Cardinal

As I mentioned in a previous post, I finished an amigurumi swap and my partner has received her package. I can post pictures and discuss the items I made. She wanted a bird, so I used the free pattern for a cardinal found here to make one.

While I have made ducks, turkey, geese and farm birds, I have never attempted something that looked as realistic as this pattern. Most of the bird ami's I have made are simple toys designed to provide kids with representations of the animals to play with or decorations for holiday entertainment. The cardinal pattern was supposed to provide a realistic rendition of its counterpart in nature.

This pattern presented more challenges than I expected. I had to try the face several times before I achieved the black pattern the picture promised. The wings required using two strands of worsted weight yarn on a fairly small hook to obtain the color pattern for the wing. Getting the wings to balance so they could be attached correctly had its own special joys.

I learned some new strategies working on this project that will help me in the future. I do not know if I will return to this project to make another one. However, if not for this swap, I likely would not have explored this pattern at all. You never know what you will find on your hooks.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Penguin Caddy

My swap partner received her package so I can start posting about the projects I made for the swap this week. The required item for this swap was one amigurumi. However, we like to add in extra items that the person might enjoy. I saw this caddy while searching through old Annie's Attic magazines looking for bird patterns. This pattern came from Annie's Pattern Club Magazine, issue #43 Feb-Mar 1987. I thought this would make a fun desk item to hold sticky notes and hooks or pencils.

While I have made lots of ami's I have never made a project that required a Styrofoam base and chenille stems. The stems were easy to find, but the bases available have changed just a bit since the pattern was published in the 80's. I found one that worked, with a little adaptation though.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Pig and Pancake

I finished the Pig from If You Give a Pig a Pancake yesterday. This free pattern, found here provided a few more challenges than the mouse. The sweater was adorable, but lacked a few instructions regarding the arms. I would also suggest ignoring the direction to sew on the tail during assembly and wait until you put the sweater on the pig. I ended up adjusting the sweater to accommodate the tail. If I had waited, I likely would have chosen a better location to sew the tail.

I recently discovered the new owner is a huge fan of the book series. These toys will be a welcome Easter addition.

As an additional note, this pattern had the easiest directions I have seen for adding easy crochet butter and syrup to pancakes. So, if you are interested in pancakes and not the pig, this also may be the pattern for you.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.