Black & tan

The little dachshund from amigurumi class wanted a bit more prettying before going out into the world. Specifically, he wanted a black and tan color scheme.

black & tan nose-on black & tan semi-profile
Dachshund pattern

The instructions should make it easy to do this color scheme or a monochromatic dog.

My brother and his family have a black and tan dachshund who is bestest friends with their cat. The got the cat in mid-December and the dog in early January, and they play together, nap together, and get into trouble together. This dachshund is in honor of them, and if I decide the world doesn’t have enough amigurumi cats after all, maybe I’ll add a cat to the mix too.

This ami has a companion document as well, a four-page pdf that attempts to distill all the necessary information for making amigurumi (beyond the basic crochet stitches) into one easily printed location. Here’s the table of contents.

  1. Making and tightening the double magic ring; color changing both generally and in a magic ring.
  2. Using stitch markers; working in confined spaces and around stuffing; making and comparison of different single crochet decrease techniques.
  3. Spirals versus joined rounds; closing the end of a piece and hiding the yarn; pinning completed crochet pieces together.
  4. Embroidering on crochet; making the French knot and bullion knot; securing and hiding contrasting floss or yarn; slip stitching a new piece of yarn on to add a small feature.

All of this information is available freely online, but I wanted to put it together in one concise document for reference purposes. It is sold separately and is usable without the dachshund, but the example photos are all of the dachshund.

Long legged language barriers

I finally made a second pattern from my Japanese amigurumi books, one of the ostriches I was so enamored of. I made it a nest of eyelash yarn filled with mini Cadbury eggs and gave it to my husband. However, although it was cute, it was not like the original. The kinds of yarn they used must have been much more disparate in size, because the body of my ostrich was exceedingly small proportionally.

Book versus mine:

ostrich from book ostrich brooding

Assembly instructions versus actual sewn neck and legs:

ostrich diagram ostrich pushups

So much for crochet diagrams breaking the language barrier! Though to be fair, I knew I had no idea what yarn to use going into this scheme; I decided to soldier on anyway. One more set of pictures:

ostrich nest ostrich tripod

That nest had a dozen eggs in it originally…

Self-fastener necklace

Once upon a time (high school, and to some extent college) my main craft was beading. Now that I rarely wear jewelry and have plenty of beloved pieces for the occasions on which I do, there is less pull to it, though I have been known to use beading to accent crafts in other media. I’d like to start sharing my beading patterns gradually; I was pleased to discover I was substantially more obsessive in writing notes at the time than I am now!

straw/brown necklace

I love the colors of this necklace and still have it, despite the fact that it doesn’t really coordinate with anything in my wardrobe. I was experimenting with beaded closures at the time. This is approximately 19 inches long.

Materials:
at least 45″ beading thread
appx 2 grams rocaille beads, background color (dark coppery brown in sample)
9 8mm facet beads, color A (rusty brown in sample)
3 8mm facet beads, color B (straw gold in sample)
4 6mm facet beads, color A
9 6mm facet beads, color B

To make loop of closure, string 20 rocaille beads and feed thread through them a second time so they form a loop, centered on the thread, with both ends of thread emerging between the same two beads. String the rest of the necklace on both strands, as follows:
3 7/8″ (9.9cm) rocailles
*8mm color A, rocaille, 6mm color B, 3 rocailles*, repeat *…* for a total of four pairs of facet beads
22 rocailles (in addition to the final 3 above)
*6mm color A, rocaille, 8mm color B, rocaille*, repeat *…* for a total of three pairs of facet beads
6mm color A
25 rocailles
*6mm color B, rocaille, 8mm color A, 3 rocailles*, repeat *…* for a total of three pairs of facet beads
add rocailles so with the final 3 above the line measures 3 7/8″ (9.9cm)

With a single strand, string 6mm color B, rocaille, 8mm color A, rocaille. Skipping final rocaille, thread back through previous three beads to meet unused strand. Knot together and run back through final rocaille line. Trim.