Jungle Play Mat

I love belonging to online crochet groups because they provide great support and leads. Recently a woman posted a request for help in finding a free pattern for a jungle set offered by Joann. I was intrigued, as I love toy sets. Someone kindly posted the link and I downloaded the pattern. I found the pattern here.

I altered the pattern slightly. I wanted a larger road so I changed the road. I love this pattern because it could easily be adapted to other themes. The first link includes the free pattern for the mat, huts, trees, rowboat, and a jeep. You have to go further into the site to find the animals. Some of the animals are knitted and some crocheted. I have been adding to the animals using some free patterns and using A Zoo For You (Leisure Arts #5152) that I bought a while back and had not had the chance to use.

I will be posting more pictures of the project. I have most of it completed. I am currently working on the hut. I still have to make the trees and hopefully a few more animals. This present is for a June birthday so I still have time. Then I have to get serious about my Christmas donations so I will have time to make my Halloween box projects.

If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog 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.

Second Pirate Completed

I have the second of the set of three I promised myself I would finish done. The last one will have the eye patch people have been asking about using. I have been trying to make each one unique so they use different accessories. The last pirate will be wearing the same style captain's hat as this one.

This pirate was made using Crafty Deb's Pirate Pattern set. After I finish with the spring birthday rush, I am hoping to make some for the toy donations that come in the summer and Christmas. I will have to see what happens.

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.

My First Pirate Completed

I promised I would get to Crafty Deb's Pirates pattern for a spring birthday and I have the first one completed. While all ami patterns are adaptable, what I like about this one is that it is designed to help the person individualize the pattern for the child or other person receiving the pirate. Basic body structures and lists of accessories are provided to individually create your own pirate or follow the designs given.

Since the accessories are not too challenging this could be a fun way to engage children in designing their own pirate without fear that the project will be too taxing for the person crocheting the item. My plan is to make two more before my shipping deadline. I would also like to put some away for donations as these work up quickly and are a great use for extra scrap yarn.


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.

Knight Finger Puppet

I purchased the Little People Play and Go Castle at Kohls for a December birthday present. I decided I would try to add some characters using Bizzy Crochet's free finger puppet patterns. The holiday finger puppets were a huge hit, so I thought adding some characters to the set would be fun. I also suspect they are small enough and flat enough they can fit right in the carrying case.

The knight was made using small amounts of Red Heart Super Saver for the grey and Caron One Pound for the yellow and red.

These finger puppets make great stocking stuffers or additions to other toy sets even if you don't make the crochet castles she has on her site. I have made several sets now for gifts and donations and they are quick and fun gifts for children.

Safety Barrel

The Safety Barrel is the free pattern companion to the safety cone. This is another quick to make toy that you can add to a car set for a stocking stuffer or a donation for a child. I completed two of these while family and friends were watching the Patriots on Sunday. They went home with my Aunt for her grandsons. I am hoping to make some more before the deadline for a local toy donation.

As I mentioned with the safety cone another benefit is they are using up my I was able to use scraps of Lily's Sugar and Cream Yarn left over from the Halloween and Thanksgiving projects. Instead of small little balls left over, I have cute toys for kids to enjoy.

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 written permission.

Safety Cones

I made more safety cones from a free pattern during the down time cooking at Thanksgiving. They work up very quickly and I am thinking about adding some to a toy drive at the local high school. They are very popular among my younger relatives with their toy cars. I sent these cones home with my Aunt for her grandsons.

I was able to use scraps of Lily's Sugar and Cream Yarn I had left over from making Halloween and Thanksgiving projects to make these. I like finding projects to use up the ends of the yarn I have left over from dishcloths and this was a perfect project. I do not often find a call for bright orange cotton yarn.

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 written permission.

Cow The Farms are Finished

I feel there should be horns sounding and people cheering, but there is just this post. Both basic farms are finished. I still have a silo to assemble and if time perhaps another silo bag to make, but I am done with the farms for the year. Perhaps another next year, but I can move on to other projects. I have a wooly mammoth to complete and I am on the fence about the pterodactyl. I am not sure if I will be making a second one and then that second set will be complete.



I used different yarn and a smaller hook on this cow so that may have been the issue. It could also have been my attitude. I wanted to work on Hello Kitty Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Bears that I have since started. Whatever the reason, this cow was far more stubborn than the first and it while the main body parts were fine, the detailed finishing pieces were not cooperating. It was determined to have my full attention.

I will be handing this guy off with a few dinosaurs to head to New Hampshire for birthday and Christmas presents. I heard rumors the T-Rex escaped early and has already claimed bedroom space.

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

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

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Crochet Horse: The Last Farm Almost Complete

This was the last of the two farm animals remaining and I will say I am impressed with the ability I have shown in sticking to finishing projects. Even when I have wanted to go off and try new things, not repeat old patterns to make presents I need for upcoming birthdays and Christmas, I have managed to finish these gifts.

I love this pattern set which is an Old Annie’s Attic Pattern Club pattern, 87B54 printed in 1984. I have been blogging about my adventures with this pattern since April. When I finished the first one, I decided to do a second for another family member. I have learned a great deal since the first attempt.





One thing that I am hoping that will help is I purchased a tool that is supposed to help make tassels. My experience so making tail tassels for the animals has not been wonderful and I have ended up just sewing them. Perhaps if I can master the tassel maker I can have nicer tails for the creatures.

In order to make the project more interesting, I decided on a white horse instead of the brown this time. I wanted black, but only having black safety eyes, that did not seem like a viable option and I hate sewing eyes. I still have to find a source for colored eyes. I found one, but they do not sell small colored eyes, just the larger sized ones.

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

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

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Goose The Second Farm Continues

I have gotten disiplined about finishing my two big Christmas projects that I have been working on for a while now. I have one set of dinosaurs completed and one farm set done. I am adding a silo to the first farm set which I need to finish, too. However, as I have read on other crochet blogs, I have trouble returning to projects I have already done and duplicating the efforts to make additional items for others.



In the midst of other writing projects not related to crochet I have pushed myself to get focused and get finished. I finished the castle even though there were times I really wanted to abandon it and then decided on a strategy of trading back and forth between farm animals and dinosaurs to finish both projects. I currently am working on the last farm animal the cow, so the strategy is yielding results.

I am trying a new strategy with the second set that is providing some different results. I switched from a G hook to an F hook and I am finding my projects are standing better. There are fewer gaps in the patterns and I like the overall look better.

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

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

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Castle Crochet

I have been talking about this project forever and I finally have the pictures ready to post. This is the pattern I had discussed earlier from Bizzy Crochet.



I am already thinking about the mistakes I made with the goal of improving the next one I make. I have the farm bag ready to assemble and I learned a great deal from that project that should make the next castle an even better project. The door is better formed on the farm and I will fix that on the next castle. I was proud of myself for figuring out how to put on the door. I assembled it incorrectly the first time and looking at it managed to determine how it was supposed to go on and fixed it.



Unlike the original pattern, I chose not to sew the top on all the way, so the child could actually get into the inside of the castle from the top. I sewed the top half way on and left the other side open. I wanted a picture with all the finger puppets on the castle, but in my rush to get the pictures done, I almost took down the castle.

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

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

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Crochet Little People

As I mentioned in the post about the Fourth of July Car, I have been working to find a pattern that would make crochet toys close to the Fisher Price Little People or the Weebles. My first attempt was a start, but not where I wanted to finish.

While I was working on Christmas ornaments, I think I found the solution. It is amazing the things you discover when trying to do something else. I was working on ornaments from Leisure Arts Christmas Ornaments to Crochet #512. The leaflet has a "basic ornament" pattern that it refers to for several people and animal ornament patterns. I was working on one of the doll patterns when I realized it was not coming out as the pattern suggested, however it did look like the Little People I had been trying to make. Therefore, I abandoned ornament making and made a couple of these as prototypes. I will have to make more before Christmas, but I have a start now.

These are easy to adapt and I am looking forward to making a variety of them to go with my other toys. I see a farmer couple emerging.

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

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food



Pictures may not be used without permission.

Crochet Cookie Sheet

Crochet food is fun, but kids also need the kitchen items to put the food on. This cookie sheet comes from Annie's Attic's It's Play Time . I mentioned in a previous post that I am working on the frying pan from the book. The crochet work is all done. I am hunting for the appropriate sized cardboard that provide the support for the bottom of the pan. We always seem to recycle prior to these projects.

The cookie sheet was a fun project and used up the last of my available cardboard. My husband was kind enough to cut a piece to fit the pattern requirements. He is much better at making things straight keeping the corners square than I am.

I thought perhaps I might have crocheted some cookies by the time I was ready to post this pattern, but I have been busy working on Halloween projects. I finally finished the eight ghosts I need to have finished for this fall. I have half the number of pumpkins done. When I get to making some cookies I post a picture of the cookies with the pan before I ship it for Christmas.

If you arrived here looking for free crochet or knit food patterns please see the Free Food Knit and Crochet Page.


Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Crochet Train Set

I really did not think this was a project I could complete when I saw it in the June 2010 Crochet World. Finishing it and getting it on to my blog has been a great process. I am pleased I will have this to share as a gift.


This is likely the most challenging project I have taken on since I started crocheting. It also has required the most focus and determination to finish. I knew if I let myself get distracted with too many other projects, this project would not get finished. Unlike the small ami projects I am working on for Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, these were considerably larger and required more space to store the pieces while I worked on them and to hold on to the set until it was completed and I could photograph it. It needed to be completed as a set, photographed, and then stored until it is time to ship it in December.

If you arrived here seeking free train patterns check out the Free Toy Patterns

See the Other Train Pictures:

Engine

Box Car

Coal Car

Caboose


Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Crochet Train Engine

As I mentioned a previous blog post, I opened the June 2010 Crochet World when it arrived and was so excited to see patterns for toy trains for babies. After reading the patterns, I put the magazine away with the idea that the patterns were adorable, but not something I was going to put on my list of projects. The patterns required precision cutting of foam. The foam was required not just for the main body of the train, but all the little features as well. I realized I would never have the patience to work through such a project in addition to all the work required to crochet and assemble the trains.

As I worked on more toy projects, I realized a compromise could be made. The trains would not be as form fitting as the trains in the magazine, but they would still be fun first train toys for a young relative I had first thought of when I saw the magazine. The toys could be crocheted, sewn together, and stuffed with traditional stuffing. It required a few minor adjustments, but it was worth it to be able to make the trains.



I started with the engine because I realized that if my plan did not work for the engine, than making the other cars was pointless. I used colors I had and I changed the brown to black intentionally. I did not like the way the brown I had looked with the colors I selected. I also changed the windows on the engine to a brighter color. I wanted something cheerful for a baby toy. As I post the pictures of the other trains, you will be able to see I reverted to black windows when the color combinations looked good. I also reduced the number of windows when it became too crowded.

See the Other Train Pictures:

Box Car

Coal Car

Caboose

Crochet Train Set

If you arrived here seeking free train patterns check out the Free Toy Patterns

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Farmer Girl

I finally have one resident for the one of the farms that will be leaving here at Christmas time. I am hoping she will have a male companion and that the other farm will also be fully stocked will animals and people prior to Christmas. This was my first attempt with a crochet ami doll and it had its moments. I have been reading more tutorials about hair and heads as evidenced by the collection of tutorials posted yesterday. However, those all came after the creation of this doll when I realized more work was needed. However, as a first effort I am pleased. There were parts that went better than I thought they would.



I have been collecting out of print patterns books and magazines to increase my pattern collection. This pattern is from Annie's Crochet Newsletter Jul-Aug 1992. Michelle Wilcox was the designer. It is interesting as I have started to collect patterns how many names you run across in different publications. This pattern was called "Wash Day" and designed as a display, not for children's play. However, the idea of a farmer that came with her own afghan seemed too good to let go. There is a goose with this pattern that will likely be added to the farm yard as I finish off all the other requirements.





If you arrived here looking for free amigurumi doll patterns please visit the Crochet and Knit Doll Page where you will find patterns. If you are looking for amigurumi toys, please visit the Toy Pattern Page where you will find selections of free Toy Patterns.

Pictures may not be used without written permission.