(no title)

This time I felt like making something completely different. Meet Frissle, a crochet boarlet amigurumi!

When we go hiking, we often go to a place a little over an hour from where we live, where there is a lot of wildlife. If you are lucky, you can spot different kinds of animals there, like foxes, deer, and wild boar. I especially like going in Spring, when the days are longer and the boar have young (they can also have young in the winter, but you hardly ever see them then). In Spring they are much easier to spot, and I’m always so delighted when I see the boarlets in their stripy pyjamas.

Although I’ve always wanted to create a boarlet pattern, I was never sure about how to design it. But now that I’ve made a few animals on all fours, I had a good idea of how to shape this baby boar. The first test version looked more like a fawn than a piglet, but I have to start somewhere. Now I knew the paws needed to be much shorter and the head had to be placed lower and more to the front. So I made a second and a third version, and I then had the shape I liked. All I had to now was to design the stripy pyjama, which took some trial and error but in the end turned out ever so cute.

I’m very pleased with this new addition to my woodland creatures and absolutely love this crochet wild boar piglet. I hope you like it as much as I do. Maybe I should make a big, sturdy parent for it someday soon!

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

This is an intermediate pattern. It’s made with basic stitches. The difficulty of this pattern lies in crochet-attaching all four paws. I try to explain it as thoroughly as possible, and it isn’t that difficult when you understand the principle. The benefit of this kind of shape is that there’s hardly any assembling to do once you’ve finished crocheting. You only need to attach the ears and the head.

This crochet baby piglet is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 5.5 inch / 14 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 boarlet 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 10th of July.

Patterns

Barnsbie 2, realistic barn owl pattern

May 9, 2024July 3, 2024 Sonja

I’m so excited to present you this pattern! Meet Barnsbie the second, a super-realistic but too-cute-to-be-real crochet barn owl.

When I made my first crochet barn owl pattern, I was rather pleased with its looks. But after I had learned some new techniques while designing the long-eared owls, I didn’t really like old Barnsby anymore. In my eyes he started to look like a silly-looking man.

‘A man?’ Yes, well, whilst I loved the legs when I designed Barnsby, I now really don’t like them any more. All owl species have long legs, you don’t often see them because when they sit on a branch, they are hidden between fluffy feathers. When I designed Barnsby, I wanted to show the legs too. But later I preferred the ‘branching’ look (like bird plushes mostly have too) of just the feet sticking out underneath the belly. And I also wanted to try something different for the face, something more realistic and less ‘big nose’-looking.

So I sat behind my desk and tried all sorts of things. I recently purchased a super-cute but rather silly-looking barn owl plush (I have a thing for plushes), and that was my example. I had to melt for my crochet version, as much as for that wonky-looking plushy.

At some point in the process, I saw my partly-finished new Barnsbie lying in my working basket, and in that moment I knew I had succeeded. I totally loved that look. Especially the face profile looks amazing, and this crochet barn owl has the perfect balance between a realistic and a cute amigurumi.

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

This is an intermediate pattern. It’s made with basic stitches. If you’re experienced, you can go for the spotted version, but if you don’t like colour changes too much, you can leave out the grey yarn and just go for a two-coloured owl. The difficulty of this pattern lies in the face shaping. I try to explain it as thorough as possible, but it requires some extra skills rather than just crocheting.

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 or Etsy.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 16th of May.

Patterns

Bubbles, realistic crochet otter pattern

March 15, 2024May 9, 2024 Sonja

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

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

January 18, 2024March 15, 2024 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.

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.

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

September 21, 2023January 18, 2024 Sonja

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

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.

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

May 18, 2023December 11, 2024 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!

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.

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

Patterns

Rufus, crochet Northern cardinal pattern

February 16, 2023September 26, 2023 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.

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)

January 25, 2023April 16, 2023 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

January 12, 2023January 25, 2023 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

December 15, 2022January 12, 2023 Sonja

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

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.

husky, alaskan malamute amigurumi 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 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.