The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Do let us have the opportunity to be at your service!
😀
Latest Update (8/2/2018)
I have set up an Etsy shop under the name
for all my handcrafted items.
If you are looking for cute and quirky printable/customized items, feel free to visit
Happy Shopping with Us and Cheers!!
After completing the bunny bottle holder, I crocheted one more (there are 4 of them..🤣) suitable for the same bottle size. In the bunny bottle holder, I was using mole yarn with a weightage of 5-WPI and I did mention in my post that if you are crocheting that using a yarn weightage, you can increase it using the standard incremental formula for the base. Just to give you all a clearer picture, I decided to use a thinner yarn to crochet this bottle cover so that you can see the difference.
Without further adieu, let’s begin to crochet!
Difficulty: Basic (for crocheting), Intermediate (needle sculpting the head portion)
Time Taken: 30-45 min
Abbreviations (US Terminology)
BLO – Back Loops Only
Ch – Chain
dc – Double Crochet
hdc – Half-Double Crochet
sc2tog – Single Crochet 2 stitches Together
sc – Single Crochet
scinc – Single Crochet Increase (crocheting 2 stitches into one stitch)
slst – Slip Stitch
TOOLS AND MATERIALS
I am using 100% polyester nipper yarn with a weightage of 8 to 10-WPI (Bella Baby) and a 5mm crochet hook for this bottle holder. The bottle holder has a base diameter of 8.5cm and a height of
FRONT: 13.5cm if you measure it from the head of the teddy bear to the bottom
BACK AND SIDE: 11.5cm excluding the height of the teddy bear’s head
The length of the ears is 2cm.
Other materials: Big eye needle, 2 safety eyes (5mm) with studs, and 1 safety nose preferably with stud (10mm)
Things to take note of during crocheting this pattern:
BASE
Round 1: Ch-2, 6-sc into the second loop from hook, slip stitch back into the first stitch (6)
Round 2: Ch-1, 6-scinc, slip stitch back into first stitch (12)
Round 3: Ch-1, 12-scinc, slip stitch back into first stitch (24)
Round 4: Ch-1, (3-sc, scinc) x 6, slip stitch back into first stitch (30)
In this pattern, you can see that the base of my bottle holder is completed in 4 rounds instead of 3 rounds when I was crocheting the Bunny bottle holder. Do note that it is okay to have the base slightly bigger or smaller than the bottle base.
BODY
Round 5: Ch-1, (BLO) 30-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (30)
Round 6-7: Ch-1, 30-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (30)
Round 8: Ch-1, 28-sc, sc2tog, slip stitch back to first stitch (29)
Round 9-10: Ch-1, 29-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (29)
Round 11: Ch-1, (12-sc, sc2tog) x 2, 1-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (27)
Round 12-14: Ch-1, 27-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (27)
If your bottle is taller than 9.5cm, just increase the rounds of 27-sc and estimate enough space for the last three rounds where the head and ears are crocheted.
HEAD AND EARS
Round 15
Step 1: Ch-1, 11-sc, 1-slst (place a stitch marker into this slip stitch – “ST-1”) skip one stitch (12)
Step 2: 6-hdc into the next stitch, skip one stitch, 1-slst (place a stitch marker into this slip stitch – “ST-2”) (7)
Step 3: 11-sc, slip stitch back into first stitch (11)
Round 16
Step 1: Ch-1, 11-sc, 1-slst into the stitch marked by “ST1” (place the stitch marker back into the slip stitch) (12)
Step 2: 6-scinc, 1-slst into the stitch marked by “ST2” (place the stitch marker back into the slip stitch) (13)
Step 3: 11-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (11)
Round 17
Step 1: Ch-1, 11-slst, 1-slst into the stitch marked by“ST1” in Round 16 (12)
Step 2: 2-slst up the slope, (1-sc, 2-hdc, 1-slst) into the next stitch (6)
Step 3: 6-slst, (1-sc,2-hdc, 1-slst) into the next stitch (10)
Step 4: 2-slst down the slope, 1-slst into the stitch marked by “ST2” in Round 16 (3)
Step 5: 11-slst, slip stitch back into the first Ch-1. (11)
Round 18: Make a final round of slip stitches. Do not slip stitch along the ears but insert your hook into the center hole (the stitch where you crochet the ears in Round 17) so that you can get the effect of the ear behind the head (See photos below). After completing the slip stitching, cut and weave in the tail.
OPTIONAL ITEMS:
As this bottle already comes with a strap, I don’t have to crochet any straps for it. However, there is a hook on the back of the bottle so I decided to make a strap to further secure the holder to the bottle (just in case).
AFTER COMPLETING ROUND 18:
ENHANCING THE HEAD VIA NEEDLE SCULPTING
If you are still new to amigurumi, this is the part that requires some experience in crocheting amigurumi. It is difficult to describe the process but I can provide some of the basic steps in this tutorial.
I would twirl the yarn around the stitches (instead of inserting the needle through the stitches) of the ears and the top part of the head to make them rounder. As the nipple yarn is very soft, by doing so, you can “stiffen” the edges so that the ears can stand up better and you will get that “spiral effect” as seen in the photo below.
THERE ARE NO MISTAKES IN ART
Maria Renteria
To be honest, this is the first time I am crocheting a completed workpiece using this yarn, therefore, the process of producing this cutie was quite a bittersweet experience. Initially, I was planning to just sew in two ear patches, just like what I’ve done with the Bunny holder, and I’ve gotten a frog/turtle (that’s what my sister told me) 😣!
With proper needle sculpting, I think this froggy might just work. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any green nipple yarn therefore I had to revert back to Teddy Bear. If this design interests you, why not just give it a try? For the eye patches, just form an AMR and make 6-dc into the AMR then pull it tight to get a semi-circle.
You may make and sell items made from this pattern but please do not sell, share or reproduce the actual pattern.
Hope all you lovely souls enjoy crocheting this Teddy bear (or froggy) bottle holder.
Do share with us your project in the comment section or on our Facebook page should you decide to crochet one for yourself or your loved ones.
Till then,
TTFN~ Cheers!
Recently, a friend bought some water bottles for her kids only to realize that the material was glass instead of plastic. Therefore, she asked me to crochet ‘clothing’ for the bottles. To be honest, I’ve never crocheted a bottle holder and this is actually my first time trying. Since the outcome of the workpiece turned out quite okay, I might as well share this pattern with all you lovely souls out there just in case you have similar water bottles as hers.
Just like T-shirt yarn, mole yarn is one that I would try to refrain from using despite seeing so many beautiful amigurumi workpieces crocheted with this yarn. However, I do have a few balls of mole yarns lying around (bought them for some non-crocheting projects and some out of impulse from big sales held at yarn stores), so I decided to try using them to crochet the holder.
Do bear in mind that this pattern is totally based on the dimensions of the bottle I have. However, you can simply adjust the number of stitches and rounds accordingly unless you have a bottle with similar dimensions or use the same yarn weightage and hook size as mine.
Without further adieu, let’s begin to crochet!
Difficulty: Basic
Time Taken: 30 min
Abbreviations (US Terminology)
BLO – Back Loops Only
Ch – Chain
dc – Double Crochet
hdc – Half-Double Crochet
sc2tog – Single Crochet 2 stitches Together
sc – Single Crochet
scinc – Single Crochet Increase (crocheting 2 stitches into one stitch)
slst – Slip Stitch
I am using Mole Yarn with a weightage of 5-WPI (bought from Daiso) and a 7mm crochet hook for this bottle holder. The bottle holder has a base diameter of 8.5cm and a height of
FRONT: 11cm if you measure it from the head of the bunny to the bottom
BACK AND SIDE: 9.5cm excluding the height of the bunny’s head
The length of the ears is 5cm
Things to take note of during crocheting this pattern:
BASE
Round 1: Ch-2, 6-sc into the second loop from hook, slip stitch back into the first stitch (6)
Round 2: Ch-1, 6-scinc, slip stitch back into first stitch (12)
Round 3: Ch-1, 12-scinc, slip stitch back into first stitch (24)
The base of my bottle holder is completed in 3 rounds, having a diameter of 8.5cm. If your bottle has a bigger base than 8.5cm, just continue crocheting your base using (3-sc, inc) x 6 (30), (4-sc, inc) x 6 (36), and so on until the size matches your bottle. It is okay to have the base slightly bigger or smaller than the bottle’s.
BODY
Round 4: Ch-1, (BLO) 24-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (24)
Round 5-6: Ch-1, 24-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (24)
Round 7: Ch-1, 22-sc, sc2tog, slip stitch back to first stitch (23)
Round 8-9: Ch-1, 23-sc, slip stitch back to first stitch (23)
If your bottle is taller than 9.5cm, just increase the rounds of 23-sc and estimate enough space for the last two rounds where the head and ears are crocheted.
BUNNY HEAD AND EARS
Round 10: Ch-1, 10-sc, skip one stitch, 6-dc into the next stitch, skip one stitch, 10-sc, slip stitch back into first stitch (26)
Round 11
Step 1: Ch-1, 10-slst, Ch-6 (10)
Step 2: (1-dc, 1-hdc) into 3rd loop from hook, 2-sc, 1-slst (5)
Step 3: 6-slst along Round 10, Ch-6 (6)
Step 4: (1-dc, 1-hdc) into 3rd loop from hook, 2-sc, 1-slst (5)
Step 5: 10-slst along Round 10, slip stitch back to first stitch, cut and weave in tail. (10)
OPTIONAL ITEMS:
As this bottle already comes with a strap, I don’t have to crochet any straps for it. However, there is a hook on the back of the bottle so I decided to make a strap to further secure the holder to the bottle (just in case).
AFTER COMPLETING ROUND 11:
INNER EAR PATCHES (MAKE 2)
For the inner ear patches, I am using milk cotton yarn (15-WPI) and a 2.5mm crochet hook. The length of the patch is around 4.5cm.
Step 1: Ch-12, 3-dc into the 3rd loop from hook (3)
Step 2: 1-dc, 8-hdc, Ch-1, leave a long tail for sewing and pull the tail through the Chain-1 loop (9)
I am using the wrong sides of the patches for the front during attaching them to the ears. Try to sew the stitches underneath the rim of the ears so that the patch would look like the one you see in the photo.
You may make and sell items made from this pattern but please do not sell, share or reproduce the actual pattern.
Hope all you lovely souls enjoy crocheting this simple bunny bottle holder.
Do share with us your project in the comment section or on our Facebook page should you decide to crochet one for yourself or your loved ones.
Till then,
TTFN~ Cheers!
Good day to all lovely souls out there!
After the latest listing of my Mini Cube House Amigurumi Pattern, I decided to go back to coaster patterns. Actually I was planning to continue with an uncompleted pattern but after a few rounds of testing, a new coaster idea pops up (will be listing it in my Etsy shop pretty soon) and this has indirectly led me to having some ideas for simple and elegant coaster patterns.
I have been experimenting on different type of stitches like double crochet stitch (dc), half-double crochet stitch (hdc) and extended single crochet stitch to get different textures for the base of the coasters. If you are interested to know more, you can find them at them in my Etsy shop (with detailed instructions and photos).
In this post, I will be sharing a simple pattern using double crochet stitch as its base. I love mixing with yarns in my crocheting, so this in pattern, I am using three different yarn with colors inspired by Autumn. Hope you will enjoy crocheting it.
Difficulty: Basic
Time Taken: 20-30 min
Abbreviations (US Terminology)
AMR – Adjustable Magic Ring
BLO – Back Loops Only
Ch – Chain
dc – Double Crochet
dcinc – Increase [Crocheting 2 stitches into 1 stitch]
sc – Single Crochet
slst – Slip Stitch
y/o – Yarn Over
I am using the following yarns and crocheting using 2mm hook, the dimension is approximately 12cm x 12cm:
NOTE:
If you prefer a nicer color transition, I would suggest you to cut and weave in your tail at Round 3 and Round 4 instead of yarning over with the new color.
Picot stitch will be used in this pattern, if you are not sure what a picot stitch is, you can find instructions in the web or YouTube videos.
Using Color 1, form an AMR
Round 1: Ch-3 (use this as your first dc stitch), 11-dc, slip stitch into the top loop of Chain 3 (12)
Round 2: Ch-2, 12-dcinc, slip stitch into the first dc stitch (24)
Round 3: Ch-2, 24-dcinc, slip stitch into the first dc stitch and y/o with Color 2 (48)
Round 4 (BLO): Ch-2, (11-dc, dcinc) x 4, slip stitch into the first dc stitch and y/o with Color 3 (52)
Round 5: Ch-1, 52-slst, slip stitch back into the first slst (52) (Take note of the tension in this round, do not make it too tight or else your workpiece might curl up)
Round 6
Step 1: (Ch-5, skip next 2 stitches, 1-slst into the back loop of next stitch) x 3
Step 2 (BLO): 3-sc, 1-slst
Step 3: Repeat Step 1-2 another 3 times
Round 7
Step 1: (4-sc into the Chain 5 space, Ch-1, make a picot stitch, 4-sc back into the Chain 5 space) x 3
Step 2: 2-slst, (Ch-3, 2-slst back) x 3, slip stitch back into the same stitch
Step 3: Repeat Step 1-2 another 3 times, slip stitch back into the first stitch, cut and weave in tail
You may make and sell items made from this pattern but please do not sell, share or reproduce the actual pattern.
Hope all you lovely souls enjoy crocheting this simple Autumn inspired coaster.
Do share with us your project in the comment section or in our Facebook page should you decided to crochet one for yourself or your loved ones.
Till then,
TTFN~ Cheers!
The name “Teddy” actually comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who was commonly known as “Teddy” when he refused to shoot an exhausted and tied down black bear during a hunting trip in 1902 and instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery.
Death is not the greatest loss in life.
The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.
Norman Cousins
The incident soon became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. When Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt, he was inspired to create a teddy bear. After sending a bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to use his name, the toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.
Even till this day, teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are often given to adults to signify love, affection, congratulations, or sympathy. Perhaps every lovely soul who crochets would have a teddy bear project in his/her to-do list.
As for me, it happens to be my first amigurumi project.
A little ambitious for an amigurumi noob back in 2015, who had ONE crochet hook (a Japanese crochet hook size 1/0-2/0) and some left over acrylic yarns huh? Well, my guts told me to go ahead anyway and found myself a cute teddy bear tutorial on YouTube.
TADA~ MY FIRST AMIGURUMI TEDDY BEAR!
😑I know, totally no resemblance to the ones shown in tutorial.
Well, like I mentioned earlier, I only had one Japanese crochet hook (1/0-2/0) and some left over acrylic yarns during that time. So this cutie was stuffed with toilet paper (not joking) and the eyes were glass beads instead of safety eyes. It was very discouraging when the outcome was not the same as the one shown in the tutorial (nothing like a Teddy.. LOL) so, I stopped crocheting amigurumi for a while and went back to crocheting bags. Then in 2016, I decided to try again and started with something smaller — a snail.
Well, at least this one looked like a snail huh? I think there is nothing wrong with being ambitious, but when it comes to crafting, unless you are one of the super talented ones, it is better to take small simple steps during the early stage.
Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh
After completing my third amigurumi, I started my journey in “bringing a series of small things together”. There were ups and downs along the way, with many mental debates on whether I should change my path to crocheting instead. Eventually I started my Esty shop in 2018 and have received unconditional supports from my family and friends. I am very thankful to be still hanging on at this moment.
Just a few days ago, after updating my shop and wondering what I should do next, something came up and I decided to crochet that Teddy bear again. Using the same crochet hook and a similar yarn but this time, I’ve had all the materials needed.
Same pattern but different outcomes?
From this “experiment”, I realized that in the world of amigurumi, the skill that we’ve acquired is not really only about crocheting but how we “sculpt” all our crocheted components.
I have to admit that assembling the components is still the most intimidating part for me but ironically, it is the very same thing that we need to master well in order to give “life” to all these cuties!
Sometimes you have to do what you don’t like to get to where you want to be.
Tori Amos
Thank you for reading this post and have a wonderful day ahead! Do stay safe, healthy and happy!
Till then,
Cheers & TTFN~ 😀
Good day to all lovely souls out there!
In this post, I will share with you all the pattern of the Crewmate Amigurumi Doll, which is about 8.5cm if you were to use the yarn thickness and hook size that I am using for this pattern i.e. a yarn weightage of 15 WPI (any type of yarn) and a 2mm crochet hook.
In this pattern, the head, body and legs will be crocheted from top to bottom and in rounds without any slip stitching at the end of each round.
Difficulty: Advance Beginner/Intermediate
Time Taken: 45 min – 1hr
Abbreviations (US Terminology)
AMR – Adjustable Magic Ring
BLO/FLO – Back/Front Loop Only
Ch – Chain
dec – Single Crochet Decrease
inc – Single Crochet Increase
sc – Single Crochet
slst – Slip Stitch
HEAD AND BODY
Round 1
Step 1: Ch-8
Step 2: 2-sc into the 2nd chain from the hook, 5-sc, 2-sc into the last chain (9)
Step 3: Working on the opposite side of the chain, 5-sc, slst into the first sc stitch
Round 2: inc, 5-sc, 2-inc, 5-sc, inc (18)
Round 3: 18-sc
Round 4: (5-sc, inc) x 3 (21)
Round 5: 21-sc
Round 6: (6-sc, inc) x 3 (24)
Round 7-9: 24-sc
Round 10: 1-sc, inc, 8-sc, inc, 2-sc, inc, 8-sc, inc, 1-sc (28)
Round 11-14: 28-sc
Round 15: (13-sc, inc) x 2 (30)
Round 16: 30-sc
The head and body is completed after Round 16 but do not cut the yarn as we are going to divide the stitches for the two legs in Round 17.
LEGS DIVISION
In Round 17, we will be dividing the body into two portions. Since there are 30 stitches for the body and if you flatten the workpiece, you should have 15 stitches on each side (front and back). Excluding the 6 stitches for the center portion, each leg will have a circle of 12 stitches. With that in mind, let’s continue with the instruction.
Round 17
Step 1: 8-sc, Ch-1, 1-slst (BLO) the 9th and 26th stitches together (8)
Step 2: 1-slst (BLO) the 10th and 25th stitches together
Step 3: 1-slst (BLO) the 11th and 24th stitches together, Ch-1
Step 4: 12-sc, Ch-1
Step 5: 1-slst (FLO) the 11th and 24th stitches together
Step 6: 1-slst (FLO) the 10th and 25th stitches together
Step 7: 1-slst (FLO) the 9th and 26th stitches together, Ch-1
Step 8: 4-sc
Alternatively, you can crochet the 3 slip stitches directly into the stitches instead of working with the FLO/BLO. I am using this method because it would be easier to crochet the legs as the stitches (for the legs) close to the center would not get tucked in by the slip stitches.
FIRST LEG
Do not stuff the body yet but continue to crochet the first leg, which is the 12-stitch circle with the stitch marker and we will reset the round number for the legs.
Round 1-4: 12-sc
The leg is not completed yet at this point, insert a stitch marker to secure the last loop (See photo below). Either using the other end tail of the yarn ball or another new ball of yarn, we will continue with the second leg.
SECOND LEG
You can start your first stitch at any stitch but I prefer to insert my hook into the stitch under the first stitch of second leg (See photo below)
Round 1: Ch-1, 1-sc into the same stitch, 11-sc (12)
Round 2-4: 12-sc
CLOSING OFF THE LEGS
You can start stuffing in at this point. After stuffing, we will close off both legs in Round 5.
Round 5: (2-sc, inc) x 3 (9)
Leave a tail and close off by picking the outer loops with the needle, then tighten the yarn to close the gap, tug the bottom in to flatten the sole when you weave in the tail. There might be a small gap between the slip stitch and the first round of the legs, especially the second one. It is okay, just make a few simple sewing stitches (see photo) to close it off during the weave-in of the legs.
FACE MASK
Using White color yarn, Ch-5
Round 1
Step 1: 1-sc into the 2nd chain from hook, 3-sc, change to Blue Color, inc into the same stitch (6)
Step 2: Working on the opposite side of the chain, 2-sc, inc (4)
Round 2: (1-sc, inc) x 2 (FLO), (1-sc, inc) x 3 (15)
Round 3: 15-sc (FLO), change to Black color in your last yarn over
Round 4: 15-sc (FLO), slst into the first stitch, cut and leave a long tail for sewing purpose
The face mask is oblong by default. If you want a rectangular frame, just stretch out the four corners with pins, securing the corners with simple sewing stitches before closing up.
BACK PACK
The back pack for the doll has a slightly different shape from the keychain patterns. I try to make it similar to the one I’ve seen in those crewmate drawings.
Using the same yarn color as the body, Ch 5
Row 1: 1-sc into the 2nd chain from hook, 3-sc, Ch-1, turn (4)
Row 2: 4-sc, Ch-1, turn
Row 3: inc, 2-sc, inc, Ch-1, turn (6)
Row 4: 6-sc, Ch-1, turn
Row 5: 6-sc, Ch-2, turn
After completing Row 5, we will be crocheting around the perimeter of the workpiece (In rounds).
Round 1
Step 1: 5-sc, (1-sc, Ch-1, 1-sc) into the last stitch (7)
Step 2: Rotate your workpiece until the SIDE 1 is facing up
Step 3: 1-sc, (1-sc, Ch-1, 1-sc) into the next stitch, 2-sc, (1-sc, Ch-1, 1-sc) into the last stitch (7)
Step 4: Rotate your workpiece until the BOTTOM side is facing up
Step 5: 2-sc, (1-sc, Ch 1, 1-sc) into the last loop (4)
Step 6: Rotate your workpiece until the SIDE 2 is facing up
Step 7: 2-sc, (1-sc, Ch 1, 1-sc) into the next stitch, 2-sc, slst into the top loop of first chain 2 (6)
After finishing Round 1, you should have 6 corners made when you crocheted (1-sc, Ch-1, 1-sc) and the shape of your backpack should be the same as the one shown in the photo. In Round 2 (back loops only), you will need to crochet into the back loops of these six “Ch-1 corners”.
Round 2: Ch-1, 1-sc into the same stitch (BLO), 29-sc (BLO), slst back into the first sc stitch (30)
Round 3: Ch-1, 30-slst (FLO), slst back into the first chain 1, cut and leave a long tail for sewing purposes.
ASSEMBLING
When you view your workpiece from the top, the top 2 rows are only 1 round, do not consider it as 2 rounds when you are positioning your facemask and backpack.
For the backpack, the narrower row (with 4 stitches) should be the top part. Position it on the 6th round (recommended). Use a simple sewing stitch on the sides to secure its position, then stuff in the fiberfill before stitching it fully.
You may make and sell items made from this pattern but please do not sell, share or reproduce the actual pattern.
Hope all you lovely souls enjoy crocheting this cute little Sitting Crewmate keychain.
Do share with us your project in the comment section or in our Facebook page should you decided to crochet one for yourself or your loved ones.
Till then,
TTFN~ Cheers!
Symplestuff in Life 