LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine | Nutcrackers and Skittles

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Magazine, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

It’s September, which is the time when many of us crafters start thinking about Christmas crafting – we need the time to prepare right! So with that in mind Let’s Get Crafting Knitting and Crochet magazine have started the Christmas crafting countdown…and I’m helping with a couple of new seasonal designs.

© Let’s Get Crafting Magazine – Issue 124

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without games is it! You stuff yourself silly, watch the Queen’s speech, then… anyone for Uno? Monopoly? Our family usually has a tradition of holding a Christmas party on Christmas Eve where we all play games!

And now you can add a handmade touch to your games collection this year with a new FREE three part crochet-along. Over the next three issues of Let’s Get Crafting Knitting and Crochet magazine, starting with issue 124, we are going to be making six skittles, plus ball, that you can gleefully enjoy knocking down!

First up is the classic Father Christmas and his beloved wife which you can access for free over at topcrochetpatterns.com. You just need to create an account to access this free pattern (and many more.)

❤️ SAVE CHRISTMAS SKITTLES – PART 1 ON RAVELRY ❤️

And I’ll just share with you a little sneaky peep of the next two skittles in the collection…they’ll be available in issue 125 which is out on 1 October 2020, and topcrochetpatterns.com soon after.

I also had fun creating a seasonal nutcracker soldier for this edition. I actually have a bit of thing about nutcrackers, I love them! I think I’ve designed two nutcrackers in the past before now, and it was really fun to come up with something new.

Did you know that Nutcracker dolls are most commonly made to resemble a toy soldier? This soldier has a smart red uniform, purple boots and hat, smart braiding and a big smile! I think he would make rather an endearing addition to your seasonal decor.

❤️ SAVE NUTCRACKER ON RAVELRY ❤️

There are lots of other fab things in this month’s edition including some gorgeous knitted designs that really make me want to develop my (very) dusty knitting skills! And as usually the magazine comes with a yarn pack which includes the relevant size crochet hook and knitting needles for the projects inside.

LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine is available in major supermarkets and newsagents across the UK or if you’re not able to get to the shops right now you can get a digital version of the mag from Pocketmags (the free cover gifts are not available via this digital subscription).

If you hook up either the Christmas Skittles or the Nutcracker I hope you’ll share your photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

11Sep2020

New Crochet Pattern | Deramores Parrot

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Deramores Designer Shop, Designing, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Edit: Links to Deramores removed after it’s closure in January 2022

I’ve got a real ‘tweet’ for you today! It’s a new, ‘im-peck-ably’ cute, pattern that’s out now in my Deramores store; meet Bella the Blue Macaw parrot.

It’s always such fun to design an animal or bird that I’ve never made before, so I had great fun putting together a parrot. There was a time when my eldest daughter’s favourite animals were parrots, so I have crocheted parrots for her before, but never designed one for others to enjoy.

This cute, colourful amigurumi parrot, is perfect as a gift for any animal lover. Crocheted by mainly working in the round, with some colour changing techniques used, this parrot is a born entertainer and would be a great feature on any window sill in your home or as the perfect toy for a child within the family, or even to use as a prop with a pirate costume!

❤️ SAVE DERAMORES PARROT ON RAVELRY ❤️

For my parrot I used the lovely vibrant colours of Deramores Studio DK which I love. If you aren’t familiar with this yarn it’s wonderfully soft 100% acrylic yarn which has been developed with anti-pilling technology – making it perfect for toys.

❤️ SHOP PARROT PATTERN FROM DERAMORES ❤️

I hope you are as ‘egg-sighted’ about Bella the Blue Macaw as I am, and will pop over to my Deramores store for the download. The Parrot pattern design is available as either a single pattern, for 50p / $0.66 in my Designer Shop, or as a kit with everything you need (pattern, yarn, stuffing and eyes) to make the parrot.

And if you are looking for more cute animal projects to hook up there are bears, bunny’s, dogs, cats, donkey’s and horses all available in my Deramores Designer Shop

As always if you hook up the Bella the Blue Macaw Parrot I hope you’ll tag kcaco.uk and Deramores on Instagram or share your projects in my Facebook group as I love to see your finished work!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

26Aug2020

20% Discount | Pattern Release: Back to School Bear

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

As you know, one of the things I’ve pledged myself to work on this year is to get more organised with the release of some of the patterns that I can now offer as ‘independent patterns’.

I talked a bit about what this refers to in this post here, but basically it means me sorting out the patterns, that were once only available in magazines, and make them available for you to enjoy via your favourite pattern download sites.

It’s a big ole list that I’m trying to work through, but I actually had an occasion to re-make one of my old patterns recently. So it was a bit of a serendipitous moment for which pattern I was going to sort out this month.

❤️ SAVE BACK TO SCHOOL BEAR ON RAVELRY ❤️

You may remember that Back to School Bear appeared in Happily Hooked Magazine way way back in August 2017, I can’t believe it was 3 years ago! But there we have it, it really was about time this little guy was made available! And it’s that time of year that many of us are thinking about the start of a new school term – I know I’ve been sorting out school uniforms today.

❤️ SAVE BACK TO SCHOOL BEAR ON LOVECRAFTS ❤️

On the original version of Back to School Bear I used Stylecraft Special Double Knit, but for the remake I used stash yarn. I used Ricorumi DK in Silver Grey (058), White (001), Black (060), Red (028), Blue (032), Saffron (063) and Pistachio (047). You need 2 balls of the main bear colour and just 1 ball for all the primary colours and the bears snout.

I actually really enjoyed remaking this little guy. It’s my youngest daughter’s last day at her Nursery school this week, and it’s also the end of an era as it’s the nursery her sister attended, and I’ve no more children now that will be going to that nursery.

I wanted to make a little keepsake gift that she could give as a gift on her last day, and this little bear just seemed like a cute idea, as he’ll be gifted with a little wooden sign I’d bought saying how fun Nursery was.

❤️ SAVE BACK TO SCHOOL BEAR ON ETSY ❤️

I think Back to School Bear would make a great keepsake gift to get kids excited about their grand return to the classroom. Or even as a mascot for college or university students. He could also be a fun end of term teacher gift too!

Do you fancy 20% off the pattern price? Just enter the coupon code: SCHOOL on either Ravelry or Etsy until the 15 September to save.

As I mentioned before, there’s still quite a few patterns I need to work through, but I’m not going to do them in any particular order – so just watch this space for new releases!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

22Jul2020

LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine |Bottle Holders and Surfers

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Magazine, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

There’s just a few days left to pick up issue 122 of Let’s Get Crafting Knitting and Crochet magazine where I’ve got a couple of watery themed projects for you to try.

The first one is a Kimmy the Surfer – who everytime I see her I start singing ‘Surfing Safari’ by The Beach Boys in my head! She’s a water loving amigurumi, complete with wetsuit, who loves a bit of aqua fun! I think she would make a really fun gift for any surfer or bodyboarding fan.

© Let’s Get Crafting Magazine – Issue 122

❤️ SAVE KIMMY THE SURFER ON RAVELRY ❤️

I also had fun creating a water droplet bottle holder for this edition, and the great thing is that particular pattern is also available for FREE from the Top Crochet Patterns website right now.

❤️ SAVE WATER BOTTLE HOLDER ON RAVELRY ❤️

There are lots of other fab things in this month’s edition; the patterns I particularly love are Helen the Giraffe by Sarah Louise Read, who is super cute, and Terry the Olympian Pig by Sarah-Jane Hicks is just such fun!

There are lots of vibrant patterns in this months edition along with news, articles and tips. It also comes with a six yarn pack a hook and knitting needles.

If you hook up either Kimmy the Surfer or the Water Bottle Holder I hope you’ll share your photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

1Jul2020

20% Discount | Pattern Release: Angelica Mouse

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

One of the things on my to do list, which I’ve been trying to work through, is to organise the release of some of the patterns that I can now offer as an ‘independent pattern’.

With some magazines there is a contract which you enter into, when you take on the commission, to give the pattern exclusively to the magazine for a set period of time. When that time is over the rights of the pattern come back to you as the original designer so that you can release them independently yourself.

Formating the patterns into PDF downloads and converting the terminology to US and UK has been one of those jobs that I started off trying to do when the relevant time period elapsed – but for some reason I just haven’t got round to sorting them all out and now there’s a bit of a stack of them! So in a bid to get organised I’ve now set myself a reminder so I can start making some of these available for you.

❤️ SAVE ANGELICA THE MOUSE ON RAVELRY ❤️

The first pattern I’m releasing today is because someone asked if it was now available (and so set me on my making patterns available quest!) – and that pattern is little Angelica Mouse!

You may remember that Angelica the Mouse appeared in Crochet Now, Issue 37 which was released back in January 2019, though I actually made Angelica back in July 2018 – so almost two years ago! It’s so crazy how fast time goes with these things.

❤️ SAVE ANGELICA THE MOUSE ON LOVECRAFTS ❤️

For Angelica, incase you were wondering, I used 1 ball of Scheepjes Stone Washed in Moon Stone (801), Lilac Quartz (818), Rose Quartz (820) and Larimar (828). Although I only made one mouse I think you might probably get two mice out of the 4 x 50g / 130m balls.

Angelica is one of those designs that I remembered feeling really proud of when she was finished. I’d had a picture in my head of how I wanted her to be and she pretty much turned out exactly how I wanted her too. And now she’s already for other’s to make – I can’t wait to see your Angelica projects!

❤️ SAVE ANGELICA THE MOUSE ON ETSY ❤️

Do you fancy 20% off the pattern price? Just enter the coupon code: MOUSE on either Ravelry or Etsy until the 31 July to save.

There’s quite a few patterns I need to work through, but I’m not going to do them in any particular order – so just watch this space for new releases!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

24Jun2020

New Crochet Pattern | Deramores Teddy Bear

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Deramores Designer Shop, Designing, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Edit: Links to Deramores removed after it’s closure in January 2022

I’m ‘beary’ delighted today to tell you I’ve got a new un-bear-ably cute pattern available now in my Deramores store. Here’s a little self ‘pawtrait’ of my Teddy Bear design.

It’s always such a joy to create a teddy bear design because they are just such enduring appealing toys! I had many much-loved teddy’s, some of which I still have, and have cherished over the years – as I bet a lot of us have! I know my mum still has her teddy from when she was born, as does my brother! I definitely stem from a family of teddy bear lovers!

And I love the idea of this little guy being created and becoming someone a child turns to for a cuddle and to perhaps become a keepsake to remind them of childhood as they grow up!

But our love affair with teddies doesn’t have to end with the early years of our lives – I think this little fellow is sure to put a smile on anyone’s face!

The teddy bear pattern comes with a cute red bow that can be sewn on as a bow tie or sewn on in front of the ear for a feminine look.

For my Teddy Bear I used Deramores Studio DK which I love; it’s wonderfully soft acrylic yarn which has been developed with anti-pilling technology – making it perfect for toys.

The Teddy Bear design is available as either a single pattern, for £1 / $1.25 (a real bear-gain!) in my Designer Shop, or as a kit with everything you need (pattern, yarn, stuffing and eyes) to make the Teddy Bear.

❤️ SAVE DERAMORES BEAR ON RAVELRY ❤️

If you were looking for more cute animal projects to hook up there are bunny’s, dogs, cats, donkey’s and horses all available in my Deramores Designer Shop

You should prob-bear-ly go and download the Teddy Bear right now!

As always if you hook up the Teddy Bear I hope you’ll tag kcaco.uk and Deramores on Instagram or share your projects in my Facebook group as I love to see your finished work!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

8May2020

Crochet Pattern Release & Discount Code| Timmy the Tribal Cactus

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Holidays, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Hey folks, hope you are all doing okay out there and enjoying some bank holidays sunshine. Perhaps I find you today looking for a new crochet project? Well I’ll get straight to the ‘point’ of my post today – meet Timmy the Tribal Cactus!

Now I’m a bit obsessed with cacti and succulents, I’ve always had them around my home, and I think I’m currently numbering around 7 or 8 different varieties around the house. I love house plants in general, but what I love about cacti in particular is the easy maintenance, they are so effortless to look after, they don’t need a lot of water (so it doesn’t matter if you forget sometimes) and they are just so interesting to look at.

Timmy the Tribal Cactus is actually a pattern that’s been floating around for a while. I have a sketchbook that I scribble ideas or sketches into; sometimes I’ll have a look over these notes again and what I haven’t made yet then becomes something I really want to make now – totally the case with this design.

Timmy is made from Ricorumi DK that I’d got in my stash. I really like Ricorumi to work with; it’s specifically designed for amigurumi creations so it works really well with any designs I’ve used it for.

If Timmy prickles your fancy you can pick up the pattern now from my Ravelry, LoveCrafts (when it’s approved) or my brand new Etsy store (which I’m finally getting round to populating!). The 4 page Timmy the Tribal Cactus pattern is available in UK and US terms.

SAVE TIMMY THE TRIBAL CACTUS ON RAVELRY

Speaking of which Timmy the Tribal Cactus pattern has an exclusive Ravelry discount code of 40% off this weekend, just use code: ‘TIMMY’ at the checkout. There is also 40% off the pattern on Etsy, no code required.

FAVOURITE TIMMY THE TRIBAL CACTUS ON ETSY

Just out of curiosity I’d love to know where would you say your favourite place is to buy your patterns from? Personally I’ve bought from all sites but I’d say mine are usually purchased mainly on Ravelry.

I hope you’ll tag @kcaco.uk on Instagram or share your projects on Ravelry or my Facebook page as I love to see your finished work! Happy Crocheting!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

29Apr2020

LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine |Flamingos and Monsters

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Magazine, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Hey folks, how are you doing? Just a quick blog post today to say that I’ve got a couple of cool projects out now in issue 120 of Let’s Get Crafting Knitting and Crochet magazine.

The first one is a Monster Rucksack that I think your little monsters will love as much as I do! It was such a fun design to create and is a great stash busting project!

© Let’s Get Crafting Magazine – Issue 120

The thing with monsters is that there is no right or wrong way for them to look! You could get really creative with buttons, zips, poppers or ribbon and create something truly unique for your kids to carry their essentials. I have to say that the two models did an amazing job of showing the rucksack off too!

Instead of crocheting some backpack straps I decided to investigate using some pre-made straps. The ones I used were these ‘Backpack Replacements Straps‘ from Amazon, which I was really impressed with – I would definitely use them again in future projects. They worked really well, especially as the rucksack was a large one, they gave the back a bit more support, and the straps also won’t stretch overtime.

❤️ SAVE MONSTER RUCKSACK ON RAVELRY ❤️

I also had fun creating Kathie flamingo for this edition. I had a play with some colour-work to create something a little different and not your average looking flamingo.

Using fun different coloured stripes for interest, but still keeping some of the traditional pink, I think I’ve created something fun and new whilst still making sure it intrinsically keeps the look of a flamingo.

❤️ SAVE KATHIE THE FLAMINGO ON RAVELRY ❤️

There are lots of other fab things in this month’s edition some of the patterns I particularly love are Bath-olomew the Elephant by Sarah Louise Read, his little rubber ducky is just so cute, and the cover star this month, the Land Girl by Sachiyo Ishii, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the VE day landing, is just wonderful!

I’m also quite excited about the pattern for Winnie the Pooh that appears in this issue from the fab looking Winnie the Pooh Crochet Book by Megan Kreiner, he’s a bit of a favourite of mine so I think I’m going to have to make him!

There are 35 patterns in this months edition along with news, articles and tips. It also comes with a six yarn pack a hook and knitting needles.

If you hook up either the Monster Backpacks or Kathie the Flamingo I hope you’ll share your photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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3Apr2020

Free Crochet Pattern | Deramores Bunny Rabbit

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Deramores Designer Shop, Designing, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Edit: Links to Deramores removed after it’s closure in January 2022

Hey folks, hope you are all okay out there in the strange world in which we find ourselves at the moment! But ‘don’t worry, be hoppy!’ – I’ve got a brand new pattern to share with you all today.

You can tell when it’s nearly Easter when I’m making all things bunny themed! This is my third bunny themed pattern I’ve released so far this year!

What I love about this Bunny Rabbit, though you can’t really tell from the photograph, is that the dungarees are removable, there is even a little hole in the bottom for his tail to poke through. His pockets are totally functional too – perfect for stashing away a little carrot or two.

The pattern includes details on how you can make some of the Bunny Rabbit’s favourite snacks!

For my little bunny I used Deramores Studio Baby Soft DK which I’d not used before but it’s sooooo nice! It’s lovely and soft, and has anti-piling technology too which I love. I’ll definitely be thinking of using it again in another project, it would make such a soft blanket for instance.

Deramores Studio Baby Soft DK comes in 19 different colours at the moment, and it’s not just all ‘baby’ pastels as the name ‘Baby Soft’ suggests either. There are a couple of bright colours in the mix – and I hope they’ll add some different colours in the future (it would be nice to see a red!)

The Bunny Rabbit design is available as either a single pattern, in my Designer Shop, or as a kit with everything you need (pattern, yarn, stuffing and eyes) to make the Bunny Rabbit.

❤️ SAVE DERAMORES BUNNY RABBIT ON RAVELRY ❤️

If you were looking for more cute animal projects to hook up there are dogs, cats, donkey’s and horses all available in my Deramores Designer Shop

I think rabbit lovers everywhere are going to go hopping mad for this cute little bunny – so hop to it and pick up your free pattern today!

As always if you hook up the Bunny Rabbit I hope you’ll tag kcaco.uk and Deramores on Instagram or share your projects in my Facebook group as I love to see your finished work!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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27Mar2020

Crochet Pattern Release & Discount Code| Battenburg Bunny

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Holidays, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Hey folks, how you all doing out there? Today has felt like a looooonnnggg day! So in an aim to focus on more positive things, I’ve got a brand new pattern release for you today! Meet the Batternburg Bunny, she’s as sweet as marzipan and some’bunny’ you should really get to know better!

The Battenberg bunny is shown in segments of completion including body, ears head and legs. Also in the picture are balls of yarn, some pins and a crochet hook.

Do you like Battenburg cake? It’s one of my eldest girls favourites, but I think marzipan in a bit like marmite isn’t it, you either love it or loathe it!

This is one of those designs that I had around at least a year ago which popped up into my head again, and then I couldn’t shake it, I really wanted to try and combine some tapestry crochet and amigurumi to make something new!

The Battenberg bunny is a bunny with a white head and arms and legs. The body and the ears are working in tapestry segments like a Battenberg cake.

She’s a fun project to make, and really not too tricky once you get into the flow of things.

I was actually going to call this bunny the Patchwork bunny until one of my friends suggested it looked like a Battenburg cake and then it just had to be the name!

Close up of the features of the Battenberg bunny with a white head and yellow, and pinks ears which are working in tapestry segments like a Battenberg cake.

My bunny is made from Scheepjes Catona that I’d got in my stash (I have a lot of Catona in my stash! You may have noticed it’s one of my favourite yarns to use for amigurumi), but the pattern will work with other yarns.

The 6 page Battenburg Bunny pattern is now on sale over on Ravelry (available in UK and US terms).

The Battenberg bunny is shown next to some slices of battenberg cake on which it's body was based.

SAVE BATTENBURG BUNNY ON RAVELRY

In fact if you are looking for something to do I’ve put ALL my patterns on sale in my Ravelry store until 3 April 2020. Just enter code: LOCKDOWN for a discount off all patterns you add to your basket.