Category: Amigurumi

100% unknown yarn bits

Awkward Soul

I see this crazy Factory Mill Ends 100% unknown fiber yarn at walmart and zellers a lot. Majority of the time, it is on clearance for crazy cheap. One day, it was on just too cheap for 1 pound of yarn, so I bought 3 colours (hot pink, nuclear yellow, and blue) that would work on amigurumi.

100% unknown yarn

So… what the hell is this yarn? I have no clue. The 3 packages I bought seem very similar in texture and thickness, though there are different styles and colours. The ones I bought had no gauge listed, but it seems like a DK yarn thickness.

I made a nice pink Jellyfish outta the stuff for a test
Pink Jellyfish May 2011

PROS:
+ Hella cheap, 1 pound of yarn!
+ Vibrant colours (though might not be available all the time)
+ Shiny finish

This yarns main feature is it’s cheapness. If you need 1 pound of hot pink yarn to make your amigurumi octopus world takeover, this stuff is up your alley. This yarn worked smoothly through my fingers when crocheting.

CONS:
– No listed dye lot
– No listed gauge
– 100% unknown fibers / not much information
– Ultra squeaky to work with
– not durable to frogging
– strands fall apart

Having no dye lot is kind of bad. There is a ton of yarn, but in the event you are in a middle of an octopus in your amigurumi octopus takeover army, the colours may not match. Or maybe it will, I don’t know. As I said earlier, it appears to be a DK gauge, but it is not listed. What you saw on the photo is all the information I got on this stuff.
What the hell are the washing instructions anyways? CRAP

To work with this yarn, at first I had to try multiple types of hooks as it was just too squeaky and resistant to some of my crochet hooks. My Boyle hooks were a no go, unless I wanted to wrestle crochet. I ended up using a Daiso hook that is more metal feeling that lacks a finish on it.
From there, the first few rows were just annoying with the yarn not staying twisted together and being very squeaky. Once I adapted, I found it fine to work with, but it is not the kind of yarn that is easy to use.

Since I was trying to determine my gauge, I frogged a few jelly heads – and whatever I frogged I just tossed. The yarn was too fuzzy and splitting apart to deal with.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS
– The 100% unknown fiber, I feel, is less of an issue with amigurumi, as it is not a worn item, however this may be an issue for other people. I would be weary of using this yarn if it is for a large project for someone to snuggle with, in regards to people who are sensitive to wool.

Pink Jellyfish May 2011

THE VERDICT
Factory Mill Ends 100% “what the hell is this stuff” yarn will serve you well to make your evil octopus world takeover amigurumi army…. once you get past the wrestling crochet to learn to work with this yarn. I think that’s what would make your octopus army more evil. The army will be expendable, as if you frog it, the octopus is considered gone for good. If a dozen of your octopi get bombed, the materials was expendable anyways.
I don’t think I’d use this yarn to make worn items, it is not worth the risk for washing failure or allergic reaction. (Would it even survive a hand washing in cold? Would it be able to block?)

With that said, try this yarn if you are the patient type, on a budget, hell bent on making a large quantity of amigurumi.

Here’s another Jellyfish
Pink Jellyfish May 2011
(if you are interested in the jellyfish pattern, it is up for sale at My etsy shop or via Ravelry (you do not need an account at Ravelry to purchase).

Now in green!

Awkward Soul

Easter octopus pair

I plan to make a rainbow of these one day – however I wish I had 8 colours of the same yarn to make it more symbolic!

Tako April 2011

I actually started the green octopus head so long ago that I forgot when. I was organizing my basket that contains active projects and found it – I’m guessing I made it at work one day and it got buried at the bottom of the basket.

(If you are interested in the pattern, it’s up at my etsy storeor buy now download via Raverly)

In other news, I got a couple amigurumi patterns I’m creating right now.
I got one pattern I’m creating that needs to be tested and written out nicely before I put it online. This is the one I posted a few hint pictures awhile back. There’s been a delay in the pattern being written out as this is when my old computer died with all my pictures I took of the pieces construction (cry).

I am also working on another one that I’m unsure if I’ll post the pattern as it’s more of a fan thing – but I’m on a snag with it right now as I need some buttons for it.

Christmas Projects

Awkward Soul

I left on an over a month holiday out of the country, so wasn’t around to update. However, when I was gone I made a handful of amigurumi items (and forgot to take pictures of a few eeep). I rarely follow a pattern these days, at best I would modify it to be happy with it.

Froggie 2010

Froggie was a gift to my boyfriend’s granny – I modified the pattern from this series of japanese books. I made the body smaller by about half as I felt the body was too large (and smaller body than head = MORE CUTE).

Angel 2010 close upAngel 2010

I also made an Angel for my boyfriend’s other grandma. The pattern I used I got from http://www.etsy.com/shop/kandjdolls?ref=seller_info. Though she doesn’t have an Angel pattern, I took the Red Riding Hood pattern and added a scallop to a longer skirt (shoulda flared it out a bit).

xmas shroom 2 xmas shroom 1

This shroomy item I just freestyle crocheted with some fingering glitter yarn. If anyone is interested in the pattern, let me know and I’ll write it up!

More to come later – I got a yarn review planned!

Ghost Amigurumi

Awkward Soul

Ghost Amigurumi 1

Just in time for halloween! <3

At the moment, the little ghost is haunting up my external hard drive >_< I hope he defrags it or something for me. I’m so happy I was able to squeeze in some crocheting and pattern design this week, my schedule is so busy!

Amigurumi Ghost 5Ghost Amigurumi 4

Haunting…. oOOOoOoOoOoOoOOOOOoo!

Ghost Amigurumi 2

If you are interested in making your own, this pattern is up for sale for $1.99 (via ravelry and paypal – you do not need an account at either site to purchase) <3

Ravelry link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ghost-amigurumi

Intro-ham-duction

Awkward Soul

I’ve been chipping away at a new pattern that is taking longer than expected because I keep adding parts to it!

I also have this new critter distracting me
Ham

Who wants me to make popsicle stick houses and feed him snacks all day… and thinking about crocheted ham houses. His name is “Chestnut” <3 cute!

Ah yes, that new pattern. Here is another preview:
Preview 2

Dragon Quest IX Heal Slime cutie

Awkward Soul

I enjoy a good RPG video game. Dragon Quest is classic – I remember the first Dragon Quest being brutally hard as it was grinding slimes forever. I also remember spending way too much time in Dragon Quest 8 in the casino playing bingo >__<

When I got my manicured nails on Dragon Quest 9 I was ultra happy – I can customize my team and their looks. That’s just what a girl wants! Also I can be as vain as I want and not equip tacky gear, or ensure the gear matches.

During my Dragon Quest downtime, I started working on a healslime – my favourite monster in the game.

HealSlime - DQ 9 - 2

How’d I do it? I modified my Jelly Jellyfish pattern!
Available at my Etsy shop or through Ravelry (you do not need a Ravelry account).

I used the same design for the head (shapewise only). For arms, I created six Chain14, HDC (Half Double Crochet) in the second chain, HDC to the end. I also made two longer arms with 24 Chains. For the HDC, I inserted the hook into the “bump” ends of the chain to ensure smooth similar edging. I sewed the arms to form a circle and embroidered a mouth. The mouth, I found, was the hardest as I got all psycho perfectionist.

HealSlime - DQ 9 - 1

Cute, eh?

I just need to make the Dragon Quest sound effects to go with him.

Jelly Jellyfish Amigurumi with extra BOOOIIOONNG!

Awkward Soul

Jellyfish Amigurumi - Feb 2010

Curly tentacles are cuuuuuuuute!

I figure I need coverage of this creation of mine before I forget! Jelly jellyfish was one amigurumi that I’ve made several attempts at getting right. I got around 3 jellyfish floating.. errr.. swimming in my room as well, different patterns.

Jellyfish Amigurumi 1 - May 2009

Above was my first attempt at a jellyfish. I was actually making an octopi, but felt the head was too squat for my liking. He is soooo cute, but was annoying to construct. Plus I thought the pattern was too small.

Jellyfish parent and baby

The yellow “mama” jellyfish was made with the same pattern… though I think I put the eyes in the wrong spot. I made this one with that Red Heart Super Saver (See my review of this yarn) So she came out bigger, but still small. Also, this is when I discovered the yarn is better for bigger things, as I found the tentacles came out too big for the body, when the pattern works with other yarns fine! Similarly, I made the teal “baby” in baby yarn with longer ruffles… he is super cute (maybe I should revisit the pattern?), though again, hard to construct. I did another jellyfish, which is in pieces as I got fed up with the construction and decided to start over again.

I prefer easy seaming. After re-doing the pattern, there is little seaming – and the ruffles hide the tentacles so you can crappily knot them on and no one will know! Muhhahahahah! Shoot.. now you know… >__<

jellyfish - Feb 2010

I showed my roommate’s baby the Jelly Jellyfish and he yanked on the legs. Add a “Booooing!” sound and it’s an instant happy-laughing baby!

Other than showing off my design (and my kickass blanket from IKEA), one shouldn’t be afraid to revise patterns. You can make something complicated, but there are ways to make it easier. Also, sometimes it takes a couple tries to get a pattern down.

Jelly Jellyfish Amigurumi Pattern is available at my etsy store! http://www.etsy.com/shop/AwkwardSoul or through Ravelry (you do not need a Ravelry account to purchase).

Amigurumi Yarn Review – Red Heart Super Saver

Awkward Soul

redheart yarn

^ my collection of Red Heart Super Saver yarn (RH SS)

Yarn website: http://www.redheart.com/

One could make amigurumi with yarn scraps – small parts, creatures and many colours can clean up your yarn stash. However, for people like me who mostly make amigurumi, we need to create a stash with lots of colour. Also, a great price helps your wallet when you need to get many colours.

In regards to amigurumi making, here’s a list of pros and cons I’ve come up with:

PROS
+ cheap and cheaper in large balls
+ many colours to choose from
+ this yarn is everywhere and easy to find
+ stiff and holds its shape when crocheted tight
+ very durable and washable
+ a thicker worsted weight thus can use a larger hook for amigurumi
+ no dye lot

This yarn is cheap! In my city (of pricey Vancouver Canada), it’s around $2.47-$3.99 a ball. When I was in the USA, it was around $2 a ball. You can find it at Walmart, Zellers and craft store bargain bins!
It’s a big f-ing ball of yarn (300+ meters) and you can save money by buying the even bigger supersized f-ing ball of yarn if you need to make that many amigurumi octopi. With that price, it opens up the door to buying a couple balls of different colours for your amigurumi projects.

RH SS is made of acrylic. To some crocheter/knitters, is an evil devil-spawn material. However with acrylic, the price is great, you can wash it without the shape being compromised and it is durable to be attacked by children.

The big sell for me is that RH SS is stiff and thicker than most acrylic yarns out there.
Amigurumi Yarn review

In the above photo is my newest Jellyfish amigurumi project using RH SS yarn. I do crochet a little tight, but I’m using a 4.25mm hook instead of the usual 3.5mm with most patterns or yarns. A 4mm works too for even tighter stitches. The crocheted form is stiff, and you can see the shaping without stuffing. With that said, I find pattern construction easier with this yarn as often with a more softer, floppy form after stuffing you get an entirely different shape. Unlike some yarns out there (cough, Vana’s Choice, cough) the yarn firmly holds and fills up the stitch, rather than be skinny at the stitches and inconsistent.

CONS
– RH SS isn’t soft and feels crappy
– RH SS isn’t shiny
– Because of it being not the usual worsted size, does not work well with small amigurumi projects
– Many of the colours are dark or not saturated enough

There are soft acrylic yarns out there – marketed for babies or not, they have a nice feel to snuggle against or run through your fingers while crocheting. Though, most of the soft yarns I’ve come across are not stiff and shape holding. If you are used to using a nice soft acrylic or wool, this stuff feels like sandpaper. If this is the case for you, lotion your hands while crocheting. If you want an amigurumi project that you can cuddle up with you may want to go with a softer yarn.

Similar to what I was just discussing, soft yarns are also more likely to be shiny. RH SS is dull with no hint of gloss. This could be a pro as well – depending what your project is.

My biggest complaint about Red Heart Super Saver is also something I mentioned as a benefit to this yarn – it’s thickness. Ideally, your amigurumi project with this yarn should be in the 3.5 to 4″ minimum in its main body size. It could be a little in personal taste, but small projects look kinda terrible-big stitchy look to them, thus losing some ‘cute’ appeal by the tiny eyes disappearing to large stitches. You can reduce the hook size to like a 3mm but will struggle with crocheting, and the yarn will still stay dense. Also, if you want a small project, better to switch to a fingering/sport yarn than a dense, bigger gauge worsted.

To touch on colour – Red Heart has many lines of colour and if you got a good selection somewhere, you can find what you want. But I find they lack they kick in your face vibrant saturated colours. They have a few that look great (Cherry Red being nice and zappy on the eyes)  but still could be even better looking with more colour put in.

If you are new to making amigurumi, Red Heart Super Saver is a great yarn to start with. You can get away with a little larger of a hook, easing into very tight crochet stitching and good for medium-large amigurumi projects. The yarn is a good price and durable.