Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Crochet Kokeshi Doll Construction



After making my very first Kokeshi doll
crochet kokeshi doll
 I wanted to make more.
So I did!
I took pictures as I made them and wanted to share them with you.
It's very clever how they come together.
how to crochet a kokeshi doll
 As you can see I am making 3, this is the body and head made in one piece, these have been stuffed and a small weight placed in the bottom to make them stand up.
crocheting a kokeshi doll
These dolls are your typical amigurumi, made with sc's in the round next was their hair, made separately and placed onto their head.
Then their little back thingies are made, I think they are called an obi.
Then I made their sleeve's and hands, the sleeve is just a basic triangle.
They are really taking shape now, with their hands and sleeves attached it was play time for me, sewing eye's and mouths and little extra features.
I did go on line to get inspiration, I mucked up the pink one's eyes a bit and had to play around with them more, but I achieved a different look with her, I also made up my own little flower and found a pattern for a small umbrella
kokeshi dolls
 I did the screen free hand and am currently thinking on lanterns or small pieces of furniture to finish the setting off.
kokeshi dolls crochet
I'm not sure if I should add a little more bling to their hair, chop sticks and beads.
crochet japanese kokeshi dolls
The main thing is that I had fun!
But I have so many more items I want to crochet I may just leave these ladies the way they are and move onto something else that I have in mind to do, as a matter of fact I have already started a bit of it, thumbs up for crochet!
I found this pattern for the doll using the way back machine, here is the link.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Cute Crochet

Just a few pictures of what I have been making of late, some cute and cuter!

I've used a hdc in the round in some of these, looks just as good as the sc in the round and works up faster.
I made my own pattern for the cup cakes and doughnuts, using lots of inspiration from other patterns.


These look good enough to eat

These are made with a hdc, no pattern, I was inspired by other pictures, Duncan on the left and Earl on the right.


There are so many ways to make a crochet coffee or tea cup look so cute!


I also made my very first Kokeshi doll


And some out fits for my Grand daughters
 Good colors and a cute factor = success
For Savannah 1 yr old

These colors were a shade too dark, but they match Cindy's skin color, pattern from the Candy Tots pattern book
 
 

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Crochet Continuous Granny Daughters

 technique could be used in the granny edge slouch hat





Not sure about a color change using this technique, but it could be possible.


Saturday, July 13, 2013

How To Add A Stem To A Crochet Flower

How To Add A Stem To A Crochet Flower

I did search for help on this topic and was not able to find much help at all, so I tried quite a few ways and this is what I came up with.

Using coat hanger wire cut to about 10 to 12 inches in length I made a coil on one end, this part attaches to the flower.
I started with an 8 figure coil then changed it to a simple circular coil as the flower is not heavy and this way was less work.

The tools I used were heavy duty wire cutters, round nose pliers (or anything to get the circular shape that you can wrap the wire around) and a mini bench vice to help me straighten any bent wires.
 

Once I had the wire ready and clean, I made a slip knot onto the wire and began a knitting cast on to the wire it's self as crocheting over the wire was a real pain!
I began at the straight end and pushed the st's up the wire as it grew.
I was able to cover the coil and the entire wire.
I attached the flower head with the beginning yarn tail and then secured the end.
I sewed up and down the end of the wire for a few inches to secure the end, then sprayed glue onto it, any clear glue or clear nail polish will work to make the end adhere to the wire.


I've made a video tutorial on how I did this process.
I hope this may help some one with the same problem I had, how to make and attach the stem to a flower.



 Another useful tip you may be able to use.
After I made each flower, I placed it into a sealed bag, in that bag I had a piece of paper toweling that was dipped in some rose oil.
I kept adding my new flowers to the same bag and they all came out smelling like real roses.
You can do the same with a scented soap bar, scented candle etc.