. I always aim for a representative stuffie when it comes to designing crochet animals, and I had to figure out a way to create the characteristic wrinkly, long-lipped Basset face. Don’t ask me how it works, but I suddenly got the idea of folding part of the face inwards to create lips. I tried all sorts of shapes with a fold and at some point found the right one —a very rewarding process!

And for the rest of the dog, well, I must admit I just adjusted the Dachshund’s pattern for that. Why invent something new when I had already made another sausage dog?

There are always choices to make when I’m designing these patterns. I want them to be as realistic as possible, but they also have to be reproducible by you. And when it comes to detail, I could have added more wrinkles, but I prefer keeping it simple. Like when you look at the finished crochet animal, you see immediately what it is, but in a pleasant simplicity… You know what I mean?

Here are some more pictures of this cute crochet Basset Hound pattern and below them you can find all the info you need.

For an experienced crocheter this is an easy pattern, and I always try to write it so that beginners can make it, too. The body of the dog is rather small, so once you’ve connected all the pieces, it works up pretty fast. I explain very thoroughly what stitches you need to work with, and I’ve added extra images to make sure you understand how everything works.

The Basset is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 6 inch / 15 cm long and about 4 inch/ 10 cm high. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the doll, with instruction images with notes next to the text and pictures of the finished doll at the bottom. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own realistic Basset Hound amigurumi. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry or Etsy.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 25th of January.

Patterns

Torsbie, crochet long-eared owl pattern

Sonja

This crochet owl pattern is very dear to me. Meet Torsbie and the owling, made after the owls that brightened my summer!

realistic owl amigurumi pattern

Owls are such gorgeous birds and I always wanted to see one for real, but they are very rare these days, and creatures of the night. This winter we often heard a long-eared owl singing in our largest tree, but I couldn’t find it in the daytime. Time went by and and I looked around for traces. White poo under a tree, feathers or pellets would reveal a daytime roosting spot, but I never found any.

Then one night when I was cycling past the nice field where I regularly spotted a hare, I saw a creature disappearing in the bushes. And then I heard unusual sounds, like squeaking doors. ‘Oh my,’ I thought, ‘could this be’? It was too dark to properly see, so I went home and eagerly searched online for owling calls. I had heard it right, there were owlets in those trees!

So I went back the next evening and a dream came true. In a large bush I saw a great ball of fluff with a black face and orange eyes. It was looking at me as surprised as I was looking at it. I walked to a better spot and eventually I saw four chicks. Every evening I visited them and saw them grow up into beautiful young owls. The parents I never saw in the evening, so I went out of bed before sunrise, and then saw one of the gorgeous adults too. How lucky was I that it was just sitting there watching me curiously? It was an amazing experience!

Of course now I had to make a long-eared owl crochet pattern. I could tell you all about the process, but just believe me when I say it was a very challenging pattern to design. These owls have such delicate features and I had to simplify it down to create a do-able pattern. And as a gift to you because of my happiness, I also added the instructions for an owling in the pattern.

Here are some more pictures of the amigurumi long-eared owls and below them you can find info about the pattern.

This is a pattern for experienced crafters. It’s made with basic stitches, but the many colour changes and the shaping of the owl don’t make it suitable for beginners.

This crochet owl is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 5 inch / 13 cm tall. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the doll, with instruction images with notes next to the text and pictures of the finished doll at the bottom. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own realistic owl amigurumi. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 28th of September.

Here a some pictures of the amazing owl family, because you must have become curious about them! In the last picture see a grown-up owling.

Patterns

Toki, realistic crochet Dachshund pattern

Sonja

Finally I can show you something new and exciting! My first amigurumi dog on all fours is finished. This is Toki, a miniature Dachshund crochet pattern!

teckel haakpatroon, realistic dog amigurumi.

After designing a few sitting dogs, I felt like doing something new this time. A dog on all fours had been on my mind for a while, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. What dog could be more suitable for that challenge than a Dachshund?! A sitting Dachshund would be a bit dull, because it is the elongated body that makes it cute. So, I sat down and started crocheting ‘sausages on paws’ to make myself familiar with a new technique and the long-bodied animal.

After a few silly-looking sausage dogs in bright colours (I use left-overs from other projects before I use the intended yarn), I felt confident enough to start designing the actual dog. I already had made myself familiar with the technique of chaining four legs together, but how on earth was I going to write that down so that you would be able to do the exact same thing? A simple and effective solution presented itself and helps you work in the correct stitches. One hint: mark many stitches! My testers found that it worked very well and the dogs they made were a copy of Toki, I was relieved!

This pattern also contains something else new: images with little hints to point out certain steps. I often get asked if I have videos for a pattern. I do have a Youtube channel with tutorials for complicated constructions, but I prefer my patterns to be written, with supporting images. To make it easier for those who don’t like only written instructions, I added those images.

Anyway, this little dog was a joy to design, and I’m very satisfied with how it turned out. From a sausage on four paws with a realistic head, it evolved into an actual Dachshund-shaped dog, with a broad chest, an elongated body, and short stubby legs with broad feet. Even the hind legs run backwards like a real dachshund! I’m delighted that my ideas worked out. At some point I had quite a decent-looking crochet dachshund, but the belly and crotch where the same size, whilst a real dachshund has a broad chest and belly and a slim underbelly and crotch. The solution to that issue came when I was in bed. ‘What if I just use smaller stitches (sc’s instead of dc’s) for closing the back of the belly than for the rest of the belly?’ That worked like a charm.

Here are some more pictures of this cute and realistic mini-dachshund and below them you can find all the info you need about the pattern.

For an experienced crocheter this is an easy pattern, and I always try to write it in a way so beginners can make it too. The body of the dog is rather small, so once you’ve connected all the pieces, it works up pretty fast. I explained very thoroughly as to what stitches you need to work, and I added extra images to make sure you understand how everything works.

This dog is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 6 inch / 15 cm long and about 4 inch/ 10 cm high. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the doll, with instruction images with notes next to the text and pictures of the finished doll at the bottom. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own realistic Dachshund amigurumi. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 25th of May.

Patterns

Rufus, crochet Northern cardinal pattern

Sonja

Some animals I’ll probably never see for real, but I can make myself one! I proudly present to you my Northern cardinal amigurumi pattern.

realistic crochet cardinal bird pattern

Ever since I started watching the Cornell feeder watch Cam, I’ve been amazed by the Northern cardinals, especially the male. Red isn’t my favourite colour at all, but this bird looks absolutely magnificent. And not only the colour makes the bird so gorgeous, but both the male and female have that curious tuft! And the black face gives them even more character. I like a bit of extravagance when it comes to animals, and the cardinal has touched my heart. To fill the gap of not being able to see them soon, I made myself a crochet version of the male, and I hope many of you will be excited by this pattern for the same reason.

Birds are a different thing to design than furry animals. For birds, my goal isn’t to make them perfectly realistic, but more a representation of their character and beauty.

My cardinal has become an elegant and sturdy crochet bird. I exaggerated the crest and chose a sitting posture, so simple – plump crochet feet are a lovely feature (I don’t like adding realistic metal woven bird feet to my amigurumi). These crochet feet make the crochet cardinal look like a stunning cardinal plushy, which I love!

The black face was the most complex part to design. Most of you know that crocheting in a spiral doesn’t make the stitches stack up straight but diagonally. So getting the black face to look the same at both sides was pretty challenging. With some extra in- and decreases I managed to get it almost perfect. The other bit that was difficult to design was the tail. But I’m very delighted by what I came up with, and I think this is the perfect bird tail!

Here are some more pictures of Rufus, the fabulous crochet cardinal, and below them you can find all the info about the pattern.

This cardinal works up pretty fast, once you’ve made the first twenty-ish rls stitches (for which I made a very helpful instruction video) for the crest. I would say this is a moderately difficult pattern, but a beginner can mange to make it too, with some help from video tutorials. If you want to make a cardinal couple, you can easily turn the male into a female. Replace the red colour with a warm beige: start the head in red, and then change to beige after round two. This will lend a hint of red to the female’s crest, which I bet will look amazing!

This bird is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 4.3 inch / 11 cm tall. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the doll, with instruction images next to the text and example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own charismatic Northern cardinal plushy. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 23rd of February.

Crochet stitches, Tips & Tricks, Tutorials

How to do the reversed loop stitch (rls)

Sonja

In this video I am showing you how to do the reversed loop stitch. I modified the loop stitch to this version, so the loops will form on the outside/ right side of the work, instead of on the inside/ wrong side of the work like with the normal loop stitch.

The loop stitch offers a lovely texture, and is a handy method to create long hair. If you cut the loops and brush them, you can create hair as long as you like. But when you do the regular loop stitch for amigurumi, you’ll have to turn the work inside out to have the loops at the front of your animal, but that also means you see the wrong side of the stitches for the parts there aren’t any loops. I didn’t like that, and wanted to have the right side of the stitches up, with loops on that side. So I experimented and came up with this stitch.

I already made a photo tutorial for in the patterns, but I know many of you prefer a video. So here it is!

Crochet stitches, Tips & Tricks, Tutorials

How to work around a chain

Sonja

This is my first instruction video! I need to improve my filming skills, because the piece is not always in the centre of the video, but it works for now.

I regularly get questions about how I work around a chain, so now you can finally see how I do it.

This video shows how to work around a chain of 4, which I often use to create the muzzles of my crochet animals. This is what you read in the pattern:

ch of 4. In 2nd ch from hook 2 sc, sc in next, 2 sc in last, turn. 2 sc in bottom loop of that last, sc in next, 2 sc in next = 10

I hope this video helped you learn this skill. If you have any tips for my tutorial videos, or would like to request one, please let me know, I would love to hear from you!

Patterns

Winter Woolfie, Eurasian wolf pattern

Sonja

And here he is! Winter Woolfie turned out to be a Eurasian wolf.

eurasian wolf crochet pattern

When I finished the Border Collie pattern I immediately knew I wanted to make a furry version of my wolf. And since I’m not completely settled into our new house just yet I could do with an easy project. But I suppose I can’t do easy and this took much more time than I had anticipated.

When working on the head I decided to improve the facial colouring. And when I was finally satisfied with the new look, I began to realize that I could make a Eurasian wolf, the wolf that is once again living in my country after a long period of absence. We now have four wolf packs in the Netherlands, with one pack not even very far from where I live. So I wanted to make a tribute to our own fantastic wolf.

The Eurasian wolf is quite similar to the North American (grey) one but, surprisingly for me, the Eurasian wolf is bigger. It also has a more rusty colour overall. North American species are more diverse and colourful than the European wolves, so not to worry, you can make your ‘own’ wolf too with this pattern.

So, eventually the Winter Woolfie pattern turned out to be almost completely different. The shape stayed the same, but the colouring of each body part has changed, and I added facial and chest hair to create the winter coat. A more experienced crafter can mix and match the patterns to make a winter version of the original Wolf amigurumi. And of course you can leave out the loops to make a crochet wolf in Summer coat. Or when you make a wolf family you can give the male the fluffy appearance, and the female the slender, short-haired look. There are many possibilities. Let’s celebrate this special animal, and let’s never forget its crucial role in maintaining biodiversity*!

For now, here are some more pictures of this new crochet wolf pattern. You can find info about and links to buy the pattern below.

Info about & links to buy the pattern

This is a moderate pattern to make. Most parts work up pretty easily, but the reversed loop stitches for the head, chest and tail take some extra effort. The winter wolf is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 6 inch /15 cm sitting. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the wolf, with instruction images next to the text and example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own adorably mini wolf. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount until December the 22nd!

*Wolves, like beavers, are eco-engineers. They can change the appearance and biodiversity of immense landscapes with their presence, because their prey —herbivores —will act differently. This has an enormous effect on landscapes and on the variety of plants and species that live there. If we want to save our environment, we must trust certain animals and their abilities to restore landscapes that have been exploited by humans back into the rich habitats they once were.

Patterns

Finnly, crochet Border Collie pattern

Sonja

After a long break, I’m delighted to publish this new dog pattern! Meet Finnly, the realistic Border Collie, a fabulous amigurumi of one of my favourite dogs!

realistic crochet dog pattern

When I started making dog patterns I really wanted to do a Border Collie, but the long-haired features of this Collie kept me from actually making one. I started with less hairy dogs, and then must have gone mad to make a bearded Schnauzer pattern. That actually was a lot of fun to do, and it gave me much inspiration for how to do the Border Collie and other dogs. For the Schnauzer I had used ‘reversed loop stitches’ to create the bearded face, and I knew those stitches would be very suitable for any kind of hairy dog.

So some time in May I started the Collie design. The head was finished pretty quickly, but then a lot of things happened in my life, good things! We finally could move to a new home, away from that noisy house we tried to make our home for so long. Moving means a lot of things to do, so I put the dog on hold until we had settled down in our new home and I had enough ‘space in my head’ to continue designing.

It felt so good to sit down at my improvised desk with a new view and peace and quiet. I worked my way through the body and back paws and spend a whole afternoon on making the fidgety hairy tail. And now I have this amazingly cute mini Border Collie sitting on my desk, waiting to be made by many other Border Collie fans out there.

This is not a very difficult dog to crochet, the reversed loop stitches take some getting used to, but when you get the hang of it they actually are fun to do.

Here are some more pictures of this adorable crochet dog amigurumi and below them you can find info about and links to buy the pattern.

Info about & links to buy the pattern

This is a moderate pattern to make. Most parts work up pretty easily, but the reversed loop stitches for the head, chest and tail take some extra effort. The Border Collie dog is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 5.1 inch /13 cm sitting. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the Collie, with instruction images next to the text and example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own adorably mini dog. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount until October the 20th!

Because I had so much fun designing this hairy dog and because it looks a lot like the wolf I used as an example when I made Woolfie, my next pattern will be a ‘Woolfie advanced’. I think you can imagine how that’ll look! And after that… a realistic otter, I want to make a red cardinal bird, a skunk and a poodle. Oh, there are so many lovely animals to make next, see you soon!

Patterns

Schnoodge, crochet Schnauzer pattern

Sonja

I proudly present to you something completely different: Schnoodge the crochet Schnauzer pattern!

realistic crochet dog pattern

After I finished my second dog pattern, I got so many requests for all sorts of dogs that I decided to do at least two dog patterns a year. One night when I was in bed I suddenly thought, ‘How much fun would it be to design a bearded Schnauzer?’ and I pictured a very cute hairy Schnauzer face.

When still working on the Siamese cat, I tried a first bearded dog head just to check if it would work, and the result was so delightful that I knew this was going to be the first new dog.

To make a bearded dog, there was one thing I had to find a new solution for: the loop stitch that would create the long brows and beard. Normally, the loop forms on the inside of your work, so you have to turn the piece inside out. That would mean that the complete head had to be turned inside out and the stitches without loops would also be the wrong side, and I don’t like that look. I had to find a way to get the loops to the front side.

How hard could it be to just pull the loops through each stitch after it was finished? I tried several ways and each time I cut the loops very short after I’ve pulled them through the stitches to see if the stitches would hold. Most of my methods were as secure as the ‘normal’ loop stitches, so I could just pick the one that had the best look. In the end it works the same as the normal loop stitches. As long as you don’t cut the loops shorter than 1 cm/ 0.5 inch, the stitches will hold, even if you put a lot of pressure on them. And for those of you who don’t like doing a complicated loop stitch, I added the instructions for how to attach the hair later.

Now, I could write more about designing this dog, but I want to tell you something about making choices.

Personally, I find that making choices is the most difficult thing about designing crochet animals. And it’s not a few choices I have to make! For every little thing there are options to consider. Mostly it’s about sizing, but also about how realistic I want a design to be. It’s like, ‘Shall I make the legs 10 stitches wide, or would they look better a little bit bigger?’ I have to try both to see how it looks. When I see the result I think, ‘What if I make them shorter, would that be better’? So I have to make another body with shorter legs to see how that looks, et cetera. After many more choices, I assemble the animals, and then come new questions. ‘Would it have looked nicer if I made the neck a little bit thicker?’ I can choose to try that, or I can leave it as it is. I could go on like this for a while, lol. In the end I always love the result and all the choices that can drive me nuts are worth the effort!

Here are some more pictures of this super-cute Schnauzer amigurumi, and below them you can find all the info about the pattern.

Info about & links to buy the pattern

This pattern is quite advanced because of the reversed loop stitch. I’ve added the link to a tutorial online and added a clear description of how to pull the loops through, but a stitch like this requires more skill than basic stitches. For beginners who really want to make this dog I also added an instruction for how to insert the hair later.

This dog is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 5.1 inch /13 cm sitting. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the doll, with instruction images next to the text and example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own silly Schnauzer doggy. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 5th of May.