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Oh me, oh my. How is PipsRainbow 4 years old. Can’t quite believe it.

Will never forget the first day when I decided to start PipsRainbow. I didn’t have any idea how it would pan out or how it would be received. But I just knew that I needed to have a go and cross all fingers and toes that it went well.

You know when you have that feeling that you just really want to do something and you can’t stop thinking about it, until you just get up and do it! Well it was one of those moments and one of those things I just needed to do! My main aim was teach people how to crochet & help them enjoy it as much as I do. I am hoping that is the case! And the part I love the most is the ability to design and create something for someone.

A yarny treat that they can snuggle and love. Recently I made this little guy for a charity quiz for the incredible Child Bereavement UK Charity & in a silent auction it raised £130! So super chuffed with that!!

This last year has definitely been very different for us all. We have seen so much change in the world. But fortunately, we are in such a different place from a year ago. The fact that the vaccine has given us that freedom to grasp a little bit of normalness again, is huge! But I do know there is still a long way to go, until we see the new norm, whatever that will be. The one thing that I will take from the last year or so, is the huge growth in the yarny world & how many more peoppe are having a go. I love as well the ability to be able to catch up with so many different people on knit & natter zooms. This time last year I had never been on one & now I aim to fit as many as I can in the week. It’s just making the time for them, that is the problem! It’s a world I never thought I would be part of, yet now I have the ability to sit, knit, crochet & chat to like minded people all over the country. Yey!

The other huge change for me, is that I have become a member of Michelle’s wonderful Knit School from the amazing The Loveliest Yarn Company. I have always wanted to be better at knitting, so thought here was my chance to delve into the yarny world of knitting! And trust me, it’s a magical hole that you will be never get out of! So pleased I entered it! Look at these little beauties! Double rainbow yarn from the incredible Liz at Yarn Badger & yes they are knitted!!

Well here’s to another year of yarny magicalness! Hopefully I can bring lots of new and exciting things over the next year. I have definitely got a few treats up my sleeve for you! Ekk! Here’s a few of my favourites over the last year.

So as it is our birthday, I wanted to share one of my all time favourite PipsRainbow patterns. I have many that are close to my heart, but this one particularly is a firm favourite. My daughter was only little at the time when I designed him. I remember she was sitting under a huge tree, in absolute ore of all the lovely little spikey conker shells and the shiny little treats that could be found inside. She was running around collecting them all & then a little one fell just at our feet. She picked it up & gave a little squeal of delight. It was then that my little yarny design hat was put on & I knew I needed to make her one to keep. So may I take this opportunity to introduce to you again a little one called Conky the Conker.

And here’s his story…

Now Conky is a rather shy little conker, as he had a bit of rough start in life. It all happened one blustery rainy Sunday afternoon. He was quite happy minding his own business, when a certain little brother of his, started yabbering to him. His brother was egging him on to try and twizel on his stalk. Conky usually didn’t listen to his rascally brother Colin, but today was one of those days.

He knew he could do it. His parents had always warned him not to, but he decided that if he did, it would keep his brother quiet.

So he took a deep breath…

1, 2, 3… whoosh!!!

Unfortunately, unbeknowns to Conky, at that split second, the wind picked up and Conky’s little stalk split into two. Down Conky fell onto the soft and damp grassy floor. Conky knew it was nearly time for all of them to follow their destiny’s and fall from the tree. But he wasn’t ready! Not one bit. He sat there, paralised with panic and worry as to what was going to happen. Where was he going to end up? Who would find him? What if no one found him and he didn’t have a home to go to?!?! What if he was eaten by a dog or a squirrel sneaked him into a hidden hole for winter feasts. But then all of a sudden, a little girl came running over. She had glittery pink pumps on her sweet little feet and curly locks spiralling in two little pigtails on the sides of her head. But the best part, was that she had the biggest smile that Conky had ever seen.

“Daddy, Daddy, there’s one here.. there’s one here..” she squealed.

She knelt down and gently picked him up and just beamed in pure excitement from ear to ear.

“Would you like to come home with me little guy?” She whispered. She held out her little hand and picked up Conky with such tenderness, not even his little spikes hurt her gentle hands. In that moment, little Conky knew he was in safe hands and was off to a whole new loving home. Conky, was so terribly happy.

So there you have it, our little Conky. Below is the pattern for him. I really hope you enjoy it.

Level – Easy

Supplies –

You will need some DK green, brown and light brown yarn. He only weighs 25g in total, so you really don’t need that much of each. You can use any kind of yarn you would like. Great time to stash dive. You will also need a small amount of white or cream dk wool. But remember, you can use any wool or yarn really. Some scissors, a blunt ended tapestry needle, some toy stuffing and little bit of black yarn or black embroidery silk for the face. Oh and I nearly forgot a 3mm crochet hook.

Stitches –

Magic Ring – Fold over the yarn to make the loop. Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop. Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull so that the knot tightens, but you still have a loop. This has created a magic ring.

Slip stitch (ss) – This is where there is no height to the stitch. It’s usually used to join rounds. So insert the hook into the front of the stitch you are joining to. This is usually the first stitch you made in that round/row. So yarn over hook and pull through that first stitch then also through the loop on your hook.

Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.

Double Crochet Decrease (2dctog) – This is where you crochet two stitches together to decrease the amount of stitches in the round. So insert the hook through the front of the first stitch only (the front V) and then insert again through the front of the second stitch (the front V). Now yarn over your hook and pull it back through both stitches, so you will then have 2 loops on your hook. Yarn over your hook again and pull through both loops. And there is your 2dctog. (Basically 2 double crochet stitches crocheted together.)

Back Loop Treble Crochet (bldc) – Insert the hook through the second part of the stitch (the back v), front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through the two loops.

So here we go…

Body – use a 3mm hook with your brown yarn, followed by the light brown yarn towards the end. You are working in the round for the body.

1 – Make a magic ring, chain 1, then work 6dc into the ring. Then pull the tail tight to create the first round. (6)

2 – *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)

3 – *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (18)

4 – *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (24)

5 – *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (30)

6 – *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (36)

7 – *5dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (42)

8 – 13 (6 rounds) For each round, work 1dc in each stitch. (42)

14 – *5dc, then 2dctog*. Work ** 6 times. (36)

15 – *4dc, then 2dctog* Work ** 6 times. (30)

16 – *3dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times. (24)

Now we are going to change to the lighter brown coloured yarn. Remember to change your colour by working into the last part of the last stitch in the previous round.

17 – Work 1bldc into each stitch. (24)

18 – *2dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times.(18)

19 – *1dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times.(12)

Now it’s time to stuff your body with toy stuffing. It’s important to do it at this stage, before the hole gets too small.

20 – Now work *2dctog* work ** 6 times in the round. (6)

Now sew up and fasten off your body using a blunt ended tapestry needle.

And now for the fun part. The eyes, eyebrows and smile. You need your black yarn, needle and scissors. (Don’t forget you can make the expression anyway you like.)

For the eyes. Attach by knotting one end and threading it through a gap in between a stitch at the back of the body. This will hide the end. Now pull the needle through where you would like the eye to be.

I tend to sew over one stitch to make the eye and sew over this stitch about 5 times.

Then move across and complete the next eye in the same way, checking that both eyes are in the correct place on the conker.

You can add eyebrows in the same way as the eyes, but with one stitch. I love the simpleness of the eyebrows. They can make such a difference to a face!!

For the mouth. Pull the yarn through where you would like the mouth to start then thread back through where you want the mouth to finish. Now here’s the tricky part. You now need to anchor the mouth in the middle to make it a smile.

So simply push the yarn back up in the middle of the mouth by one stitch lower, go over the top of the mouth, then back through the same stitch.

Right then so now it’s time to make his little house. His green spiky shell. Now we start off exactly the same as the body of little Conky.

Conker Shell Half – make 2 of these. You will need your green and white/cream yarn.

1 – So first things first, using your green yarn make a magic ring, chain 1, then work 6dc into the ring. Then pull the tail tight to create the first round. (6)

2 – *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)

3 – *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (18)

4 – *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (24)

5 – *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (30)

6 – 9 (4 rounds) Work 1dc into each stitch in the round. (30)

Now for both halves of your Conker shell, slip stitch your yarn and pull through and fasten off as usual. Now with one half of the shell you can fasten off and sew in your end straight away, but with the other half of the shell, leave a long tail. This is so you can use this to sew the two halves together to create the shell.

Right so to do this place, your two halves with the wrong side of the crocheting facing each other. Now if you are unsure which side this is, you can usual tell by the crocheting looking a little tighter on the wrong side. (But if you get it wrong in this project it really isn’t a problem.)

Once they are facing each other, use your tapestry needle to sew the two halves together, weaving in and out of each stitch. I tend to match the stitches up on either side of the halves, but you don’t have to.

Now here’s the tricky part, you need to sew the halves up, but only to a point of where little Conky can live in the shell, but not fall out or on the other hand be too tight and not be able to get back into his shell. So keep checking that he fits properly. 

When you are happy with the size, (it’s roughly about 2/3 around), fasten off, by sewing over the same stitch a few times to secure it. You need to make sure it doesn’t become loose over time. Then hide your ends by weaving in and out of the inside of the conker shell stitches.

Ok so now it’s time to create little Conky’s sharp points on the outside of his shell. Now I tried lots of different ways to create these little points. I had a go at making the shell with lots of different cluster stitches or other bumpy stitches, but I found that the most realistic way, was to sew them on with simple little knots.

So all you need to do is take a length of your green yarn, maybe an arms length and thread it with your tapestry needle again. Now attach it to the inside of your shell and weave it in and out of some stitches to secure it. Try to do this as hidden as possible, then poke it through where you want to make your first little point and simply make 2 double overhand knots in the same place and then thread it back through the next stitch along. This then creates a little pointy bump.

To make a double overhand knot – *make a loop and feed the yarn into it. Now take it outside the loop and pass through once more.Now pull your end and push the knot towards the shell of the conker, so the knot sits on the shell.* So for this pattern, you need to work this knot twice, so repeat this process ** again. The second knot will sit on top of the first. Now thread the yarn back into the next stitch along to bring it back through to the back of the shell. This will create a little point.

Now weave you needle through the back of the stitches on the inside of the shell and then pop back up through where you want the next stitch to be. Repeat this process until you are happy with the amount of little spikes and then simply fasten off in the usual way, by cutting your end and sewing in your end.

So to give you conker shell a little white edge, just grab a little handful of white or cream dk wool/yarn and using your 3mm hook again, attach the yarn in the back loop of the last row of stitches in one end of the opening of the shell. Now simply work 1dc in each back loop of each stitch on the one side of the shell.

Then work your way up the other side of the shell, with 1dc being worked in the back loop of each stitch. Once you have completed the round, fasten off and sew in your ends using your tapestry needle. And there you have one little conker shell.

Awwww!! A little Conky of your very own. He’s definitely a bit of a cutie. Imagine a whole family of them. I can imagine my daughter would love that!!

Well hope you enjoy this little pattern. Any questions, just give us a shout. Always happy to help.

Happy hooking everyone!!

🌈 Xx

(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx)