This pattern seriously took me almost 8 months to finish. Why? School interference, computer breaking down taking my progress photos with it and mass pattern testing.
My idea was to make a template body and from there, branch off into multiple creatures. Of course, testing each critter was a pain and took awhile.
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.
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
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.
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
(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).
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!
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.
There is a pattern correction for my Orca Amigurumi Pattern, mostly having to do with the Big Orca’s tail. I’ve listed the correction on my Pattern Errata section.
Sorry for the confusion – I will be happy to resend the updated pattern, please email me from the address you had the purchased pattern sent to.
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!
Haunting…. oOOOoOoOoOoOoOOOOOoo!
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
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.
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.
Cute, eh?
I just need to make the Dragon Quest sound effects to go with him.
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.
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.
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… >__<
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).
Been chipping away at this guy for a week or so. Life’s been getting in the way with Canadian holidays (that I work through), overly hot computer meltdowns and nail polish obsessions. Hey, it’s important to have cute (or vampy depending on mood) nails! <3
I’ve been experimenting with size lately. First, I had some idea to make one of those thread yarn coaster things (of course, a spider web pattern) and it failed with me trying to crochet a round. Thread yarn and with a hook that small (1.4mm) was going to make me more blind! >__< This gives me even more respect for the people who can crochet that small!
So, next plan – How about some small amigurumis?
Making smaller amigurumis is very simple. Typically, amigurumis are made with worsted weight yarn with around 3.5mm to 4.25mm hook. For the tiny ones, I went for sport and fingering weight yarn and a much smaller hook and squinting eyes.
I followed my pattern the same, but with 2.5mm hook, sport weight yarn and 4mm safety eyes. For more on how I created this pattern, see my Orca post. I wish I had the normal sized Orca’s around to compare sizes. Either way, so teeny! For this Orca I added a little magnet in his tummy, he can become a fridge magnet for my boyfriend or something.
Changing the size via yarn weight is pretty easy. The only thing extra you will have to figure out is what hook to use with it and what size it’ll become. There is lots of great sock yarn out there, as well as baby type yarns.
For the tiny octopus, I used a fingering weight yarn with again a 2.5mm hook. I was hoping he was going to be smaller, like the orca, but turned out a little bigger than excepted. He still looks like a baby compared to the worsted weight official pattern size.
Maybe when I’m older and crazier I’ll try making those crochet thread doilies. Until then, teeny amigurumis!
I’m guessing they are called both Orcas and Killer Whales, however in rainy Vancouver, Canada, I’ve mostly heard Killer Whale. My boyfriend calls them Orcas.
This pattern came about satisfying my nature to make things for other people. My boyfriend LOOOOOOVES orcas. I didn’t believe it when he told me, until I saw this little “shrine” of orca pictures and things he has on display in his room when he lived with his parents. I scratched my head at this, I don’t get it. I guess the male version of liking orcas is about how they are big whales that eat things and kill people… I don’t know. Whatever, I love my boyfriend to bits and all his weird-ass quirks (he’s cute too).
So the patterns out there mostly required felted tummy sewn on or couple pieces. I freaking hate all that extra work. One piece/less pieces to sew on = superior in my book. I remember making the Amy’s babies Katamari (excellent pattern by the way) and going apeshit making all those freaking nubs and sewing them on correctly. People who are close to me say I’m a perfectionist.. I don’t think I am, but I’ve frogged a project over one stitch error and for the orca pattern – sewn and removed the fins at least a dozen times to get correct placement.
So, I just said whatever, and just starting making an orca. I was planning to construct it from the nose to tail (like my later pattern, Dolphin Amigurumi) but I got real lazy and just kept crocheting along until I realized it’s nose is too small… or its a body of a tiny orca. Baby Orca was born! I added some colour changes – something I’ve seen moreso restricted to stripes in lots of amigurumi (prolly cuz of the spiral construction) and had this ultra cute Orca the size of my computer mouse – which I grabbed a couple times by accident, the dorsal fin spearing my palm. Orca does not = computer mouse!
I then created a bigger one – as this pattern is damn cute, and selling the teeny version isn’t gonna cut it (now I got the idea to make a teeny one now, shit).
One thing I might change is the tail – its one piece tail (yay) is a little annoying to sew into the right shape.
