Sonja

Merry Christmas!

December 20, 2013July 6, 2014 Sonja

The Christmas holiday has started and I’m closing the previous period with a Son’s Popkes adventure.

A Son’s Popkes adventure by Sonja van der Wijk. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 20 cm.

Finse, Falun and Rupert went into a dark forest to find themselves the perfect Christmas tree. It took them all day and by nightfall they finally found it and went back home.

I wish you all a great and fun time and a very cosy Christmas! On New Years day I’m back with an image post about dolls made by all of you. See you then!

Patterns

This is a little gift pattern, a Santa hat for all our Popkes. I was making a little Santa hat for Falun, so he can wear it when he’s posing for my Christmas card, when I realised this could be a fun pattern for all of you.

Flims agreed to model for this hat on this dark and cold day….

The Santa hat pattern is very simple and quick to crochet, you can make a bunch in a day if you like. Not all dolls are the same size, so this hat can be easily adjusted to fit every doll, by simply adding a few rounds (explained in the pattern). This hat does fit Flims, Falun, Danylion and Floro (however, Floro thinks it doesn’t look very good on him), if it’s made with the same yarn as they are.

Mini Santa hat pattern

To make this pattern you need worsted weight yarn and hook E US/ 3,5 mm. I’ve used Lett Lopi wool to make the hat, colours white 0051 and dark red 1409. You need sewing materials and a hard brush to get the fuzzy fluff ball and brim. You also need crochet animals to put the hat on.

The red part, work in rows.

1. magic ring of 6 = 6 (really?)

2. sc in each around = 6, close with sl st.

3. ch 2, (dc in next 2, 2 dc in next) x 2 = 8, sl st,

4. ch 2, (dc in next 3, 2 dc in next) x 2 = 10, sl st.

5. ch 2, (dc in next 4, 2 dc in next) x 2 = 12, sl st.

6. ch 2, (dc in next 3, 2 dc in next) x 3 = 15, sl st.

7. ch 2, (dc in next 4, 2 dc in next) x 3 = 18, sl st.

8. ch 2, (dc in next 8, 2 dc in next) x 2 = 20, sl st.

9. ch 2, (dc in next 9, 2 dc in next) x 2 = 22, sl st.

10. ch 2, (dc in next 10, 2 dc in next) x 2 = 24, change colour to white in sl st. If you need a bigger mini hat, don’t change to white just yet and continue like above by adding two stitches each round, till your hat is the right size. Keep in mind there will be white folded rounds (three rounds of sc’s) below the red part of the hat.

11. ch 2, (dc in next 11, 2 dc in next) x 2 = 26, sl st.

12. ch 1, sc in each around = 26, sl st.

13. ch 1, sc in each around = 26, sl st.

14. ch 1, sc in each around = 26, close with sl st and leave a tail for sewing.

Now fold the white rounds upwards, so your hat will have a nice and thicker brim. Make sure you don’t see red on the brim. Sew it tight with the tail you had left.

Little fluff ball.

1. magic ring of 5

2. 2 sc in each around = 10

3-5. sc in each around = 10

6. (sc in next 3, s2tog) x 2 = 8, sl st and leave tail.

Attach the little ball to the hat by shoving the hat a bit in the gap of the ball. When it’s in the right place, carefully sew it tight and brush it. Also brush the brim of the hat. To get a real Santa hat effect for the white part, cut the too long hairs off so it’ll be hairy but not too much.

At the end of the proces, you can sew the hat together at a point to get it looked bend. I sewed it just above the white brim.

Thadah! It’s finished. Here are some more pictures of this cute little hat.

Note: It’s not permitted to put this hat on real animals, they don’t like it, it reduces their self confidence and they don’t think it’s very funny either.

Art, Stories

New logo, improved patterns

November 28, 2013May 16, 2014 Sonja

This week I’ve been busy improving and refreshing all my patterns. When I started writing these patterns I didn’t have a good logo yet and did not use the sketches as more than just the sketch. Later I decided to make the sketches in colour and to add them to the patterns.

Also, the more animals I designed, the more complete the patterns became. Because I think good quality patterns are very important, the old versions were good, but the new ones just better(looking), I decided to give all my patterns the same layout. I also changed my Son’s Popkes name logo a bit, because I noticed some people couldn’t read it. And that is very important!

I’m glad I’m finished now with refreshing the patterns, it was a lot of work and not much fun to do. Everyone who’ve bought a pattern, will get an email from either Craftsy or Ravelry with a new and free download link for the improved version. It really looks better and I’m very happy with the result.

Here’s another image to show all the sketches that are now appearing in the patterns.

Haha, Son’s Popkes! Thanks for all your support and I hope you like the improved patterns. If you’ve bought a pattern directly from me and want a new version, please let me know!

Patterns

Rupert, crochet reindeer pattern

November 20, 2013February 25, 2020 Sonja

Meet Rupert, a distant relative of Rudolph. He’s a crochet reindeer that feels like winter, with hot coco and chocolate chip cookies.

This time, my goal was to create an original crochet reindeer pattern, which also easily can be turned into a Rudolph red nosed reindeer. When I choose the colours for Rupert, I almost couldn’t wait to see the end result. And he turned out exactly as I hoped for, I absolutely love the colour combination. He looks so rustic and warm. Also, a dark red nose will look beautiful with these colours.

I wasn’t sure to give Rupert eyepatches, because reindeer have these light eyelids but adding big eye patches did’t feel right, so I decided to go for simple embroidered lines neatly around the eyes. They make him look just as enthousiastic as in the sketch.

The antlers were also something I worried a bit about when I was working on this crochet reindeer pattern, because they needed to be in balance with the rest of the head. I was afraid they would look too big. But that isn’t at all how it turned out, they look perfect. I know real reindeer have much larger antlers, but it has to look nice on a crochet doll.

Here are some more pictures of this cute and rustic reindeer amigurumi and below them you can find info about and links to buy the pattern. As I mentioned above, Rupert is Rudolphs cousin and not in Christmas spirits all year long, but I did made him a nice bell he can wear around Christmas.

Rupert is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool. It’s a lovely rustic and fuzzy yarn and is perfect for this crochet animal. Rupert is sitting 6.7 inch/ 17 cm tall. The crochet pattern for Rupert you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

The pattern contains a clear and colour coded description of how to crochet and assemble this animal, with extra illustrations and example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make your own rustic reindeer. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings.

I hope Rupert meets up to your expectations, happy crocheting!

Face & expression, Tips & Tricks

Eyepatches

November 20, 2013July 8, 2014 Sonja

In this post I’ll give some tips about how to get the nicest and neatest eyepatches. Eyepatches can give your animal that bit of extra expression, but if they aren’t the right size and shape, they can ruin the face of the animal and make them look very silly.

The most important thing is the size. Especially too big a patch can give an idiotic result, like your doll is looking in the head lights of a car…aaaaargh, don’t want that. Always match the size of the eyepatch with the eye size.

Usually it’s nicer if there is more eyepatch above the eye than below it. So make sure the eye is inserted at the bottom of the patch. If you use a brads as eyes, it’s easy, you can stick it where ever you like. But if you use animal safety eyes that can be a bit tricky because they have wide necks, but there is a way. Just crochet a magic ring or starting chain, insert the eye in it and crochet a few stitches till you get the right size and shape. You don’t have to go all around this way and can adjust the size to the eyes.

When attaching eyes with eyepatches, crochet ones or sewed lines, sew them tight to the head and not sticking out too much and always before you close/attach the eye caps. Otherwise you won’t be able to sew them.

A useful extra tool for making the patches even look better, is a needle felt needle. Especially if you use wool, needle felting the patches a tiny bit can make them look more neat.

Patches aren’t necessarily. If I’ve used them for a doll, you don’t have to use them too. If you like your animal better without them just leave the patches. It’s your doll!

Here are some examples of eyepatches that give the right result.

What else can I think of….just take your time and do it with care. Walk away when you’re not yet satisfied or let your doll look in the mirror, so your brain gets a fresh view of the result. With this in mind, your patches should become perfect!

Good luck.

Stories

For winter

November 5, 2013July 6, 2014 Sonja

Another season based pattern is on it’s way. This time winter is the theme, obviously. I won’t stop enjoying autumn but I have to think ahead for my patterns. Here’s the sketch, just a basic one this time. I think it’s clear which animal this is.

A while back I bought lot’s of natural colours of my beloved Lopi yarn, so I would have suitable colours for many animals. All kinds of browns, grays, blacks and light colours. For this reindeer I am going to use a gray-ish beige, murky brown and chocolate brown. Only looking at those colours makes me longing for the end result. I love my Lopi.

I have to figure out if my reindeer will have a dark muzzle or a light one, and if the ears must have dark tips, but I see what happens. For the sketch I’ve chosen a light muzzle, gray body and dark paws. A little green red striped scarf might look very good on this doll, a little touch of Christmas….

For all of you who like to read, last friday my work was featured at the blog Illuminate crochet. It’s a little interview with me, about my favourite materials, stuff like that. I thought it was kind of cool she asked me.

Patterns

Flims, crochet hedgehog pattern

October 28, 2013February 25, 2020 Sonja

The hedgehog crochet pattern is finished, and just in time because it’s really autumn now, the perfect season to crochet hedgehogs! My previous post already showed a glimpse of Flims, but here he is in his full glory.

When I started working on this crochet hedgehog pattern, I wasn’t sure how to create the hedgehog prickles. I tried several techniques but they all had cons that would influence the end result. For instance, I thought the loop stitch would give the perfect prickly effect, but the loops form in the inside of the head and turning it around wasn’t an option because that would leave sloppy colour changes. Neither do I like the texture of the inside.

I decided to go for brushing and I’m absolutely glad I did. Flims is a soft animal plushy and I love him. He now is very cuddly and also has hedgehog features, because of his little snouty face, shape and colours. Flims is the soft amigurumi version of his prickly twin.

Here are some more pictures and below them you can find info about and links to buy the pattern.

Flims is sitting 5 inch/13 cm tall, he is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness that works very well with brushing. I’ve used three colours of yarn and the furry back is one of those three colours but brushed with a hard brush.

The pattern contains a clear and colour coded description of how to crochet and assemble this animal, with extra illustrations and example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make your own prickly but soft hedgehog amigurumi. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings.

You can buy this pattern in my Ravelry shop, Etsy shop or order it here.

I hope everyone will enjoy making this hedgehog as much as I did.

Art, Stories

Leaves and hedgehogs

October 24, 2013July 6, 2014 Sonja

Hedgehogs are fond of leaves. They love to rustle through them, to find food and when winter is arriving they nestle themselves in a nice pile of leaves and other bedding materials to keep them warm and cosy.

I couldn’t think of a better season to design a crochet hedgehog pattern. Here’s a first glimpse of Flims in a beautiful coloured autumn scenery.

I’m not finished yet with the pattern but it will be available next week.

Now I’m back to enjoying my favorite season, like hedgehogs rustling through the leaves, sniffing in all the lovely smells and watching the beautiful colours of autumn. I wish it could last forever….

Patterns

A free Halloween pattern, Mr. Creeper the spider.

October 18, 2013April 9, 2020 Sonja

Halloween is something that isn’t celebrated in the Netherlands, but I would love it. It looks and sounds like an exciting time with fun ‘rituals’ and attributes.

As a thanks to all of you who bought my patterns and because it’s just fun, I designed a cuddly Halloween spider. A fearsome fuzzy crochet spider called Mr. Creeper.

A warning for scared mums….here he is!

And now, the pattern to make Mr. Creeper.

For this pattern you’ll need worsted weight yarn and hook US E/3,5 mm. to get an approximately 6 inch / 15 cm tall spider, measured from front to back paw. I used the darkest brown colour of Lètt Lopi, a 100% wool. You will also need fiberfill, animal eyes, I used 7 mm eyes. Safety eyes with big backs won’t fit in the head so make sure you are going to use eyes that do fit. You also need pipe cleaners for the legs, so you can bend them into shape.

Body

1. magic ring of 6

2. 2 sc in each around = 12

3. (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 6 = 18

4. (sc in next 2, 2 sc in next) x 6 = 24

5. 2 sc in next 2, sc in next 10, 2 sc in next 2, sc in next 10 = 28

6-7. sc in each around = 28

8. s2tog, sc in next 10, s2tog x 2, sc in next 10, s2tog = 24

9. (sc in next 2, s2tog) x 6 = 18

10. (sc in next, s2tog) x 6 = 12

11. s2tog x 6 = 6

Now close the gap by putting the needle from the inside out, trough all the outside loops of the 6 st, clockwise. If you do it correctly, you can now pull the tail and it will close the gab. Sew in the end.

Head

1. magic ring of 5

2. 2 sc in each around = 10

3-4. sc in each around = 10

Leave tail for sewing.

Legs (make 8)

1. magic ring of 4

2-11. sc in each around = 4

Leave tails for sewing. You can now insert the pipe cleaners. Stretch the paws so they get the length you want them to have and leave a bit of pipe cleaner sticking out, which you can later push into the body.

Jaws

ch of 2, in 2nd ch from hook sl st. (leave both tails long enough for sewing)

Assembling the spider.

Finish the spiders face by attaching the eyes and sew on the jaws. I sewed Mr. Creepers jaws tight by sewing both ends to the head. Now you can attach the head to the body. After this I attached the paws neatly opposite to each other, by pushing in the ends of the pipe cleaners. If they are in the right spots, sew them tight.

Ah, now he’s finished! Here’s another image to help you get everything right.

Happy Halloween!

Art

An autumn duo

October 10, 2013July 6, 2014 Sonja

Here’s a snap shot of my forest friends Flam and Falun.

They really are an autumn duo.

My hedgehog is getting along fine too. I just tweeted a first glimpse of his face. I do have trouble finding a suitable name for him….it’s getting harder every time.

Here you can find the badger and fox patterns.