Tag: crochet animal patterns

Uncategorized

Spring fun!

Sonja

It is Spring and I am celebrating it with a relaunch of my Spring & Easter packs. A few years ago a created these lovely packs and forgot about them the past two years. But here they are again! You can choose between a Finse and Jonesy pack or Finse and Balloo pack. The packs both come with the pattern for the basket with eggs and only cost $9.98!

Just look at them, don’t they make the loveliest Spring home decor?

Now how can you get these packs?

In my Etsy shop you can buy the packs as an instant download. You just choose the pack you like and download the patterns right after your purchase.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/226926816/spring-easter-pack-crochet-rabbit-and?ref=shop_home_active_5

https://www.etsy.com/listing/226925920/spring-easter-pack-crochet-rabbit-and?ref=shop_home_active_4

Unfortunately, Ravelry doesn’t allow selling ‘deals’ so I can’t offer it in my shop there this easy.

No accounts? No worries, just send me a note and I’ll send you a Paypal payment request for the pack you like to have.

Have a happy spring!

Art, Stories

A new one

Sonja

Hi crafters!

It has been a while since my last post. I’ve been making commissioned monkeys (something I am not going to do again) and have thought a lot about a new design. I had some trouble deciding what animal to make to be honest. After that rather realistic monkey, I wanted to go back to something simple. Basically to just a fun looking doll to make.

I asked for your suggestions and got some, but they where of the complicated sort. A kangaroo with a joey is an animal I want to make for sure, but I do want it to be both striking and simple and don’t have an idea for that yet. I also thought about designing a horned lizard pattern or a turtle, but was not sure I could reach my goal of fun and simple with those.

I also felt like making a cat. I have made a cat pattern before, Dandylion, but he isn’t a doll. A cat seemed like the perfect animal to make a fun and basic pattern for, and it also has some other interesting opportunities. So, a cat it was. The pattern for this cat will be simple but flexible. One with the option to make your own cat!

And no worries, the cat’s already finished. All I have to do is find the right moment to take some pictures and finish the pattern.

Patterns

Adi, crochet monkey pattern

Sonja

A monkey from 47 million years ago has come to life once again. Meet my version, Adi the crochet lemur monkey!

crochet monkey amigurumi

This was some crochet pattern to design. Adi is based on the fossilised monkey Ida, a monkey that lived 47 million years ago and is beautifully drawn by the talented illustrator Esther van Hulsen for a book about it.

The hardest part to design was the face of this monkey. Ida the fossil, is a lemor monkey or prosimian and they have these gorgeous eyes. But I knew from experience that using big coloured eyes on crochet animals results in a blank expression. At first, I felt a bit unsure about the face, but when I added a nose and mouth I started to love that bright and curious expression. The face looks quite realistic but is composed of four simple parts. Two little flat circles behind the eyes, a muzzle and on top of those a sewn nose patch.

I am very satisfied with the similarities between my crochet monkey and Esther’s illustrations of Ida. I planned on giving Adi a basic appearance with a rust coloured body and legs, but when I tried out Esther’s colour scheme it worked so well in Lett Lopi wool. The rust and grey complimented each other and made my monkey look so colourful and alive. Also, I decided to brush my monkey, except for the ears, face, hands and feet, because the Ida monkey had quite long hair and it makes this doll look a little more special.

And the name? I was not going for Adi at first, I had something else in mind. But then I stumbled upon a picture of a lovely guinea pig called Adi and that made me realise the name would just work perfect for this monkey pattern.

Here are some more pictures of Adi, I absolutely love the profile of the face! Below the pictures you can find info about and links to buy the pattern.

amigurumi monkey

crochet-lemur-monkey-amigurumi

Info about & links to buy the pattern

This realistic and playful crochet monkey is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a worsted weight wool. It is 14 cm / 5.5 inch when sitting. The pattern is easy and versatile. You can simply turn this monkey into a hanging one by extending the arms and legs and if you want to make a specific kind of monkey, just choose different colours!

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 shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear and colour coded description of how to crochet and assemble the monkey 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 ancient looking friend.

This pattern has a one dollar release discount till Thursday the 2th of februari.

Art, Patterns

Oakie, crochet armadillo pattern

Sonja

Sitting as promised in my original Popke style, I proudly present to you Oakie the crochet armadillo.

armadillo crochet pattern

Wow, what a process this was. I never expected all the bumps on the road of designing this crochet armadillo pattern. In my previous post I explained about the challenge of making this interesting looking creature. Making an animal that would never, ever even think of sitting on its bottom, sit on its bottom was for starters a classical design issue. But the body armour was so utterly complicated to design that the sitting thing seemed nothing. I wrote about the smooth textured Linen stitch I was planning to use for the armour. When I started everything seemed so jolly well. What a perfect stitch for armadillo armour. But then some in- and decreasing had to be done and how on earth could I do that with this stitch? I googled for info and found nothing, who would have thought about that? People only seem to crochet scarfs and pillowcases with this stitch, not animals. So I had to find a way myself. After testing all sorts of solutions and almost writing a post here begging someone to help me, I found the solution to my problem. Decrease three stitches instead of two. How simple could it be. Not everything was rough on this road. From the start I knew how I was going to design the arms. The legs and feet just fell into place when I made them and the tail looks fabulous because it is worked flat.

I really like the almost reptile looking appearance of Oakie’s face. The smaller eyes, unworked back loops and chain stitches form a perfect whole to create that characteristic armour texture. The rugged Lopi yarn accentuates it even more. Oakie might be unable to roll himself into a ball, but you can easily imaging him to do so. Just look at him! This armadillo is the most special creature I have ever made a crochet pattern for. Below the pictures you can find info about this armadillo amigurumi and the links to buy the pattern.

armadillo-amigurumi

crochet-armadillo-amigurumi

Info about & links to buy the pattern

This very rugged but cuddly crochet armadillo is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a worsted weight wool. He is 14 cm / 5.5 inch when sitting. 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 shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. It contains a clear and colour coded description of how to crochet and assemble the armadillo 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 ancient looking friend.

And heads up, this pattern has a one dollar release discount till Wednesday the 28th.

Chit and Chat

Just a little update

Sonja

Hi Crafters! I just wanted to let you know I am working on a new pattern. An armadillo that is and I must say, it is very challenging! Making the mostly seen on four legs creature sitting on its bottom for one thing is a bit tricky,  but let’s not forget about that very cool but difficult to crochet armour.

img_3987I have the head finished and decided to go for one piece. Originally I thought of giving the head an armoured patch, but I couldn’t manage myself to get it into the right place so that was a no go. Now, the armoured part of the head is crocheted differently than the rest of the head and to let it stand out more I used a neat looking and simple sewing trick. You’ll find out more about that when I publish the pattern.

Yesterday I spend most of the day by googling crochet stitches that give a smooth texture. The body armour is worked flat in rows. Working in rows and therefor turning your work, results in a sort of striped texture because every row you work in the opposite direction of the previous row. I needed to find an existing crochet stitch with a very different texture. Luckily for me, that isn’t very hard these days. Just type the right search terms and a whole new world of crochet stitches opens up for you. I found the perfect stitch for the body armour, called the linen stitch (or moss, or granite stitch) and it is very easy to do, it isn’t even a stitch really but more a skip and chain thingy but it gives a gorgeous knit looking texture.

Well, I am off now, have to actually make the armour and the rest of the armadillo. I wish you all a lovely weekend!

Uncategorized

Son’s Popkes Holiday gifts CAL & photo contest!

Sonja

santa-and-rupert-guinea-pigs

Hi there lovely Crafters!

It still feels a lot like autumn but the holiday season is getting so close. Many of you crafters will be making their own gifts and a lot of Popkes will be made. Therefor, let’s share some crafty fun! I thought it would be a splendid idea to give a crochet along another try. And, by adding an Instagram and Ravelry photo contest to this CAL, you can win two of my patterns.

You can join this festive crochet along in my Ravelry group. It starts now and ends December 24, just before Christmas. You can choose any of my patterns.

There will be a discount on all my patterns for this CAL too. The coupon code for a 10% discount you can find in the CAL’s topic in my group.

There’s also an Instagram and Ravelry photo contest attached to this CAL, where the winner can win two of my patterns by their choice and a second price of one pattern.

  • To join the photo contest, simply post a gorgeous picture of the end result in the CAL thread on Ravelry and add it is your entry for the contest.
  • If you do not have a Ravelry account but are making Popkes as Christmas gifts, you can also join via Instagram, if you do, use hashtag #popkejoy
  • You can enter the maximum of three pictures
  • The winner will be announced on boxing day, December the 26th.

Do not be shy and join my group and this CAL, it is so much fun. You meet lovely new people and can even make friends, and you can win two patterns. If you can, share the word about this CAL and photo contest, the more people who join, the merrier.

See you in my group!

Patterns

Pudding & Cake, crochet guinea pig patterns

Sonja

With a lot of excitement and some pride, I present to you Pudding and Cake, my crochet guinea pig patterns. Meet the furry little boys!

Guinea pig crochet pattern

Not one crochet guinea pig pattern but two? Well yes! I started by making a sketch as I always do and somehow got to a final one showing two cuddly guinea pigs. At first that was just the lovely sketch but the further I got with making Pudding, I felt like actually making that second piggy on all fours too. My basic idea was to make a standing guinea pig, a whimsical character like most of my crochet animals are. I think because guinea pigs have a special place in my heart (I have had them when I was little and for the last 10 years too), it felt so natural to make Pudding a friend.

pudding-cakeMy crochet animals usually are a blend between a realistic looking animal and a playful doll shaped character. For the second piggy I decided to go for a more classical shape, standing on all fours. As that isn’t really my thing, it felt a bit odd designing an animal like that so I tried best to capture the playfulness my patterns normally have. And I had to, making Cake a perfect match to Pudding. Don’t they make the cutest pair? I’m a bit stunned myself, they look so adorable and funny together with their wild looks.

When I started designing Pudding, I really wanted to give my crochet guinea pig the appearance of the abbesinian guinea pig, my favourite type. But adding yarn like lion’s manes felt a bit too much, so I decided to go for brushing. Brushing the crochet surface gives an animal such a wonderful look and is so easy to do too. All you need is a hard brush and some courage.

Now about the patterns. Both piggies are about 5,5 inch/ 14 cm tall and made with Isex Lett Lopi wool. There are three versions you can buy.

You can order them directly from me here too.

All three versions contain a clear and colour coded description of how to crochet and assemble the piggies with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the patterns you can also find what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make them. All the additional information you need to know about the patterns you can find in the shop listings.

Here are some extra pictures of the separate crochet guinea pigs.

guinea pig amigurumi pattern

amigurumi crochet guinea pig

Designing two crochet guinea pig patterns was such a delight. As always, the patterns have a one dollar release discount till Tuesday the 22nd!

Patterns

Free mole accessory pattern: Moser’s miners safety helmet

Sonja

Just for the fun of it I made another free accessory pattern, a miners safety helmet for Moser the crochet mole. I really think these simple accessories make the animals look even more whimsical than they did. And with the holiday season coming, I already have a fun accessory in mind that will fit every animal, so keep an eye on the blog for these little free patterns.

Look at Moser, isn’t he an adorable little miner! Below the pictures you can find the free pattern for the miners safety helmet and links to buy the crochet mole pattern you can find here.

Miners safety helmet pattern

Helmet (yellow)

  1. magic ring of 6 = 6
  2. 2 sc in each around = 12
  3. (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 6 = 18
  4. (sc in next 3, 2 sc in next, sc in next 4, 2 sc in next) x 2 = 22
  5.  sc in each around = 22

Short rows to make the face opening

  1. sc in next 8, ch 1, turn
  2.  in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 17 = 17, ch 1, turn
  3.  in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 17 = 17, ch 1, turn
  4.  in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 15, s2tog = 16, ch 1, turn
  5.  in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 14, s2tog = 15, ch 1, turn
  6.  in 2nd ch from hook s2tog, sc in next 2, s2tog, sc in next 3, s2tog, sc in next 2, *s2tog (*finish this last st as a sl st), weave in yarn end.

Helmet flap (yellow)

To make a little flap to protect Moser’s eyes better, you crochet a new row into the outside loops of the face opening edge. You are going to crochet 9 new stitches. If you look closely to the face opening of the helmet when it is facing you, you see 7 normal stitches around the opening (the part above the eyes).

Row 1

Work front loops only. To create the flap, you insert your hook from the outside in, into the 3rd st before the normal stitches and pull a loop. Now make an sc in the next  2 st, sc in next 7 normal stitches, sc in the next st of the side of the face opening. You should now see a new row of 9 st in the middle of the face opening. If not, start this row one stitch later. It is a bit hard to explain in which stitch to start, because the stitches at the side edges of the face opening look different and are harder to identify. As long as your flap is in the middle of the helmet, nicely placed above Moser’s eyes, everything is ok.

Row 2 (this row is worked in both loops like you normally do.)

ch 1, turn. In 2nd ch from hook s2tog, hdc in next, dc in next 3, hdc in next, *s2tog (*finish this last st as a sl st), weave in yarn end.

Lamp (dark brown and light grey)

Ouside in dark brown

  1. Magic ring of 4 = 4
  2. 2 sc in each around = 8
  3. sc in each around = 8, sl st and leave yarn end for sewing

Light in light grey

  1. Magic ring of 4 = 4
  2. (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 2 = 6, sl st and leave yarn and for sewing

Strap

Make a ch of 25 with long ends for sewing at both sides.

Now assemble the lamp by placing the light into the lamp bulging out, but as deep into it as possible. Attach it with one stitch trough the back of the outside with the tail of the light. Use the tail of the lamp to secure the light better and weave in the end. Attach the strap to the middle of the lamp using both tails. You don’t join the strap but attach both sides next to the magic ring of the lamp. Like that the lamp isn’t placed completely on top of the chain which would make it stick out more, but runs over into it at both sides, giving a slightly flatter appearance.

Well look at that. You have made Moser a very sturdy helmet!

Patterns

Free crochet duckling accessory

Sonja

In my quest to make enchanting Instagram portraits of my crochet animals, I have to come up with interesting accessories. Today Jonesy the duckling was my subject because I had this rather cool idea to make him look very special, and to publish a little free pattern for all of you.

Look at this very sturdy aviator duckling! Maybe Jonesy needed this helmet all along. The free aviator helmet and goggles pattern you can find below the pictures and links to buy the crochet duckling pattern you can find here.

Aviator helmet and goggles pattern

You need worsted weight yarn and hook E/ 3.5 mm (or the same yarn and hook you used when you made the duckling.) I’ve used Istex Lett lopi, colours brown (0053), dark brown (0052) and light grey (0054). You also need an embroidery needle to attach the strap to the goggles.

Aviator helmet (brown)

  1. magic ring of 6 = 6
  2. 2 sc in each around = 12
  3. (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 6 = 18
  4. (sc in next 3, 2 sc in next, sc in next 4, 2 sc in next) x 2 = 22
  5. sc in each around = 22

Short rows to make the face opening

  1. sc in next 8, ch 1, turn
  2. in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 17, ch 1, turn
  3. in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 17, ch 1, turn
  4. in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 17, ch 1, turn
  5. in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 17, ch 4, turn
  6. in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 3, (s2tog, sc x 3) x 3, s2tog, ch 4, turn
  7. in 2nd ch from hook sc in next 3, sl st in next (side of helmet opening) and weave in end

Goggles (light grey and dark brown)

Glass 1, start in light grey and change colour to dark brown in the last stitch of round 2

  1. magic ring of 4
  2. 2 sc in each around = 8 (change colour to dark brown in last stitch)
  3. sc in each around = 8
  4. sl st and weave in end

Glass 2, start in light grey and change colour to dark brown in the last stitch of round 2

  1. magic ring of 4
  2. 2 sc in each around = 8 (change colour to black in last stitch)
  3. sc in each around = 8
  4. sl st, ch 1
  5. join glass two to glass one with a normal sc in glass one, sl st in next and weave in end

Strap (dark brown)

Make a chain of 20 with long ends at both sides for sewing it to the glasses.

 

Happy crocheting!

Stories

An Autumn portrait

Sonja

crochet animal patterns

This summer I started an Instagram account and am loving it so much. For me it is some sort of fantastic encouragement to photograph my work much more. I’m experiencing with all sorts of settings and backgrounds and get inspired by other people’s work. Yesterday I felt like making an Autumn portrait of one of my crochet animals. Rupert became the subject and some old tray was turned into a gorgeous rustic background. The picture became so special I wanted to post it here. I am thinking of more portraits like these, so keep an eye on my Instagram.

Because of all the enthusiastic reactions and requests, the ‘#popkejoy’ Instagram and Ravelry photography contest will be a recurring thing. I am thinking of a new contest somewhere around the end of the year. I’ll keep you posted about that.

Happy Autumn crafty folks!