Well hello my lovely ones. How are we all? It’s rather cold and wet here. Definitely a day to hide under a blanket if you can. I think with a mix of school runs, dog walks and appointments, I have looked like a drowned rat all day.
Heyho, onward and upward. It’s nearly the weekend and better still – half term!! Yippee! My two are absolutely shattered, so are needing a well earned chill and a spot of MaMa love for a week me thinks. Bless them. I always think the autumn term is a long one.
Let’s just hope the weather gets better. There is one thing I do know about this weather… this little lady does not like the rain! 😂 Oh dear. I know how she feels. Bless her.
So in my madness of this year and the fact that my day to day admin seems to have gone completely out of the window at the moment. I have completely forgotten to acknowledge and celebrate PipsRainbow’s 5 Year Birthday!! Whoops. Can’t quite believe I have done that. 5 years, wow. It’s definitely been a full packed 5 years. Maybe that is why there is a slight change and switch in PipsRainbow’s Ride, hmmm. Who knows. But change is a foot…
Now down to business…
As some of you know, I have been toying with my little PipsRainbow world and wondering which road to take it down. As a designer, there are so many possibilities now, with many platforms that you can jump on and off with all your creations, as you please. The world is your oyster as it were. Which is great. I love that designers are being able to share and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. My little Smiles pdf pattern has been on ravelry for a few months now and has had a great start into the world. So pleased that it is reaching far and beyond. I wonder how many have been made?
But for me, I think it is time for PipsRainbow to have a little change of direction. A new beginning in this rather uncertain world that we live in. When I first started the PipsRainbow world, my main aim was to teach and to inspire others to have a go and grow that inner crocheter from within them. And going forward, this will always be my mission. PipsRainbow will still hold lots of tutorials and the step by step patterns, that are easy to follow. I endeavour to create even more video tutorials, particularly for left handed crocheters. I am starting my little crochet group up again at school, so I had better get practising with my left hand. And of course lots more crocheting fun.
Now for the exciting bit…
Up until now, my patterns have been written on my blog, and many will stay like this. But others will come in the form of a downloadable PDF file. Now some of these will be free, like my Smiles pattern. These will be found on here and on my Ravelry page. So keep an eye out for those. But for the others, you will be able to download these in the form of a downloadable PDF File, but for a small donation to a charity. This will come in the form of a link to a Just Giving page for the chosen charity. I just thought that it’s just a few pennies to donate, in exchange for a little crochet pattern. What do you think? In this crazy world at the moment, many of the charities are really struggling for fundraising, so I just thought this is a great and easy way of us little crocheters and knitters to give a little something. I hope you agree.
I am super excited by PipsRainbow’s new little direction. I cant wait to get designing new little squishy creations for you.
Watch out for the first Downloadable Pattern – it will be landing very soon. Both charity and pattern are very close to my heart, so it seems like the best one to start with.
Well hello from my little Mr & Mrs Eggy. How are you all? I hope you are coping with it all and keeping safe. Our house seems to be a bit of a whirlwind at the moment, with lots of activities and mad moments, but I think each day we are learning new ways of coping and better ways to do things. It’s amazing how many times I find myself thinking outside of the box. My daughter played Club Penguin (Which is like Top Trump with a difference) with my Sister on WhatsApp Video today! It was great! They both had a ball. So think how video calls can be used in a different way.
Has anyone popped any teddy bears in their windows for the We’re Going On A Bear Hunt? We have definitely filled as many windows as we can with teddy bears. We even have the full Toy Story Team in one of the windows. Mr & Mrs Eggy have been sitting in our bedroom window, in the hope that a little person walking past will spot them and wave. Couldn’t resist sharing the pattern with you again. Maybe more little rainbowy Eggymen will be made and popped in windows to be found by little ones. I am also working on a mini little egg, which would be great for any beginners among you or for a quick easter project. So watch out for that.
Right, so this is where my Using Up Year No2 and Easter have joined forces to create these two lovely Eggs! They are perfect as an Easter pressie for someone and can definitely be left on a little person’s doorstep to be found for Easter. These little guys would be a great accompaniment to any chocolatey egg and will be there to snuggle your little bods, when the sad day arrives when all the chocolate has been eaten. A sad day indeed..
Really hope you enjoy this pattern. It’s ever so simple and quick to whip up. They are created by using the ever so simple Treble Crochet stitch, so it gives a nice alternative to the normal double crochet Amigurumi patterns and also works up a lot quicker.
Ok so off we go…
Level – Easy
Supplies –
So for Mr & Mrs Eggy I have used soft double knit wool, but you can choose whatever yarn you would like. Now you are going to need a 3mm crochet hook. (The reason we use a smaller hook size to the yarn, is so that the weave is smaller, thus making sure no toy stuffing comes out.) So for the double knit yarn – you will need about 140g, but I used all my bits up, so up to you what you can find in your stash!!
Don’t forget you also need a bit of white and black yarn for the eyes and face. And also your scissors, toy stuffing and blunt ended tapestry needle. Oh and a pom pom! The best bit!!
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.
Chain (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.
Treble (tr) – To make a treble crochet, firstly yarn over your hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over your hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops, yarn over hook and pull through the last two loops.
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.
Decrease with treble (tr2tog) – ok so basically you need to crochet 2 stitches together, but still keep the height of a tr. So yarn over your hook and insert into stitch. Then yarn over hook and pull back through. This leaves you with 3 loops on your hook. Now yarn over your hook and pull through first 2 loops. This will leave you with 2 loops on your hook. Now yarn over hook and insert into the next stitch. Then yarn over your hook again and pull yarn back through. This leaves you with 4 loops on your hook. So yarn over your hook and pull through the first 2 loops. Then to finish, yarn over your hook and pull through the last 3 loops.
Double Treble Stitch (dtr) – A double treble is quite a tall stitch. So yarn over hook twice, insert hook through the stitch/space and then yarn over hook again. Now pull the yarn through the stitch. There will now be 4 loops on the hook. Now place the yarn over the hook and pull through the first 2 loops. Then yarn over the hook again and pull through the next two loops. Haha, now place the yarn over the hook again and pull through the last 2 loops. Phew! It’s a bit of a long process, but a lovely stitch with the height that it gives.
Body –
Now as this is a great Using Up Project, you can either use lots of little bits of yarn for the body like Mrs Eggy or one ball of yarn like Mr Eggy. Depends what look you are going for or how much yarn you have of each colour. For Mr Eggy I used about half a ball of a colour changing yarn. He seemed to work up quite nicely in that.
1 – Right then, so first things first, make your magic ring and chain 3. (Remember if you’re unsure of how to do this, see the tutorial section. Just remember you are working a Treble Crochet Stitch into the magic ring.)
Now work 12tr stitches into the ring itself.
To make a Treble Crochet Stitch – firstly yarn over your hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over your hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops, yarn over hook and pull through the last two loops.
Here’s your 12 treble Crochet stitches.
You can now pull the little tail to close the ring. (12)
2 – Work 2tr into each stitch. (24)
3 – Work 2tr into each stitch. (48)
4 – Work 1tr in each stitch. (48)
5 – Now work *7tr, then 2tr into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (54)
6 – 7 (2 rounds) Work 1tr into each stitch. (54)
8 – *8tr, then 2tr into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (60)
9 – *9tr, then 2tr into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (66)
10 – *10tr, then 2tr into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (72)
11 – 13 (3 rounds) Work 1tr into each stitch. (72)
14 – *11tr, then 2tr into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (78)
15 – Work 1tr into each stitch. (78)
16 – Now work *11tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (72)
Right then, so to work a tr2tog Stitch – Yarn over your hook and insert into stitch. Then yarn over hook and pull back through. This leaves you with 3 loops on your hook. Now yarn over your hook and pull through first 2 loops. This will leave you with 2 loops on your hook. Now yarn over hook and insert into the next stitch. Then yarn over your hook again and pull yarn back through. This leaves you with 4 loops on your hook. So yarn over your hook and pull through the first 2 loops. Then to finish, yarn over your hook and pull through the last 3 loops. And there you have your tr2tog.
17 – Work 1tr into each stitch. (72)
18 – Now work *10tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (66)
19 – Work 1tr into each stitch. (66)
20 – Now work *9tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (60)
21 – Work 1tr into each stitch. (60)
22 – Now work *8tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (54)
23 – Work 1tr into each stitch. (54)
24 – Now work *7tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (48)
25 – Work 1tr into each stitch. (48)
26 – Now work *6tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (42)
27 – Now work *5tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (36)
28 – Now work *4tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (30)
29 – Now work *3tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (24)
This would be a good time to stuff your body with stuffing.
30 – Now work *2tr stitches, then tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (18)
31 – Now work *tr2tog* repeat ** 6 times. (9)
Now slip stitch into the first stitch, sew up the hole and fasten off leaving a tail to sew the pom pom onto the top of the body later on.
Eyes – Make 2 using your white yarn.
Right so for the eyes you can either make two of the same or two different shaped ones. So I have included a round pattern and an oval pattern. So it’s totally up to you.
Eye 1 (The round one)
1 – Right then, so make your magic ring and chain 1. Now work 6dc stitches into the chain itself. You can now pull the little tail to close the ring. (6)
2 – *Now work 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)
3 – *Now work 1dc, then 2dc in the next stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (18)
4 – *Now work 2dc, then 2dc in the next stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (24)
Now slip stitch into the first stitch and fasten off leaving a tail to sew the eye onto the body.
Eye 2 (The Oval one)
1 – Right then, so make your magic ring and chain 1. Now work 6dc stitches into the chain itself. You can now pull the little tail to close the ring. (6)
2 – *Now work 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)
3 – Then work 2dc in the 3 next stitches, then 3dc stitches, followed by 2dc in the next 3 stitches. Then finish with 3dc stitches. (18)
4 – Ok so for the last round, it’s a bit of a concoction of stitches. So start by 1htr, then 1tr and 1dtr in the next stitch. Then 1dtr and 1tr in the next stitch. Follow this with 1htr in the next stitch and then 5dc stitches. Now work 1htr stitch and then 1tr and 1dtr in the next stitch. Then 1dtr and 1tr in the next stitch. Follow this with 1htr in the next stitch and finish with 5dc stitches. (Hope that all makes sense!!) (22)
(Remember if you are unsure of any stitches, just look above at the stitch section.)
Now slip stitch into the first stitch and fasten off leaving a tail to sew the eye onto the body.
Arms and Legs – Make 2 of each
Now you can use whatever combo of colours you fancy with these. I have paired up the arms and the legs, but it’s totally up to you what you do. They start off the same and then just change on the length. Just make sure you read the pattern careful, as in some parts you are going to switching between double and treble crochet stitches.
1 – Make a magic ring, chain 1, then work 6dc into the ring. (6)
2 – Now work 2dc into each stitch in the round. (12)
3 – *1dc, then 2dc in each stitch* Work ** 6 times. (18)
4 – *2dc, then 2dc in each stitch* Work ** 6 times. (24)
5 – 6 (2rounds) Now work 1tr in each stitch. (24)
7 – Work *2dc, 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times. (18)
8 – Work *1dc, 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times. (12)
Forthelegs(Make2) –
9 – 27 (18 rows) Work 1dc for in each stitch in the round. (12)
For the arms (Make 2) –
9 – 28 (19 rows) Work 1dc in each stitch in the round. (12)
29 – *1dc, 2dctog* Work ** 4 times. (8)
Now make a slip stitch and fasten off. Now it’s time to stuff the legs and the arms if you want to. Now you can either leave the arms/legs empty or give them a little stuffing, but not too much. You don’t want them to stick out too much and not have any movement! For this pattern I like to keep the arms and hands completely free of stuffing, but stuff my feet and a little of the legs, but it really doesn’t matter either way.
Now you have 2 arms and 2 legs done. You’ll be able to tell the difference easily between the two, as the arms are a little longer and taper in at the top.
And there we have it. All body parts made…
Sewing Up –
Right then, so all we need to do now is sew it altogether and add the face and most importantly, the pom pom!!
So you are going to need your scissors and blunt ended needle to sew up your body parts and some black yarn for the face.
First things first, use the tail from the top of the arms to sew each arm on to the top of the body.
When you’re sewing on the arms and legs, make sure you sew the top of the arm/leg and the under side of it too.
Right now for those legs. You need to decide how you want them to lie, but this is the angle I tend to use.
Sew your legs on with the same kind of technique as the arms. You just need to make sure you keep checking the angle they are sitting at to each other.
Ok so now for the eyes. So to sew them on, grab the middle little tail and using your needle, just loosely sew the tail through to the other side and cut off the visible end. This will gently anchor the eye in place, which will make it easier for you to sew around the edges.
So the best way to sew them on is to work your way up and down in and out of each stitch. You can see in the picture below how I am coming back up through the next stitch. This will ensure the sewing on thread is hidden and will give a much neater finish to your project.
Once you have finished your first eye, I insert the needle through to the back of the body, where I make a simple knot and insert that back through to the side of the body. This will ensure that the eye is anchored properly. Now onto the second eye and sew on as before. Make sure that you keep checking the eyes are level and placed where you want them to be. Don’t be afraid to undo and start again, if it goes a little wonky!!
Ok, so now it’s time to finish the eyes and create the eyebrows. For the eye, start by threading your needle with black yarn and then knotting the end. Then thread it through from the back of the body, through the middle of the white part of the eye. The knot at the back should be small enough to fit through the middle of a stitch so that it is hidden, but be able to nestle in the stuffing to anchor the eye in place. Now finish your eyes by working little pupils on each eye, by sewing up and over a stitch. You can make these pupils as small or as big as you like. I seem to usually go over 2 stitches and usually sew it over about 4 times.
To work the eyebrows, you can carry on using the black yarn from the eyes. So come up where you want the eyebrow to start and then literally insert it back into the stitch where you want the eye brow to end. It’s pretty simple, but very effective. Don’t make it too big, as they can get caught and snag later on! Obviously you can make any expression you would like to, just by changing the angle of the eyebrows!
To make the smile, literally come up about two rounds under the first eye. Then over to the second eye in the same place. Now here’s the tricky part, find the middle of the smile and make a little stitch a few rounds underneath, but make sure your stitch goes over the smile.
This is to ensure the mouth is anchored down. Once again as before thread your black yarn to the back of the body, make a simple knot and then sew back through the body and cut off the end.
Right then, now it’s pom pom time!! Most pom poms have little loops. So use the thread from the top of the body, to sew on your pom pom!!
Well, I hope you have enjoyed this pattern. I know they went down well in our household.
Please let me know if you get stuck, I will endeavour to help in anyway I can.
Thanks ever so much for following me.
Stay Safe Everyone!!!
Happy hooking!
🌈Xx
(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx)