Moji-Moji Design

Original Amigurumi Crochet Patterns


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Who ya gonna call?

Ghostbusters?! Well seriously, there’s no need for that with this friendly bunch of ghosts. I promise you they mean no harm and only want to add a bit of spooky specialness to your Halloween decorations this Fall. Calling up a bunch of guys armed with Proton Packs might just be overreacting a slight bit. And of course there’s also the ever present, and very dangerous reality, of total protonic reversal if you cross the streams. No one wants a dose of that, believe me!

Scroll down for my free pattern and let the physical and the phantom abide together in peace and harmony this Halloween!

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I got my glow in the dark eyes for the larger ghost from Suncatcher Eyes. I found so many colors, sizes and styles to choose from. It’s safety eye heaven! If you’re looking for something just that little bit special do pop on over and have a browse, you’ll be totally spoilt for choice!

Ghost Pattern

(US crochet terms are used throughout. See here for a simple to use conversion chart for UK terms).
Materials:
You will need:
Large Ghost – Worsted weight (Aran/10 ply) yarn and size H (5mm) hook.
Small Ghost – Light worsted weight (DK/8 ply) yarn and size D (3.25mm) hook.
White yarn
A small length of Black yarn.
Fiberfill (polyester) stuffing.
White chenille stick (pipe cleaner) or a piece of white felt (for the arms).
Safety eyes: Large ghost – 12 mm, Small ghost – 9 mm (or use beads/yarn/buttons instead).
Tapestry needle.
Instructions:
With White yarn make 2 ch.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook. (6 sts)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each of next 6 st. (12 sts)
Rnd 3: [sc in next st, 2 sc in next st] 6 times. (18 sts)
Rnds 4-6: Sc in each stitch around. (3 rounds)
Insert safety eyes in between Rnds 4 and 5.
Rnd 7: working in back loops only: [Sc in next st, sc2tog] 6 times. (12 sts)
Stuff head.
Rnd 8: [Sc2tog] 6 times. (6 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long yarn tail for finishing. Thread yarn tail onto tapestry needle, pick up front loop only of remaining 6 stitches, pull tight to close the hole. Weave in end.
Rnd 9: Hold head upside down and pull up a loop of White yarn in any leftover front loop from Rnd 7. 1 ch (does not count as a st), sc in same st as rejoined yarn, sc in each remaining leftover front loop to end, Slst to next st, turn. (18 sts)
Rnd 10: 3 ch (counts as first dc), skip stitch at base of 3 ch, dc in each remaining st to end, Slst to top of 3 ch, turn. (18 sts)
Rnd 11: 3 ch (counts as first dc), dc in stitch at base of 3 ch, 2 dc in each remaining st to end, Slst to top of 3 ch, turn. (36 sts)
Rnds 12-13: 3 ch (counts as first dc), skip stitch at base of 3 ch, dc in each remaining st to end, Slst to top of 3 ch, turn. (36 sts)
Rnd 14: 3 ch (counts as first dc), skip stitch at base of 3 ch, dc in next st, skip next st, [dc in each of next 2 st, skip next st] to end, Slst to top of 3 ch. (24 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long yarn tail for finishing.
To Finish:
Insert a length of pipe cleaner through Rnd 6 at side of head, then through stitch at center base of head and finally out through the opposite side of Rnd 6 of head, (or you can cut out two hands from white felt and sew these to the sides of your ghost if you prefer). Thread yarn tail onto tapestry needle and sew a line of running stitches in between Rnds 13 and 14, pull tight to gather up, fasten off and weave in end. (See pictures below).

Use a strand of Black yarn to sew a little V shape for mouth. And there you have your finished ghost.

The pipe cleaner arms make them very easy to attach to a twiggy tree or you could sew on a loop of yarn or clear nylon twine and hang them in a window or from door frames.DSCN5382
Each ghost takes approximately 20 minutes to make so there can be no excuses for not having a whole hoard of these little horrors in time for Halloween! Just don’t reach for the phone when they’re around. They tend to get a little jumpy!

Happy Hooking everyone!


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Even More Bucket Loads of Fun

Well, you can’t have too much fun can you? So after a few requests from friends in response to my last collection of Bucket Head bags, I’ve made a second set of different characters to brighten up your Trick or Treat adventures, or just to add a bit of holiday magic to your Halloween decorations this year. This time I have Frankenstein’s Monster, a Candy Corn Man and a Scarecrow to introduce to you.Bucketlineup2If your favorite character wasn’t included in the last set then maybe these will be more to your liking 🙂Bucket2

Happy Trick or Treating to all you Halloween Fanatics!


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Bucket Loads of Fun!

Hooray! Just launched a new pattern for Halloween! Now I know I’m cutting it a bit fine time wise but these Bucket Head Trick or Treat bags are crocheted with doubled up worsted weight (aran/10 ply) yarn and a big hook so they really don’t take that long to make.

Come and meet my empty headed and empty bellied Vampire, Witch and Pumpkin who are just waiting to be filled up with loads of Halloween candy 🙂820HalloweenLineThey’ve got dangly arms and legs and a comfy handle to carry them around with.

Even though my kids are a bit too old to go trick or treating now I shall be making them one each and filling it with their favorite chocolate. Because chocolate is the one thing they don’t seem to have outgrown yet! (I’m still waiting too!)


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An Autumn walk

We’re well on our way into September now and all the boys are back to their various educational establishments, including the eldest, whose left home again after a three month visit to continue his studies at Cardiff Uni. The house is quiet for the first time in a long time. Just me and the four cats today. It feels a bit weird but I think I’ll get used to it.

I’ve certainly got plenty of things to keep me busy over the next month or so. But I’m starting off slowly this week and so today I thought I’d take a leisurely walk around the river to keep my spirits up and remind myself of the pleasure in occasional solitude. But here’s a little company already! How sweet to see Pumpkin Patch Pete and Pumpkin Patch Polly out for a stroll together, holding hands and enjoying all their favorite Autumn coloursPumpkin-walkThe weather is beautiful and sunny… It’s certainly not raining on my parade!DSCN4887There was a thick spread of mist earlier on but it’s clearing up nicely now.

Shelley the Snail has been enjoying a few excursions while everything is still slightly damp and squelchy on the grassy verges…ShelleyRiver…and the River Severn is serene and swan filled in the early morning, before the canoe and narrow boat owners and the pleasure boat pleasure seekers are up and about. DSCN4890Oh dear, I think the swans think that I’ve brought some edible treats for them to nibble on, but I’m sadly empty handed apart from my camera and my house key – neither of which is of any use to a peckish swan! I’m sure there’s plenty of fish and river weeds in there to keep them going though. They all look pretty well fed to me.

So does Spencer the Spider for that matter. It appears that he’s moved out of my shed and has been busy renovating his new holiday home, situated in a highly desirable corner of the railings and boasting magnificent riverside views. Now there’s a piece of prime real estate if ever I saw it, but Spencer, you know you’re welcome to move back into my shed as soon as the winter weather gets too much for you… 820SpencerDiglis… and what a lovely web you’ve spun! It’s the perfect spot for catching a flying bug feast for your breakfast. Now I’m off over the bridge to the other side of the river and through the fields in search of a feast of my own.

It’s not long until I’ve tracked down a big bunch of blackberries. A few handfuls of those will go down a treat and give me a mini sugar rush to get me all the way back home again!DSCN4901Now my batteries are recharged after a well earned sit down on a well placed bench and a good munch supplied by the brambles. It’s time to move along, and, oh, hello! it’s the Pumpkin Patch People again. They get around faster than you would think with those tiny little legs of theirs!PumpkimsWe have a polite chat about the weather and our plans for Halloween. Then I can’t help noticing that the pickings are looking very luscious and abundant this year so I’ve made a note to myself to come back again very soon to gather some of these rose hips, and haws to make some Hedgerow Jelly with (perfect to add to the elderberries from my garden).

These sloes will be just the job for making a big batch of sloe gin, in plenty of time for Christmas, and the remaining blackberries, well, they never seem to make it home, they’re just too delicious as they are and usually get eaten on the way, but if I do find a big glut of them they’re most likely to find their way into an apple and blackberry pie.

With nature’s bounty being so generous this year I didn’t think it would be long until I bumped into Cyril the Squirrel, having a little forage around for his larder. That’s a mighty fine collection you’ve got there my lad!CyrilBenchThose shiny, fresh new conkers are a prize worth foraging for and some tasty pine nuts too. It’s Cyril’s lucky day! I’m tempted to stop and have a conker fight but I don’t have any spare shoe laces with me. Maybe next time! I’ve got another mile to go before I get back home so I wave goodbye and head off back across the river again.

So much for occasional solitude, but it’s been rather nice to bump into so many of my woolly friends instead 😉

I have to admit it’s been no great surprise to see them all down here enjoying themselves in their own particular ways, after all who would want to stay indoors on such a gorgeous day as this?


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Trick or Treat!

Autumn (or Fall for my friends over the pond) is fast approaching and my thoughts are turning yet again to all the wonderful cosy treats and celebrations that always cheer up our journey into the tail end of the year. With dark nights beginning to draw in, a chill in the early morning and late evening air and a definite lack of sunshine around here, there are less reasons to be lolling around in the garden or lazing on the beach and more reasons to be tucked up under a favorite Granny Square blanket, warm and glowing with the pleasure of a new crochet project or two, or three, or four, or in the case of this new pattern – five!

So come and meet my new, Autumn season bunch of mini makes.820HallySquareIt’s another one in the Minimals range and I’ve called this one ‘Teeny Halloweeny’  – mainly because they’re really rather teeny and extremely Halloweeny!

This gang of diminutive Fright Night dress ups will promise to be the life and soul of your Halloween party.820woodsThey may well be the cutest Trick or Treaters that you’ll ever find knocking at your door and they’re certainly every bit as sweet as all that candy they hope you’re going to give them!DSCN4785I’ve  had such a lot of fun designing these diminutive Trick or Treaters. They work up nice and fast and it’s very satisfying to have your finished results so quickly. I’m planning on making a whole crowd to hand out to my real life Trick or Treaters this year, along with the usual selection of lollipops and chocolates. I can’t wait 🙂

Who’s missing the summer already? Not me!


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It’s Getting Chillier!

I know it’s sad to say it, but even though it’s only August, I can feel the weather starting to get colder. Though anything can still happen this chillier weather is making me think of the autumn. It will soon be back to school/college/uni for my boys and then Harvest Festivals and Halloween. In light of that I have started to think of some new patterns for this years holiday season and thought a good way to see what I’m missing from my Autumn/Fall collection would be to showcase the ones I already have.

So here’s a little round up of my current creations.

Frankie and Draco just love Halloween. It’s the only time of the year where they feel like they really fit in and they don’t even have to worry about a fancy dress outfit!DSCN0515

Morgana  and her faithful familiar Soots will be quite happy to bring along a specially concocted witches brew to spice up your Halloween party. But don’t forget to invite Merlin and Hoots as well. He doesn’t like to be left out and a grumpy wizard is not to be trifled with!

Then of course there is the sweet little Pumpkin Patch People. They’re very busy at the moment nurturing all the pumpkins in their garden ready for carving and decorating. They love pumpkins so much that they’ve even grown to resemble their favorite vegetable.pump2They make a wicked pumpkin soup and they even tell you how if you want to check it out here.DSCN1417So, even though there’s still a good chance of the Summer re-emerging yet, if it doesn’t I will console myself with looking forward to all the cosy loveliness and autumn/winter holiday season celebrations to come. I’m going to start by beginning some new Halloween inspired patterns to add to the collection. I’m thinking that the spiders are a good start.DSCN4330 They’re going to be having a new photo shoot when I can get my hands on a big pumpkin.

But what next? Is there anything in particular that you would like to be crocheting this Fall? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do 🙂 In the meantime, and just because I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to the memory of our quite uncharacteristic summer of sunshine and blistering heat, I’ve asked Merlin to make me a spell to  hold the rainy weather off a bit longer.WizzLooking out of my studio window today it seems like it could do either at the moment or maybe a bit of both. I have one more Summer festival by the sea to go to in a few weekends time. I’d love for it not to rain on our parade then! … I’m sure Merlin’s got it covered!


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And the winner is…

Remember the design competition I wrote about in which Cyril the Squirrel insisted on taking part? Well Cyril actually came 2nd in the end! I’m very proud of him and with over 260 entries and 4500 people casting their votes (thanks to all who took the time!) I think that makes the competition a resounding all round success!

Here’s Cyril on the podium with the other winners, Zorg the Paleontologist by Sandy O’Brien, and Monsieur Le Lobster Chef, by Joyce Overheul.

Animals at Work Design Competition

Now I’m very happy to announce he’s going to be in an amigurumi pattern book published by Joke Vermeiren and, of course, it’s all about animals and the marvelous jobs they do. Who’d have thought that so many animals would be good at so many different occupations!

Follow me on Facebook to be sure of updates about this exciting new book or check in with AmigurumiPatterns.net for more details and you’ll be able to make you very own set of industrious animals soon!

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Luckily I wrote the pattern as I went along so it’s just a matter of reformatting it to suit the style of the book. With the deadline for copy fast approaching I’d better make like Cyril with his nut stash and get cracking!


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Cyril the Squirrel – Head Gardener and Nut Gatherer

I absolutely love this time of year, the reds and russets of the trees, the cozy dark evenings, the thin, fresh autumn sunshine (if we’re lucky!). So, in honor of all things autumnal, I have created this design for a squirrel named Cyril. This bushy tailed fellow loves  gardening. You could say it’s his passion. So he was thrilled to bits when he was offered the job of Head Gardener at Nutsford Manor, just down the lane from his mossy tree trunk home. He is, of course, naturally well equipped for the job with his huge bushy tail, which he puts to use to sweep the garden clean.  So now, every autumn, he gathers all the fallen leaves and twigs in his wheelbarrow, ready to make bonfires to warm the chilly evenings. One of the perks of the job is being able to gather up enough acorns and horse chestnuts for his supper too, plus a few to stash away in his pantry ready for the winter!

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And then after I  made him and he told me his story, I decided to enter him in a competition with the theme ‘Animals at Work’ as he fits the bill pretty well!

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And the great thing is that this competition is open to everyone, wherever you live, amateur or professional, pattern writer or free-wheeling yarn doodler! It’s totally free to enter (yay!) and there are some great prizes too. If you want to be a part of the fun then head on over to Amigurumipatterns.net  and have a look at what you could win and how you can take part. You’ve got until November 24th 2013 to get your entries in. Don’t worry if you’ve never made a written pattern before, you only need a photograph of your amigurumi to be eligible. So get out your hooks, rummage through your yarn stash and get creative!