How to add Fluff!

As I've mentioned in the previous post about the sheep I've been making (will from now on will be referred to as "Brians"), my inspiration came from Stephanie's (at All About Ami) Lambert pattern but with one main difference....

I HATE FLUFFY WOOL

I don't like working with it, I tried, I promise! its just so fiddly, it makes it so hard to see the stitches, which meant the numbers of stitches didn't always add up like they were meant to. So frustrating!

So I had to find a way to ensure Brian was still fluffy and sheep like without using fluffy wool that would make me want to tear my hair out!

TaDa!

So here's how I made him fluffy, just using normal Aran Yarn.

The cream coloured parts of the sheep are ALL crocheted back loop only (BLO)

This leaves us with an extra layer on the outside that we can work on.

I didn't want the waves on the sheep to be too tight but I still wanted to have a bit of curl to it, so I attached the yarn into the first stitch, chained 3, skipped 1 stitch and then did one sc in the next stitch.

Then I just continued it all the way round in spirals. Just make sure that you are only attaching your stitches to the main body of the sheep and not to the other rows of fluff otherwise you won't get the desired textured effect.

At this point it looks like a flower from the top :)

And here's how it turned out

Now I'm not going to lie, this is time consuming, and not exactly necessary for the item to be finished. It's just a nice finishing touch to make Brian look more sheep-y. Plus he is amazingly snuggly - always a bonus in my book!

What do you think?

Hope you all have a lovely day :)
xx

Brian the Sheep!

Brian the sheep, (named by Dave because he thought he looked like Brian from the "Go Compare" adverts) is the biggest amigurumi I've ever made. I know that usually amigurumi are small but I've found that people seem to like to order things that are more standard cuddly toy size.

Brian was a (very belated by the time I finished) Mother's Day present for my lovely mum. She has always been very encouraging of my crocheting. More so since I've moved into my own house and no longer leave bits of yarn all over her carpet!

I had a go at making Stephanie at All About Ami's Lambert pattern, The only fluffy yarn I had was purple (didn't like working with it at all) and my sheep ended up looking like a lion/monkey hybrid.

Slightly disheartened I decided to use the Stephanie's pattern as a basis to make a larger sheep and so Brian was made.

I wrote out a basic pattern which was altered several times while I was making it. I didn't actually intend for him to end up so big (he is about 14 inches tall now he's finished!) but by the time I realised I was too far in.

My mum loved him and he has pride of place on top of a unit in their living room.

I've mentioned before that I crochet at work, and many people saw parts of Brian in the making so once he was actually finished he was taken on a tour round the office for people to see.

I will admit I did have another reason to make Brian, he was a trial run. I have several work friends who have relatives who are having children this year (the year of the sheep) and have ordered sheep off me as gifts. One the same size of Brian and one is smaller with a pink face because they know the baby is a little girl (not sure what the feminine version of Brian is? Brianita?).

Lots of happy sheep crocheting to come!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend

xxx