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Bamse, crochet hamster pattern

March 25, 2016February 25, 2020 Sonja

A new Popke has come to life. With pleasure and proud, I present Bamse the crochet hamster pattern.

This whimsical little fellow has become my personal favourite. Maybe it is because I made him in memory of the funny little hamster I once had. Bamse has turned out to be such a characteristic looking doll, he could easily be the main character of a cartoon or children’s book. I often imagine him with a little Sherlock hat or a stick or other accessories. This crochet animal I find the perfect blend between realistic and made-up.

When designing Bamse, I had to make quite a few heads to get that cheeky hamster look. And even after I decided I had the right look, I realised the back of the head still needed to be smaller. I love the shape of the body. Bamse his body looks like a bag of potatoes, just like I wanted it too. You know, chubby little hamsters are not known for their slender build.

The legs I designed a little different than usual, as I wanted this crochet hamster to have little hips. And, the tail is not visible in the pictures, but it is there, a little pink tail.

About the pink, I used a different yarn than Lopi for the hands, feet, tail and nose. Lopi does not have a suitable light pink so I choose a different DK weight yarn. Bamse is about 5 inch / 13 cm tall, just a little bit bigger than a real hamster.

Continue reading below the picture to find out how you can get this hamster amigurumi pattern.

Info about the crochet pattern

The pattern for Bamse the hamster you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear description of how to crochet and assemble the little hamster with 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 squeaky little friend.

And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount till the end of March.

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Knitting and all

March 16, 2016 Sonja

You all might be wondering what is taking the hamster so long. Erm, well, it was knitting. Last week I had almost finished my first ever knitted cardigan. I was so curious how it would look (on me) that it became high priority to finish it as fast as possible. Only the button bands and collar had to be knit and without them the cardigan looked a bit small and unfinished.

The hamster Bamse, what a surprise I am calling him Bamse, which suits him much better because Bamse means little bear in Swedish, had to wait. Right now he is standing opposite me, missing one leg and having all his parts still pinned into his body instead of sewed. He is not a happy hamster yet.

But the cardigan is finished now and I am so proud and delighted with it. It turned out fabulous! Look, I am wearing it, looking very serieus as I’m not good in smiling to myself when making a selfie.

I already bought yarn for a new cardigan, but I promise I won’t let it get in the way of my Popke design activities.

Next week Bamse should be finished. He is a rather cheeky little fellow.

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Ollie, crochet Elephant pattern

February 11, 2016February 25, 2020 Sonja

And yes, his name was announced as Bamse, but I called him Ollie in my head, so Ollie is his name! Here he is, my crochet elephant pattern.

I am so delighted with Ollie his looks. Every time I design an animal, I am a bit insecure if I will manage to get it right. Usually, when the head is finished, I feel more secure because the face already is so dear to me. And Ollie his face was, but because I designed the head a bit tilted, I had no idea how it would look attached to a body. Would this face work? It might have been more easy if I had made the trunk and head separately, but I really wanted it to be one piece. When a prototype body was finished and the head was pinned to it, I could breath easily again. It looked splendid, the head worked!

The arms and legs really had to have four toes I decided. But when I had them finished, they just looked huge. So, I made new ones, three toed this time, but as round as possible.

Now Ollie was almost finished and needed to be sewed together. Yet a smaller body was made and everything was attached. Strangely now, I found the feet a wee bit small comparing to the rest of the elephant. But that was not such a bad thing really, now I could make the feet four toed. It is a strange thing how parts of a doll can look so much different pinned on, than sewed on.

I think Ollie has turned out to be a very sweet looking elephant. When I took his pictures, I was slightly disappointed with the result. He just did not look like himself but a more serious version. By change, I played a bit with his trunk and suddenly noticed that in the pictures where it was bended more upwards, Ollie did look how I wanted him too. It was just the position of the trunk that made him look older and wiser, and I wanted him to look young and curious. Voila, problem solved!

Here are some more pictures of Ollie and below them you can find info about the crochet pattern.

About the pattern

Ollie the crochet elephant is sitting almost 5 inch /13 cm tall. He is made with my favourite Lett Lopi yarn, which makes him look very cute and cuddly. You can find the pattern to make him in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear description of how to crochet and assemble the elephant with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the Lopi colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make your own magnificent little elephant.

And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 18th of februari.

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A merry popkes Christmas

December 18, 2015December 18, 2015 Sonja

Howdy how! I wish you all a Christmas full of cheer and a very creative new year. To start the joy, I painted a Christmas card to amuse you all. It is titled ‘Popkes making a Snowpopke’.

My Holiday has just started and I’m going to do what I love doing. Hiking, watching movies and knitting a cardigan, a new hobby I have just discovered. Have fun too dear crafters!

See you in a few weeks.

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Boason, crochet rhino pattern

September 23, 2015February 25, 2020 Sonja

Proud and happy, I present my new pattern, Boason the crochet rhinoceros.

A long time ago, when I was still an art student, I bought this utterly cute WWF rhino plush in a local shop. It was not the usual plush toy you expect for a rhino, but a slender, sturdy version of a rhino youngster. It had this look I loved at first sight.

Now you all understand, that my main goal for this crochet rhino pattern, was to create that same look. Of course I was not going to make a crochet copy of that particular plush, but it had to give me that same feeling. And now, when Boason is finished, I can proudly say I did achieve that goal. Boason isn’t at all the same as the plush toy, but he has that unique slender but robust, sturdy look. He’s not very rotund, like a common rhino amigurumi, but has a more muscular appearance.

Boason is sitting almost 5 inch /13 cm tall. He is made with my favourite Lett Lopi yarn, which gives him his rustic appeal. Here are some more pictures of Boason and below it you can find more info about this crochet rhino pattern.

How to get this pattern?

The pattern for this sturdy crochet rhino, you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear description of how to crochet and attach the beast with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the Lopi colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make your own crochet rhino friend.

And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 30th of september.

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A popkes village

September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 Sonja

Last week a dear crocheter told me about the big project she was engrossed in with my patterns. For her granddaughter, she made a complete mouse family in a lovely handmade village, with other animals to accompany them. She took the animals outside, made pictures and put them all in a book for her granddaughter. That is one lucky girl to have such a creative grandmother!

I was very curious how it all looked so I asked her if I could see some pictures. She emailed me one of the village. When I saw the picture I had to write a post about what she made. The little village looks fantastic, so beautiful made, the little tree house and picknick site and the gorgeous animals. For me it is so wonderful to see how my designs come alive in this little fantasy world for children to play with. Just look at it!

Just fabulous, you did an amazing job Lesley!

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A fragile one

August 24, 2015 Sonja

Recently I’ve started working on a new crochet animal pattern. The animal I am making this time, is a rather robust one, but sadly at the same time so very fragile too. It is the rhinoceros I am speaking of. And we all know why they are so fragile. It is abominable how people treat animals.

Before I decided to make the puffin I was going to make the rhino. So, I have already figured out how he should look. If I can manage to make him like the sketch in this post, he will be a very sturdy rhino doll.

This will be the first Son’s Popkes pattern of a not so hairy animal. But as we all like cuddly, fuzzy crochet dolls, he will be made with Lett Lopi.

Happy crocheting everyone!

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This week . . . .

July 25, 2015 Sonja

This week I can finally release a long expected pattern and what a bliss it is. I finished my wooly puffin bird last week and celebrated it with this outdoor picture. What a happy puffin!

Thank you everybody, for all your enthusiastic and encouraging messages. I have never gotten so many request for a pattern before it was released. Just a few more days and you can all start making your own puffin!

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As seen on BBC Springwatch

June 13, 2015June 13, 2015 Sonja

For the last three weeks, I have been watching one of my most favourite tv shows, BBC Springwatch. It is a fabulous series about wildlife’s life in spring (or autumn and winter) in the UK. It is a tv show that is such a delight to watch and I always learn so much from it. The show is divided in two parts, you first see a one hour episode on tv, and after that there is a half hour extra called Springwatch Unsprung you can watch online or on a certain red button if you live in the UK. Unsprung is a rather interactive bit, that evolves partly around the viewer.

For me, Springwatch is such an inspiring show and every year I try to crochet an animal that suits the Springwatch series. This time it was a Puffin, as I had seen one during my holiday to the UK and knew it would be featured in this years Springwatch series.

Just for the fun of it, I replied to a tweet to Springwatch, from a crafter who had knitted an adorable Springwatch inspired fish, by showing her the Puffin head I had just finished.

What happened next was amazing. I was watching Springwatch Unsprung when I saw to my utter surprise, the puffin head on my tv screen! I was totally flabbergasted. Wow, they actually picked out my puffin head to show in a bit about Springwatch inspired art made by the viewers. What a jolly surprise it was. I was feeling a bit euphoric after that as you can imagine.

It also made me rather enthusiastic to finish the puffin as soon as possible. I am working on the body and wings now and hope to have the puffin pattern finished within a few weeks!

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An upcoming bird pattern

May 29, 2015 Sonja

This week I began quietly working on a new pattern. It is of a bird! When we visited the UK, we also visited the Bempton cliffs in Yorkshire, hoping to see one of my favourite birds, a puffin. We tried to see them a few years back at a little Norwegian island called Runde, but with no luck.

This time, we did have luck. I saw a fabulous little puffin sitting on a nest. I only could see her through a scope, but so amazing it was to actually see one.

What a very special bird. I think they look like a mix of duck and penguin, but with a very special shaped and coloured bill.
Actually, I was planning on designing a rhinoceros pattern. But when I saw that puffin during my vacation, a puffin needed to be made in crochet. I have drawn a few simple sketches of the shape and size and already finished a prototype head. I’m rather excited with the looks, how thrilling!