DIY Life

Yesterday, we discussed the nitty-gritty of amigurumi, crocheted or knitted toys and dolls with a serious emphasis on cute. I promised that I'd be back today with more adorable patterns for you to make, whether you crochet or knit.

The majority of amigurumi patterns that I've seen have been for animals, so I thought we'd start with those. There are many, many more out there than I can cover here; these are some of my favorites.

• Katrina's Crochet Creations - Katrina offers about ten free amigurumi patterns, including Amara the Unicorn, Nanook the Husky, and several translations of free Japanese patterns she found on the net, like this chihuahua.
• Ana Paula Rimoli's cat and mouse and little rabbit amigurumi.
• Kate - cat pattern from Knitty. That's right, this one isn't crocheted. Neither is Bubby, a tiny teddy bear. Jess Hutchison, the designer of Kate, also has a bunny pattern at her personal site.

More after the break!

• KristieMN on Crochetville has designed a whole farm full of tiny animals: a pig, a cow, a horse, a sheep, and others, as well as a cute camel and hippo.
• This baby lamb by MarjorieCrochets fits in the palm of your hand. Her baby snow dragon and snowy owlet are also great!
• Edmund the Owl is simple to knit.
• Woolie the Ewe is not quite so simple to knit, with a loop stitch on her body.
• A crocheted horse or unicorn.
• Octopode Pandemonium crocheted octopus.
• Kitty crochet hook holder (PDF link).
• Roxycraft - Few of Tamie Snow's popular animal patterns are free, with the exception of Lion Brand's Best Bunny (registration required, previously mentioned). The thing is, she got a book deal. That means that she has to stop selling many of her patterns in about a month, after which it will be a year's wait for the book. Check out Roxycraft and stock up on patterns while you can: they're worth it. (How much do I want those Farmyard patterns? A lot!)
• Duck - this pattern at Canadian Living is an example of what not to do, though with better construction (a head more integrated with the body) and no stripes, it might work out.

Tomorrow: amigurumi food.