Free Pattern - Ami Balloons

I recently had a big amigurumi commission order from a lovely lady in Canada, and one of her requests was a batch of amigurumi balloons. She said she had seen some online, made with sticks as ‘stings’ - but they weren’t free standing and therefore required a pot to sit in or something to prop them up. I got my thinking cap on, and came up with these balloons - made with craft wire ‘string’ so they are free standing!

I liked the result so much I decided to put the pattern up on here for you guys - I hope you will enjoy it and find it useful!

The wire I used is 2mm craft wire, which can be bought from most craft stores, though I got this particular wire from a seller on Ebay. Craft wire is super cheap on eBay and comes in lots of different colours too. I found using 2mm thick wire was sturdy enough to hold the weight of the balloon, but also bendy enough to manipulate into a little stand (which you can make to look like the end of the ’string’ gathered on the floor) :)

The balloons pictured are about 2.5 inches tall, and the wire varying lengths from 4 - 8 inches long.

So here it is - Ami Balloons!

Ami Balloons

You Will Need:

. Crochet Hook (I used 3mm)

. Double Knit/Light WW/Sport Weight Yarn

. Embroidery Needle/Yarn Needle

. 2mm Craft Wire

. Wire Cutters

. Stuffing

Abbreviations

. Ch – Chain Stitch

. Sc – Single Crochet

. Inc (Increase) – 2 Sc into 1 St

. Dec (Decrease) – 1 Sc across 2 Sts

. St/Sts – Stitch/Stitches

. Slst – Slip Stitch

. ** – Marks a group of stitches to be repeated until the round is completed

Gauge

. No gauge, just keep your stitches nice and tight to avoid gaps in your work

Finished Size 

. 2.5inches/6cm tall (approx) using a 3mm hook and DK yarn

Other Info

. As this is amigurumi, work in continuous rounds; in a spiral. Don’t join at the end of a row; just keep going

. Use stitch markers or a piece of scrap yarn to mark the start of every round. Replace at the start of the next round as you go along. This will help you keep track of where you started, and saves a lot of time if things go wrong!

. Pattern is written in American Terms

. The number at the end of each round is the number of stitches you should now have

. I strongly recommend using a small hook i.e.- 3mm, to keep the proportions of the toy as they are in the pictures

Preparing the Wire

Before you start crocheting, I find it best to prepare the wire stand. 

Cut a length of wire about 5 - 6 inches longer than you would like the resulting ‘string’ to be. So if you’d like your ‘string’ to be 5 inches tall, you would cut about 10 -11 inches of wire. This is so you will be able to bend a stand from the excess wire at the bottom, and also insert the wire into the balloon body.

With a pair of pliers, or even just your hands; make a little L shape or small loop at one end of the wire. This should be only about 1/2 inch long/round. This will give the stuffing inside the balloon something to hold onto and stop it from falling out later :)

Ok, onto the crocheting!

Balloon Body

1. Ch 2; Sc 6 into 2nd Ch from hook, or Magic Ring 6 (6 Sc)

2. Inc around (12 Sc)

3. *Sc, Inc* around (18 Sc)

4. *Sc 2, Inc* around (24 Sc)

5. *Sc 3, Inc* around (30 Sc)

6. *Sc 4, Inc* around (36 Sc)

7. *Sc 8, Inc* around (40 Sc)

8 - 14. Sc around (40 Sc)

15. *Sc 8, Dec* around (36 Sc)

16. Sc around (36 Sc)

17. *Sc 4, Dec* around (30 Sc)

18. Sc around (30 Sc)

19. *Sc 3, Dec* around (24 Sc)

20. Sc around (24 Sc)

21. *Sc 2, Dec* around (18 Sc)

22. Sc around (18 Sc)

*Insert the bent/looped end of the Craft Wire now, and add stuffing around it. Continue stuffing the balloon as you close the remainder of the piece*

23. *Sc, Dec* (12 Sc)

24 - 25. Sc around (12 Sc)

26. Dec around (6 Sc)

27. Inc around (12 Sc)

28. Sc around (12 Sc)

*Bind Off, Weave In End*

Take a length of the same colour yarn (about 12 inches) and wraps it tight around the bottom/neck of the balloon to simulate a knot.

Bending the Stand

Hold your balloon and wire string up on a table/surface and judge how long you would like the string to be - starting from the bottom of the Balloon Body. With what’s left of the wire (there should be a few inches left…), bend it into a circular shape. I found wrapping the end of the wire around a round pot/container to be the easiest way to get a regular circle. 

Manipulate the wire so that the circular ‘base’ is flat on the table/surface, and the balloon is standing straight up from the base. Kind of like this... 

I added a little 'kick' out to help stabilise :)

You may need to play around a bit to get it to balance; but the general rule is the wider the circle, the sturdier the base will be. 

*You’re Done!*

I hope you had fun making your Ami Balloons! 

Any questions, suggestions or even if you spot a mistake in the above pattern, please feel free to comment below and I’ll do my best to help :)

Happy Crocheting!

Free Pattern Friday – Mini Octopus

This week I am happy to bring you one of my more popular patterns from my old blog, Mini Ami Octopi!

I wrote this pattern back in 2009, and since then I have been overwhelmed by the love and support this little pattern has received. In 2010 I wrote an updated version to help make the pattern a little easier, where you make the tentacles all in one piece instead of 8 individual parts.

The possibilities for these little guys are endless – I’ve seen people make hats for them, embroider faces and even make armies of different colour ones like in the picture above. They are very simple to make, and I hope the photo tutorials below will help you out with the more tricky all-in-one tentacle part.

I have also written the pattern out in standard form at the bottom of this page, for those that don’t need the photo tutorial

So without further-a-do – here are the Mini Octopi!

---

Mini Ami Octopus

You Will Need:. Crochet Hook (I used 3.5mm [E]. This will keep your stitches nice and tight and the tentacles curly)
. Small Amount Of Double Knit or Light Worsted Weight Yarn
. 7mm Safety Eyes
. Stitch Markers Or Piece Of Scrap Yarn
. Yarn/Embroidery Needle
. Poly-fill Or Other Stuffing
. Button and beads (Optional)

Abbreviations
. Ch – Chain Stitch
. Sc – Single Crochet
. Hdc – Half Double Crochet
. St/Sts – Stitch/Stitches
. Slst – Slip Stitch
. Inc (Increase) – 2 Sc into 1 St
. Dec (Decrease) – 1 Sc across 2 Sts
. ** – Marks a group of stitches to be repeated until the round is completed

Gauge
No gauge, just keep your stitches nice and tight to avoid gaps in your work

Finished Size 
1 3/4’’ Tall by 3’’ Wide (approx) using a 3.5mm (E) hook

Other Info. As this is amigurumi, work in continuous rounds; in a spiral. Don’t join at the end of a row; just keep going
. Use stitch markers or a piece of scrap yarn to mark the start of every round. Replace at the start of the next round as you go along. This will help you keep track of where you started, and saves a lot of time if things go wrong!
. I write my patterns in American terms, so Sc means Single Crochet; Dc means Double Crochet etc.
. The number at the end of each round is the number of stitches you should now have
. I strongly recommend using a small hook i.e.- 3.5mm (E), to keep the proportions of the toy as they are in the pictures

Step 1

Ch 2, Sc 6 into the 2nd Ch from hook, or Magic Ring 6 (6 Sc)

Step 2

Single Crochet Increase into each Single crochet stitch around (12 Sc)

Step 3

Single Crochet into the first stitch, then Single Crochet Increase into the next. Repeat around the circle 5 more times. (18 Sc)

Step 4

Single Crochet into the next 2 stitches, Single Crochet Increase into the 3rd. Repeat around the circle 5 more times (24 Sc)

Step 5

Single Crochet into the next 3 stitches, Single Crochet Increase into the 4th. Repeat around the circle 5 more times (30 Sc)

Step 6 – 10

Single Crochet in each stitch around (30 Sc) for 5 rows

Step 11

Single Crochet into the first 3 stitches, Single Crochet Decrease over then next 2. Repeat around 5 more times (24 Sc)

When you have completed this step, it’s time to insert the eyes. Take each eye and place a couple of rounds above where you are working, nearly half way up the piece. Apply backs to the eyes and continue…

Step 12 – 13

Single Crochet Decrease over all stitches (12 Sc)

Stuff your octopi with fluffy stuffing – make him nice and solid so he keeps his shape 

Single Crochet Decrease over all remaining stitches (6 Sc) and sew the opening closed. Bind Off.

You’ve made the body! Yay! On to the tentacles…

Tentacles

Step 1 – 2

Chain 2, Single Crochet 8 into the 2nd Chain from hook, or Magic Ring 8 (8 Sc)

Chain 14

Step 3

Half-Double Crochet 2 into 2nd Chain from hook. Half-Double Crochet 3 into all remaining Chains, back to the beginning of the Chain. Slip Stitch into the next Single Crochet stitch to anchor the tentacle.

You may wish to curl your tentacle up a little by twisting it clockwise – it can be a bit loose after crocheting it up and this will give it a boost 

Step 4

Repeat Step 2 and 3 to create the next tentacle…

Step 5 – 10

… and each tentacle around, until you have 8. Bind Off, Leaving a long tail for sewing.

Assembly

• Sew tentacle piece to the bottom of the body. I find it stays more securely if you sew right around the very edge of the piece, binding each tentacle individually to the body piece, then adding a few stitches to the middle area.
• Be creative! For my octopi I added a little heart shaped button and tiny pink seed beads for cheeks. You can add hats, different buttons and beads, embroidery – anything!

And you’re done! Yay!

I really hope you enjoyed making your own Mini Octopus! If you have any questions about the pattern process at all then please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, and I will be happy to help 

And as promised – here is the pattern written out for you, incase you don’t need the photo tutorial <3 p="">

---

Body

1. Ch2, Sc 6 into 2nd Ch from hook, or Magic Ring 6 (6)
2. Inc around (12)
3. *Sc, Inc* around (18)
4. Sc 2, Inc around (24)
5. *Sc 3, Inc* around (30)
6-10. Sc around (30)
11. *Sc 3, Dec* around (24)

*Add Eyes Now*

12. Dec around (12)

*Stuff Now* 

13. Dec around (6)
*Bind off, weave in end*

Tentacles
1. Ch2, Sc 8 into 2nd Ch from hook, or Magic Ring 8 (8). Join with a Slst to beginning Sc.
2. Ch 14
3. HDC 2 in 2nd Ch from hook, and HDC 3x in each Ch across to beginning Ch. Slst to next Sc in circle.
4 – 10. Repeat rounds 2 and 3 until you have created 8 tentacles.

*Bind Off, Leave Long Tail for Sewing*

Again, any problems just leave a comment! And don’t forget to add your completed octopi to the the patterns Ravelry page so everyone else can see your awesome creations!

Happy Crocheting!

My Japan Trip: Part 5: Shinjuku and Nakano

If yesterday was a search for retro gaming and gashapon, today was most definitely a hunt for Blythe dolls and craft shops.

I got on the Yamanote Line train up to Shinjuku around 9:30am – it was a Sunday so I thankfully avoided the horrific rush hour traffic we met on our way back from Mt.Fuji. Shinjuku is just 2 stops up from our base at Shibuya, so I was there in no time.

The above photo is the view upon exiting the station – I descended the stairs and made my way left in search of a chain of craft stores that had been recommended to me many times – Okadaya.

I have to confess I was wandering round the streets of Shinjuku about 2 hours in search of this store. On my walks I found a great underground shopping mall with a basement full of cafes and restaurants, where I had a drink and a slice of cake. It was so hot this Sunday and I just needed to sit down awhile, and this was the perfect place. Also in this shopping mall was a great fabric store, selling traditional (and expensive) kimono fabrics. You could see the ladies in the shop fitting kimonos for customers – the fabrics used were so pretty and vivid.

Wandering, wandering, wandering – about an hour later I found the first of the Okadaya stores – the one for fabrics. Inside was about every type of fabric you could imagine, from cotton to denim, linen to kimono fabrics. I was very tempted to buy some small print cotton for Blythe dresses, but I was very good and managed to resist.

Across the little side street was the main store I’d come to see – the one containing yarn. Inside it was like a yarn addicts paradise..

Again, like the fabric store across the street, there was every type of yarn you could think of. I particularly liked these acrylics, in rainbow colours…

I regret it now, but I didn’t buy any yarn here (shock, horror!). The yarn I find myself buying these days is usually acrylic, in bulk, for blankets. I loved the little 50g balls of yarn pictured above, but I have to say it was a little expensive, and the amount I would need to make a blanket with would leave me with no holiday money to spend on my last day. They were very pretty though…

It was about 1pm by now, so I headed to a McDonalds on the corner near the railway track. I went up to the 3rd floor and got a nice seat overlooking Shinjuku…

I couldn’t believe people were still walking round in coats – it was so hot this day! I felt weird being the only one out without a coat, but theres no way I could have put up with the heat if I’d have left it on.

I sat here a while, then headed back downstairs and onto the streets of Shinjuku again. I had a further wander round, mainly round near the station. After a while I decided to move on to my next destination – Nakano.

Getting to Nakano means travelling on a train that isn’t on the Yamanote Line, so I needed to navigate different platforms at Shinjuku Station. It was no problem though – everything in Tokyo is so well signposted, even with signs in English. I liked the trains the most – there were LED displays above the doors telling you the next station, and on what side of the train the doors would open. You don’t get that on the London Underground!

My main reason for travelling up to Nakano was for toy shopping. Just north of the stations North Exit is the main draw – Nakano Broadway. It’s a shopping mall full of toy shops, which you get to through a gallery of food, convenience and mobile phone shops.

Photo (c) frolichawaii.com via Goog;e

At the end of this little parade of shops you reach the outside of Nakano Broadway proper…

Photo (c) japan-guide.com via Google

As always, I intended to go to the top floor and work my way down. Upon arriving at the top floor though I found the whole floor to be a massive gaming arcade, no signs of shops. So I skipped that level. Big mistake - you will see why in a bit...

I looked round the remaining floors, Ooh-ing and Aah-ing at all the amazing toys for sale. I found a shop full of ‘girl’ toys, including these Licca Dolls…

Kawaii!! Though as of yet I was still to find any Blythe dolls, which is what I was mainly here for. Hmm…

Onto more shops – a lot of the shops here were owned by Mandarake, and therefore sold a lot of second hand collectable and vintage toys. It was so fun looking round them all, especially finding the retro Japanese monsters and dinosaur figures. They were really cool, but sadly a little outside of my price range.

It was very hard to get photos in these shops, but I got a few sneaky ones on my iPhone. Like this one…

Toy paradise!! 

Also in this shop I spotted an amazing sample of amigurumi work – I have no idea what he was but he was so fab!

Look at the detail in the face! Wow!

I only noticed when I got home and looked through my photos that there is also an amigurumi in the background of that shot – it looks like a tomato with a smily face hehe!

I made my way down the levels, buying little bits here and there that took my fancy. I got a little do-it-yourself doll kit, where you buy mix and match hair, face and body parts all separately and build it up yourself. I got a Miku version, shown in the picture at the bottom of the page.

I reached the entrance of Nakano Broadway and have to admit I was a little disappointed not to find many Blythe dolls. I had heard stories of the hoards of Blythes you could find in Nakano, and all the bargains to be had. I however had only found a couple of dolls in the Mandarake. I must have missed something….

I decided to head back into the shopping centre, determined to find what I had come here for. I decided to check out the very top floor again – the one with the arcade. I ascended a different elevator this time, and Thank God I did! It opened up onto a completely different area of the top floor, this one with more toy shops, and more importantly, shops with Blythe dolls! Lots of Blythe dolls!

Seriously, there were glass cases full to the brim with every Blythe doll you could think of. From stock new releases to second hand favourites, customs to Kenners…

This auburn Kenner was my one of my favourites – she was so pretty and in brilliant condition, probably why she merited a 150,000yen price tag (approx. £1,003 GBP/$1,439 USD). Believe me, if I’d have had that amount of money I could have bought her - of course I would - but, alas, I didn’t. So I left her in the display case...

I didn’t leave empty handed though – after about 45 minutes perusing the different shops and Blythes on offer I settled on a super cute, second hand Friendly Freckles that was hiding away in the bottom corner of one of the bigger stores. I also found some toys I was aiming to get whilst in Tokyo – a Wonder Frog and an Odeco-Chan! Yay! I bought all 3 of these treasures in the same shop, and in turn spending most of the last of my money. I had a about 10yen after this!

I left Nakano Broadway on cloud 9, so happy I had found what I had come all this way for. I made my way back through the gallery of convenience stores and onto the train station, bound for Shibuya.

Back at the hotel I had a grape Fanta from the vending machine and sat down to admire the days purchases…

As well as the Blythe, Odeco-Chan and Wonder Frog, I got a D-I-Y Miku, a Blythe outfit, Halloween Edition Sonny Angel, 3 kawaii -block-type figures and a weird looking mushroom man – he was so strange looking I just had to have him hehe!

Here he is admiring the view from the window…

Isn’t he fab?! He has a magnetic hat haha!

I decided to spend my last evening in Japan wandering round the now familiar streets of Shibuya. I visited the Parco store, one I had somehow managed to overlook the day before. Thank God I did – look what I found!

Double yay! 

It was a whole section dedicated to the Blythe store Junie Moon. Bags, clothing, books, dolls, phone cases, postcards, stickers, pencil cases – it was all here. I was so sad I had spent all of my money!

There was however a little pot on one of the tables with some freebies in it – including an Ayanami Rei Blythe iPhone 5 sticker – so I snapped it up, seen as I have an iPhone 5 myself! Score!

I walked round a little more, up to the Tokyo Hands and down Center Gai. I got another cake from the Starbucks overlooking the crossing, hoping to sit and watch the passers by for a while, but it was so busy – there wasn’t a single seat available. So I took my cake back to the hotel, grabbed another can of grape Fanta, and settled in for the night.

And so ended our last full day in Japan. We were to return to London the next day at around 10am, which meant I should get some sleep for our early start. I planned to get up extra early anyway in order to explore Shibuya whilst no one was around, something I had meant to do since we arrived, but never got round to.

The last instalment of this report will be posted tomorrow, I hope you can join me on my early morning wandering and journey back to London!

Free Pattern - Happy Pills

This week I thought I’d bring you an updated version of one of my earliest patterns – the Happy Pills!

I wrote this pattern back in 2010, put it on my blog and kind of forgot about it. It was only recently - when I was thinking of easy patterns for beginners - that I remembered it. So I decided to re-vamp it and publish it a-new.

So here it is – the new and improved Happy Pills!

Happy Pills

You Will Need:

• Crochet Hook (I used 3mm)
• Small amount of Double Knit/Light WW Yarn
• 4mm Safety Eyes
• Yarn/Embroidery Needle
• Poly-fill Or Other Stuffing
• Blusher or pink eye shadow (optional)
• 
  
  Abbreviations
• Ch – Chain Stitch
•  Sc – Single Crochet
• St/Sts – Stitch/Stitches
• Slst – Slip Stitch
• Inc (Increase) – 2 Sc into 1 St
• Dec (Decrease) – 1 Sc across 2 Sts
• ** – Marks a group of stitches to be repeated until the round is completed

Gauge

• No gauge, just keep your stitches nice and tight to avoid gaps in your work

Finished Size

• 7cm’s Tall (approx) using a 3mm hook

Other Info

• As this is amigurumi, work in continuous rounds; in a spiral. Don’t join at the end of a row; just keep going
• I write my patterns in American terms, so Sc means Single Crochet; Dc means Double Crochet etc.
• The number at the end of each round is the number of stitches you should now have

---

Head/Body

In White1. Ch 2, Sc 6 into 2nd Ch from hook, or Magic Ring 6 (6)
2. Inc around (12)
3. *Sc, Inc* around (18)
4-11. Sc around (18)

*Change To Teal*

12. BLO – Sc around (18)
13-20. Sc around (18)

*Add Safety Eyes to top half of pill and stuff*

21. *Sc, Dec* around (12)
22. Dec around (6)

*Finish Off, Weave In End*

Apply a small amount of pink blusher/eye shadow to the cheek area

You might also want to add a mouth to your pill at this point

You're Done!

Pretty simple, right?! I hope you have lots of fun with the pattern!! 

"Hey Guys!"