Tips and tricks

Need help? Looking for some tip or trick advice? You are on a right place.


 How to start your work

All our patterns start with the following instruction:

We work with single crochet (SC), use slip stitch (Sl St) to join the rows. Start each row with two chain stitches (Ch) – (do not count the chain stitches into the total count of stitches) – and finish each row with slip stitch.

Of course this is not the only way how to make the toys by our patterns. You can also work in endless rows WITHOUT starting each row with two chains and joining rows with splip stitch - just keep working and keep track of the row count by using some marker. You can both use some plastic marker to mark beginning of your row or you can just simply use short string of different color and keep moving it as you start new row.

Moving legs and arms

Wondering how to sew on the legs and amrs to your crocheted toy so it would move? You can either buy some special joints for teddy bears and dolls or you can use ordinary buttons with two holes (which you can see in the picture of the teddy on left).

Use longer needle and strong thread - you can double it to make sure it would not break. As you can see in the picture on right, you go from left to right in following way:

Start on the back of the button go to the front and back through the other hole, than go through the arm (or leg), through the body, through the other arm (leg), through the other button and back through the other hole in the second button and back through the arm (leg), body, and arm (leg). Try to go both ways through the same places on arms (legs) and body. When you have the thread back under the first button, tighten the thread, tie the thread ends at least three times and cut off at the edge of the button.

How to make loops e.g. for the "Bigger" Sheep

You can crochet the body and mop of hair for head of hte Sheep either from some shaggy wool or you can use make it in simple SC. Than the body will not have loops but it will be still nice :-)... or YOU CAN MAKE THE LOOP STITCH. It is not too difficult. Below you will find the description how to do it. Later in a day or two we will also upload a video instruction in English. So Good Luck!

Stick the hook into the stitch. Use the index finger of your left hand – put the wool around it (from back to front) so there is a small loop on the finger. Then using the hook (placed behind both lines of the wool from left) pull both lines on the wool through the stitch, freely – do not tighten it too much – there is still the loop of wool on your index finger. Finish the single crochet stitch with the loop on your index finger. Then place the hook into the next stitch, take the finger out of the loop, and continue in this next stitch in the same way. If it is too difficult to do it over the finger, you can use the pencil (it is the same, just place the pencil into the loop and take it out when the loop stitch is finished and continue in the next stitch) – the loop made with the pencil will be probably little smaller than with finger. Also, when you get some more skill making the loop stitches, you can take the finger out of the loop before finishing the stitch completely and by pulling a little the loose end of the wool you can adjust its size.

NOTE: Do not forget, that you make the loops in rounds (e.g. body of the sheep) they are created on the inner side, so at some point you will have to turn the body inside out.  
 

How to make a pom-pom

 

Some of our patterns use pom-poms - usually to decorate the tips of the hat. However not everybody is familiar with how to make one at home. We prepared little photo-tutorial on how to make a pom-pom at home with very little effort and only simple tool.

First of all you have to decide how big the pom-pom should be (always make the pom-pom as the last part of a hat so you can judge the size). Take a piece of hard paper or cardboard and cut two the same rings. The easiest way is to use a pair of compasses but you can also use something round and draw the circle around it. Cut the ring with a whole in the centre. The distance between the outer and inner edges -A- will determine how long the strings of the pom-pom will be (how big the pom-pom is going to be). The diameter of the inner hole -B- will influence the thickness of the pom-pom (bigger diameter = longer radius of the ring = more wool which can fit on the ring). Also if you make the hole small it will be difficult to draw the wool through.

Put the rings on each other and work them around together. If you have a big ball of wool, just cut some and wrap it round by round both layers (both rings)  around the ring. If it happens that you cut too short piece of wool, just cut another and add it to the ring and keep wrapping. Don't attach the new string or try to make a knot to join it with the fist string, just add it and continue with your work. Later you will cut the longer strings.

 When you finish wrapping around you can cut the wool. As you can see in the picture on left, there might be some little sports between the strings. It does not matter. As long as you have almost all place covered, it is fine. So, make a little space on one place (push the strings forwards a little) as in the picture on right. In the next picture you can see why it was important to have two rings placed on each other. Stuck a tip of scissors in between the two paper rings and start cutting the wool.

Be careful the separated pieces of wool might fall away from the ring and we do not want this yet. Cut the whole ring around.




When you are done cutting take a string - you can use the wool you made the pom-pom from but it is better to take some stronger thread. Put it in between the two paper rings and carefully keep tightenning all the way until you tight the separated strings together and make a knot. It should be fasten enough so the separated pieces of wool would not loosen from the pom-pom.

The finished pom-pom look a bit uneven but we will correct it in a minute. First you have to take the cardboard or paper rings down. You can cut the paper and take it away but maybe you would like to use the pattern again or make more pom-poms of the same size so just carefully pull off each piece to the side.

Using your fingers adjust the shape of the pom-pom and if there are any longer strings, simply cut them with scissors away. Of course sometimes it happens that the separated strings are not tightened enough and keep falling from the pom-pom. Well - just make another one and tighten the string in the center (before taking the paper rings off) more carefully.

You can use any color you wish. You can also take two strings of wool of various colors and wrap them around the ring. Then you get two-colored pom-pom as the teddy below is wearing.