SUPER EXCITED that my Carousel Horse pattern has made the front cover of Issue 68 of Crochet Now magazine - out this coming Thursday!
This issue is themed around Paris in Spring - with a huge selection of patterns from throws to berets to clothes and of course my lovely little Amigurumi horse - inspired by magical rides on an old fashioned Merry Go Round in the warm Paris sunshine.
Huge thanks to CN's Editor Jenny Conduit for her support of my work - this is the third pattern she has commissioned from me and she took a chance on me when I was totally unpublished - which gave me the confidence to start this website and the #lockdownamichallenge project.

Clarissa is made on a 3mm hook with Patons 100% Cotton 4 ply - which is beautiful to work with and comes in a range of delicious pastel shades. She's suitable for Intermediate crocheters with some experience of making Ami. Why not give her a go? 

This little fella came out last Friday - everyone seems to love his Sailor Hat! You can find the free pattern HERE - he's quick and easy to make with DK Cotton and a 3mm hook and the finished size is around 13cm (5in) tall and 18cm (7in) wide across his tentacles. He'd be the perfect companion for the Crab.

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a full on month with these 4 beauties emerging into the world and I've been on a steep learning curve tech wise with managing the website and a mailing list. This project has definitely been helping me to get through lockdown - it's so good to have something creative to focus on.

The Crocodile, Crab, Kitty and Elephant are all made on a 3mm hook with DK Ami Yarn from Aldi - see more about this yarn HERE.  If you're looking for an alternative yarn to use, the important thing to bear in mind is the meters by weight. So the Aldi yarn I'm using for this project has 57.5m per 25g ball. If you choose a yarn with a similar amount of metres per 25 g then you should fine that the pattern will work up to about the same size and, more importantly the proportions of the elements making up each character won't be too far out. 

If you pick a much finer yarn - so one with a lot more metres per 25g -you'll find that the body parts distort and will be very dumpy. The opposite is also true - if you pick one with far fewer metres per 25 g then your character will come out much taller.

It doesn't have to be a precise match - for instance I've worked the Bunny pattern up again using my favourite Scheepjes Catona 4ply on a 3mm hook- which works out at 62.5m per 25g, and as you can see from the picture below (the Scheepjes Bunny is on the right), it's only very slightly smaller than when made with the original yarn. So it's just something to bear in mind to ensure you get a good result.
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Whatever's on your hook, stay safe, stay well and have a lovely weekend!

Pia xx

It's been very busy here at My Crochet Chums HQ the last few weeks and my blogging has slipped a bit! Here are the latest three designs in my #lockdownamichallenge to see how many of #mycrochetchums I can design and make from a big box of 36 colours of Ami yarn. 

There's still a LOT of yarn to go and at the moment my best guess is that I'll end up with at least 30 little characters in the end! You can find all the free patterns HERE.

All the patterns for these characters are FREE and - assuming the tech gremlins don't beat me (they do sometimes, I'm not a natural "techy") - a new pattern appears on the website each Friday. If you'd like FREE PDF versions of the patterns so you can save them or print them out at home, SIGN UP to my Mailing List. My Lovely Mailing Listers get the latest PDF of the patterns on the Thursday and can also access an exclusive area of the website where they can download all the previous PDFs.

This project has kept me going through lockdown and I love the fact that so many of you are following my progress and having a go at making the characters.

It's been an exciting week here as I've also sold a new design to a leading UK Crochet magazine - can't tell you more at the mo but will definitely be shouting from the rooftops about it when it comes out!

The other big news is that I'm buying a camper van! This is a dream come true for me - I live on the Isle of Wight, and I can't wait to be able to head off to the beach for the day in my little van, have a swim, have a coffee and then sit in the sun working on new crochet ideas. I spent 21 years working as a Greetings Card designer, sat in front of a computer day after day and I missed a LOT of summers so it's time to make up for that and do what I love in the place I love the most!

Wherever you are and whatever you're working on, stay safe and well and keep on hooking!

Pia xx

Happy Friday! Just a quick hello to say that my #lockdownamichallenge Giraffe pattern has gone live - you can find the FREE pattern HERE.
There's also a Free Pattern for the Hippo - who came out last week but I completely forgot to blog about him, poor neglected love! You can find him HERE.
Sign up to my mailing list to get a free printer friendly PDF version of the Giraffe Pattern! 
I'm currently testing my iffy IT skills creating a separate section of the website where my lovely mailing listers will be able to exclusively access and Download PDFs of all the free patterns - bear with me while I get my head round the technical stuff!

All the #lockdownamichallenge patterns are made using 100% Cotton DK weight Yarn on a 3mm hook. They're suitable for anyone with basic ami skills and I'm always happy to help anyone who gets stuck.

Have a great weekend, stay safe and Happy Crocheting!

Pia 🧶😍🦒🦛🐸🐧🦩🦁🐵❤️🦔🐻

Since starting this website and letting the free patterns for #mycrochetchums loose on the world, I’ve been learning a lot about what people like about ami and what they find tricky - particularly when they’re new to crocheting amigurumi. 

There’s always something new to learn in crochet and if you’re just beginning it can be SO frustrating when you’ve just cracked working the first round of a piece into a Magic Ring to suddenly come up against a start that looks something like this:

With MC chain 4.
Rnd 1: Starting in 2nd chain from hook and rotating as you go, [3 dc, 2 ch] twice. 6 sts
Rnd 2: [3 dc, 3 dc in 2 ch sp] twice. 12 sts

What the flip does it mean and WHY do you need to do it like this????
Let’s answer the “Why?”first …..it’s simply that the designer wants to create an oval rather than circular shape.

If you’re new to reading patterns the “What does it mean?” can be harder to get to grips with but fear not - I‘ve come up with a nifty little photo tutorial to talk you through those first two rounds step by step - working through it like this will help you grasp the principle and you won’t be daunted when you come across this in a pattern.

If you’d like to take a look at the photo tutorial, you can find it HERE.

The pattern excerpt in pink above is from my free amigurumi pattern for the Little Bear with a Big Heart - he’s such a cutie - and his head starts with an oval - you can find his free pattern HERE.

If there’s something else about making ami that flummoxes you - send me a comment on my contact form and I’ll do my best to help! The contact form is HERE.

Lastly, if you do make one of the free amigurumi patterns in my #lockdownamichallenge I’d love to see a pic! 

Stay safe and Happy Crocheting!
Pia x 😍🧶🐻🦩🦔🐧🐸🦁🐵

By the way...if you’re having trouble with the pesky Magic Ring - there’s a photo tutorial about it HERE.

Absolutely thrilled to have had a little mention in the latest issue of Crochet Now magazine. Jenny the Editor has been super supportive of my crochet journey and took a chance on me when I was a completely unpublished newbie designer. We are working on a couple of other projects for later in the year. 

Can't believe what started on a whim last autumn to stop me feeling guilty about buying yet more yarn has turned into a whole real thing! It's got a life of it's own and is definitely giving me a sense of purpose and achievement in our latest lockdown. I don't know where it will all lead but that doesn't matter... I'm just really enjoying the ride!

This issue of Crochet Now comes with a free issue of Crochet Essentials so it's a double whammy of gorgeous inspiration!

Keep safe, keep cosy and keep on crocheting! 😍🧶xx

Two little darlings for you today. The Penguin actually came out last week but I completely forgot to write about him! He's an easy make and with his natty hat is great for using up odds and ends of yarn.
You can find the Free Amigurumi Pattern for the Penguin HERE.

Next to him, just in time for Valentine's Day is the latest design - a Bear with a Big Heart! Again, he's easy to make - whip one up in no time for someone you love! I think he's one of my favourites so far...

Find Bear's Free Amigurumi Pattern  HERE.

​If your new to making Ami and would like some help mastering the dreaded Magic Ring you can also find a very useful Photo Tutorial to help HERE.

Whatever's on your hook this weekend - have fun!

For those of you following my #lockdownamichallenge to see how many of #mycrochetchums I can design and make from the Aldi Amigurumi Yarn box - here's the latest, fresh off the hook - my rainbow inspired Hedgehog!
He's a quick and easy make, using basic ami techniques and great for using up odds and ends of yarn.
If you'd like to make him you can find the free amigurumi pattern HERE.

Great excitement here at #mycrochetchums HQ - meet Claude the Cosy Fox - Cover Boy on the latest issue of Crochet Now!

This is the second pattern I've designed for Crochet Now - huge thanks to Jenny the Editor - she took a chance on me when I was a completely unpublished designer. It gave me enough confidence in my work to start this web site.

I was a big fan of Crochet Now even before I designed for them - it's always an interesting read, a great way to keep up with news of new yarn and books, there's loads of great varied patterns, giveaways and discounts and fab free gifts - this issue comes with an Amigurumi Pattern book and a Stitch Counter.

Claude the Cosy Fox is a pattern suited to intermediate crocheters - with some experience of crocheting amigurumi style in a continuous spiral. Full instructions are given on how to create the cable on his jumper. He's made with Scheepjes Catona 4 ply - a mercerised cotton yarn that's great for ami as it gives well defined stitches. His jumper and striped hat are removable. 

Whatever's on your hook today, Happy Crocheting!
🧶😍🦊
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