Hello, NeedleWorks Friends! I missed you yesterday. 馃槃 I was hoping I could finish my crochet project in time for #needleworkmonday, but as you can see, I failed. LOL.
If you don't already know, I am a crochet newbie trying out this wonderful craft inspired by this wonderful community. So I won't really be sharing any patterns or such, but instead, I'd love to share my learning experience with all of you (and perhaps get a free tip here and there! 馃槏).
Feeling Confident
So yeah, I already finished my first project last week, and while still working on that sling bag, I already had a new project in mind. No - I was determined to start on the new project, I already had the yarn for it even before I finished my bag.
The new project would be a gift to a new baby (due anytime now) of my goddaughter. So basically, this baby is my grandson. Yes! I'm a grandma who wants to crochet for her grandson. 馃槏 I really think it's sweet and thoughtful to give/receive a handcrafted gift.
What's more, a new project would help me improve on this new craft that I am really starting to love!
Amigurumi
Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures.
First, I tried to search for some baby boy gift inspirations and where else do we go but to Pinterest! Haha. So I got a pattern from this link but at the back of my mind, I still had no idea where to start.
This is where my new found BFF comes into play - YouTube. Looking there, I found that most (if not all) amigurumi's start with the same stitch pattern - the magic circle. My first day working on the this project was mostly devoted to learning the round.
As you can see in the photo at the right, I still failed to tightly close the first circle 馃槍 so I ended up stitching around to close it.
Increase / Decrease
I can't tell you how many times I had to pause/replay the YT video tutorials to get this right, and how many times I had to unstitch my work because I do not end up with the correct count after a particular round.
To help me visualize it, I even made an illustration of where I need to make the increase at each round.
Okay, I have to say that I really did not understand what increase meant whenever they mention it in the video. Haha.
So when I got the idea, it became easier as I went along, provided that I do not get disturbed by my kids while stitching. And of course, as 
So we go to the decrease. Just when I was already getting the hang of the increase, of course, I reached a point where I had to make a decrease. Again, YT to the rescue!
However, as I was following along, I noticed that my project was always at "the other side" in every tutorial I watched.
Whilst I tried to follow along an "invisible" decrease tutorial, it became apparent when I finished the piece that the points where I made the decrease were not invisible at all. They were hideous that I decided to re-do the head after I completed the rest of the pieces.
Apparently, when the round was curling on its own while increasing, I should have inverted it. Good thing, I was able to do this with the rest of the pieces.
Done, not done. Get the pattern right.
One night, I tried to finish a piece of the arm before bedtime. I was so happy. It looked great. I finally got the hang of the increase and the decrease. I slept happily, proud of myself for being able to see the progress in my project.
So I continued the other pair of the arm the next evening. After I finished, I took out the first arm I finished the other night for a "photo op".
To my horror, they were not identical!
The first arm I did the previous night was way shorter than the other one! Dang! I missed the part where I had to repeat the same number of stitches 10 times! 馃槚馃槶
Needless to say, I had to redo that arm. And needless to say too, that I finished all of them - head, body, arms, legs, tail and ears!
Assembly Time
All right. Now, here's another challenge for me. Putting together all the pieces that I have lovingly crocheted.
Below, you will see them on their would-be places.
And here they are, ready for the operation.
I tried, I really tried to finished stitching them up together last night but since I had to re-do half of the head, that ate up much of my time. It was already past bedtime and my youngest was literally dragging me to bed, so I had to stop.
This afternoon, I continued sewing them together, and here's how the little guy looks like. I still have to add the final details, i.e., eyes and mouth, but rummaging through my threads, I was heartbroken to find that I don't have black. 馃様 It would have been finished, really finished by now.
Nonetheless, I'm still happy at how it turned out all in all. I got to practice and learn new stitches through this project while I hand-crafted my gift for my "god-grandson".
Next up, boxing this little guy, along with the card which my daughter has made for the new baby.
I am honestly thinking of going beyond and making a set of booties and cap, I don't know. What do you think? Is adding a booties and cap to the gift box a great idea?
Also, since I am going to gift this to a newborn, I am thinking of washing it first. Do you guys wash your crocheted materials first, before gifting or sending to clients? Please let me know in the comments.
Thank you!
鉂わ笍Arlyn
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