Amigurumi Pattern Writing

I haven't blogged for a few weeks because it has been school holiday time. The boys had two weeks off school and we did a mix of everything from pyjama days, friends round to play, swimming and crafts to family days out. They went back to school yesterday and the dog and I are thoroughly enjoying the quiet house once again!

I began to write my first crochet pattern at the end of term but found the noisy background of the holidays too distracting for what was proving to be a far more technical challenge than I had anticipated. I decided to put it aside, enjoy time with the boys and carry on once the holidays were over.

I began to crochet amigurumi (amigurumi is a japanese word for a small knitted or crocheted stuffed toy with anthropomorphic features) about 5 or 6 years ago. After following patterns in books for 6 months or so I began to design my own amigurumis, which usually took the form of cute monsters, making the designs up as I went along.

One of my early monsters

Recently I decided it would be good to write the pattern down to enable other crafters to make my designs. I took one of my favourite amigurumis and began to make a duplicate, writing down the pattern in row by row form. I ended up with a page of scribbles that I understood and could follow again if necessary but it would be hard for anyone else to follow! I powered up the computer and began to type it up in the traditional format. An hour later and I had only managed to write up instructions for the head ...  I knew then that it was going to take a while ...

The amigurumi pattern I'm developing

So, the holidays are over and it's time to return to pattern writing!