Moji-Moji Design

Original Amigurumi Crochet Patterns


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Zoomigurumi 6

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Another year has rushed by and another edition of the Zoomigurumi series of amigurumi-packed books has bloomed into a reality. We’re on to number six now and this one is just as full as ever of cute crocheted characters.

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I made an owl pattern back in the summer at the same time that I was designing my chameleon. That was a great riot of colour for sure and the theme seemed to be lots of stripes and big staring eyes!

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Oswald the Owl was put forward as a potential for the new book and, happily for me, he passed the audition!

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After being accepted, all the pattern writing and testing had to be done which involved a number of duplicate Oswalds being made.

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Sometimes they were crocheted at my desk or in the lounge…

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…and sometimes they were crocheted outdoors, enjoying the warmth of the sun – sadly missed at this time of year.

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Doesn’t that look idyllic? Roll on next summer, it will soon be Pimms O’clock again!

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I can’t wait to be setting up the day bed in the yard again for some serious crochet al fresco.

As work progressed with the book I volunteered to proofread another contributor’s pattern and was given Little Muggle’s Rudy the Red Panda.

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All the individual pieces looked sweet enough but the cute factor just soared sky high when I sewed them together and embroidered the nose.

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This is my finished attempt, strutting his stuff on my desk.

Of course if you are going to be bookfellows then it’s very important that you learn to get along. Oswald is not too sure the first time that Rudy tries to climb into his nest.

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But Oswald soon finds out that Rudy means no harm and he relaxes a little bit.

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Before you know it Rudy has wriggled his way into Oswald’s nest – and into his heart.

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It’s a snug fit but they’ll certainly keep each other warm that way!

Oswald also gets along fine with the Nesting Rainbow Owls. Just as well really, as that nest did belong to them first.

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(My free Rainbow Nesting Owls pattern can be downloaded from here if you worry that your Oswald might get a bit lonely, or if you feel he needs a nice snuggly nest to keep him safe!).

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It’s not long before all the owls are one big happy family – with a friendly red panda for company.

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Here’s another look at all the lovely characters in the book, just in case you weren’t tempted enough already!

A special presale price of £15.95, including worldwide shipping, is available until 25th February 2017 and you’ll be sent a downloadable PDF version as soon as your order is complete so you can start crocheting straight away – if you can actually choose which one to start with that is!

The website at amigurumipatterns.net has more information on Zoomigurumi 6 if you want to know more.

It’s been another fun adventure with Meteoor Books. There’s a new book dedicated entirely to cute and cuddlesome monsters coming out next which will feature my Jeepers and Creepers pattern so be sure to check back from time to time for more about that 🙂


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Stash that Cash – Little Owl Purses

I’ve hooked up a few of these wide-eyed owl necklace purses recently and thought I would share the ins and outs of how I made them with you in case you want to have a go yourself.

They’re useful, decorative and a bit quirky and are an ideal festival accessory for keeping a bit of cash handy when you’re out and about all day, larking around in bunting strewn, tent clad fields of freaked out, cosmic awesomeness. (I like festivals, can you tell?)

So if you have a fancy to make one of your own, I’ll be happy to show you how.

Firstly you’ll need to gather together your equipment and materials. These are the usual suspects such as scissors, stitch marker, tapestry needles and, of course your crochet hook.820Owl-Purse-materials-

You will also need yarn in any colour of your choice for the main part of the purse plus a small amount of brown/orange for the beak and ear tufts and some white for the eyes. I made a few of these with aran (worsted) weight yarn and a 4 mm hook and a few more with double knit (light worsted) weight yarn and a 3 mm hook. You can see how the various sizes work out here and decide which you like best. If you want a bigger purse try doubling up your yarn and using a larger hook.820Sizes

Add a couple of black buttons, a 1 cm press stud (snap fastener), a length of sewing cotton and you’re ready to begin.

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(US crochet terminology is used throughout, for abbreviations and UK conversion chart take a look here)

Head and Body
With Blue yarn make 2 ch. (Or substitute any other colour that tickles your fancy).
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)
Rnd 4: [sc in each of next 2 st, 2 sc in next st] 6 times. (24 sts)820fig-1

Rnds 5-13: sc in each st to end. (9 rounds)
Now continue working in rows.
Note: 1 ch at beginning of each row does not count as a stitch.
Row 1: sc in each of next 12 st, turn820fig-2

Row 2: Working in front loops only:  1 ch, sc in all 12 st, turn. (12 sts)820fig-3

Row 3: 1 ch, miss next st, sc in the next 9 sts, miss next st, sc in the last st, turn. (10 sts)
(Picture below shows where to put the first stitch)820fig-4

Row 4: 1ch, miss next st, sc in each of the next 7 st, miss next st, sc in last st, turn. (8 sts)
Row 5: 1ch, miss next st, sc in each of next 5 st, miss next st, sc in last st, turn. (6 sts)
Row 6: 1ch, miss next st, sc in each of next 3 st, miss next st, sc in last st, turn. (4 sts)
Row 7: 1ch, miss next st, sc in next st, miss next st, sc in last st, turn. (2 sts)
Row 8: 1ch, miss next st, sc in last st. (1 st)
Fasten off, weave in the yarn tails.

Beak
With Brown yarn make 2ch.
Rnd 1: 3 sc in second ch from hook. (3 sts)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each of next 3 st. (6 sts)
Rnd 3: [sc in next st, 2 sc in next st] 3 times. (9 sts)
Rnd 4: [sc in each of next 2 st, 2 sc in next st] 3 times. (12 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long yarn tail for sewing.

Eyes
Make 2
With White yarn make 2ch.
Rnd 1:  6 sc into second ch from hook. (6 sts)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each of next 6 st. (12 sts)
Fasten off, leaving a long yarn tail for sewing.

Now you will have all these pieces ready to transform into an owl.820fig-0

To make up
Sandwich the pointed end of the purse flap inside the beak and sew in place.820fig-6

Sew the eyes to the flap directly above the beak spacing them slightly apart. The neatest way to do this is to use back stitch in between the V shapes of the final round.

Sew a black button to each eye patch. Weaving in the ends inside the beak.

To make the ear tufts take 3 x 10cm strands of brown yarn, fold in half and, inserting your crochet hook from back to front, pull up a loop of all three strands in the corner of one side of the purse. Feed the ends through the loop and pull tight to form a tassel. Trim to 3cm long. Repeat for other side.

Use sewing cotton and a small needle to sew one half of the press stud to the back of the beak and the other half to its matching place about halfway down the body. You’ll end up with a neat way to close your purse and keep your treasures safe.This is what the open purse looks like once everything is sewn in place.820fig-16

The owl purse looks sweet as it is and I have one of these in my go-everywhere bag to keep my keys together and stop them scratching my phone or my sunglasses. However, a great big tote bag is not always the best take along if you are planning an evening lightfooting it dancing to your fave band so to make your mini purse into a hands free necklace purse just follow the next steps.

Neck cord
Pull up a loop of Blue yarn in a leftover front loop from Row 2, right next to one of the ear tufts. Chain as many as you require to give you the desired length (I made 150 ch),  then make one Slst into the leftover front loop next to the ear tuft on the opposite side. Weave in all ends securely on the inside of the purse.

And – Hey Presto! – you have a cute little purse for your coins, lipbalm, fairy dust, lucky rune, hair band and/or other diminutive festival essentials.

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I got a bit addicted to making these and spent a whole afternoon hooking up an array of different colours.820Owls

I’m hard pressed to choose a favorite so I’m going to be packing all of these up to take with me. 820Owl-jumble

A colour to suit every mood (as long as it’s happy!)820Owl-Purse-Rainbow

And if I still can’t decide what colour to wear on the day I’ll pick the all in one rainbow number with the crazy kaleidoscope eyes. Although there might be a case to state that this one has been to one too many festivals already, right!?820Swirl

Peace, love and happy hooking, man!820RainbowPurse