mybackyardmonsters

[mybackyardmonsters]

Crochet Pugtato Amigurumi Pattern!

Hello my lovelies!

If you’ve been following me on Instagram lately, you might already know that I’ve been collaborating with Sophie Corrigan on these adorable little Pugtatoes! Based on her original ‘Pugtato’ illustration, I came up with 3-dimensional, huggable and squishable amigurumi versions and they’ve been wildly popular! Having sold out on her Etsy shop in under three hours, I’m working hard to get them restocked now, but if you can’t wait that long I’m so excited to announce that I’ve written up the pattern for it, which you can now purchase HERE through my Etsy shop!

It was my first time making a pdf of a crochet pattern so it took me awhile to get the layout and formatting down, but I really like how it turned out!

It’s really a very simple pattern that works up in just a couple of hours, so it’s perfect for all skill levels! Especially great for whipping up last minute gifts that still look so adorable, people would never guess it was a last minute thing :P Anyway, try it out and let me know what you think! I’d also love to see pictures of your completed Pugtatoes, so please send them my way!

See you again soon! xoxo, Abi

[mybackyardmonsters]

Wire Crocheted Flower Ring Pattern

Hey guys!

Yes, this is still My Backyard Monsters. I’m not posting something cute and soft and cuddly today, but it’s still me!

Two years ago, I stumbled upon a post somewhere about crocheting with wire. I’ve since forgotten who had posted it, but I think it was about someone crocheting a bracelet that looked something like this:

(Photo taken from :http://www.petalstopicots.com/2013/05/wire-crochet-bangle/)

I’d never heard of crocheting with wire before, and so in my excitement I made about a half dozen little crochet flowers. I added a little pearl in the center for good measure. They were adorable, and I was in love. But I had no idea what to do with the little guys, so they all went into a little box, and I’d forgotten all about them until earlier this week when I accidentally chanced upon them.

And so here they are, turned into darling little rings! They look adorable as regular rings, and are light enough to be super cute midi rings that don’t get in the way too!

By now I hope you guys are as madly in love with them as I am! So if you want to whip some up yourself, here’s the pattern!

MATERIALS

- 26 gauge wire

- 20 gauge wire

- US size E crochet hook

- Pliers

- Ring mandrel

- File

- Bead

PATTERN CROCHETED FLOWER RING

FLOWER With 26 gauge wire, ch 2 to start.

1. 5 sc in first chain st (5) 2. (Sl st, ch 3, sl st) in each st around (to make 5 petals, essentially) FO! Leave a long tail to attach the bead, and also to attach to the ring base.

And that’s all for the flower! Shortest pattern I’ve ever written! To attach the bead, I simply threaded the leftover tail through the bead and wove it through the flower a couple of times so it would be secure.

I didn’t use a magic ring to start this pattern since I thought it would be harder to achieve with wire, and also because I didn’t think it was necessary to not have a hole in the center. I think it makes for a snug little seat for the bead, too!

As for the ring base, I followed this great tutorial. The tutorial actually also goes into wrapping the central stone, but I just skipped that part to make a bare ring base and then attached the flower later. It’s actually not that hard, I’d never tried making any before, and I managed fine with this tutorial.

For now, these little guys are for sale at my Etsy store! I’ll continue playing around with crocheting with wire, and I’ll maybe have more crocheted jewelry to add to my collection :)

In the meantime, my next pattern for another crocheted Tsum Tsum is in the works, so stay tuned for that! See you all soon :D

Love, Abi

[mybackyardmonsters]

More in the Disney Tsum Tsum Tseries: Marie

HI GUYS I’M BACK WITH A NEW PATTERN!! Marie has by far been one of the most requested patterns, and I’m so sorry it took this long, but here it is at long last! To be honest, I found that this was one of the harder and more time consuming tsum tsums that I’ve made since there are a lot of little details to add in. But, it is probably also one of the cutest tsum tsums, so I think the extra effort pays off!

Anyway, here we go!

(This pattern is for the medium sized one, which is about 5½ inches or 14 cm long!)

MATERIALS

- Worsted weight yarn

Colour A/White

Colour B/Pink

- Crochet hooks in the sizes G and E (US sizes)

- Embroidery needle and thread (in navy and pink)

- Fiber fill

- Yarn needle

- Scissors

- Hot glue gun/fabric glue (optional)

- Dog slicker brush (very optional)

PATTERN MARIE (MEDIUM)

BODY In Color A,

1. 6 sc in magic ring (6) 2. Inc in each st around (12) 3. (Sc, inc) 6 times (18) 4. (2 sc, inc) 6 times (24) 5. (3 sc, inc) 6 times (30) 6. (4 sc, inc) 6 times (36) 7. (5 sc, inc) 6 times (42) 8-29. Sc in each st around (42 each round) 30. (5 sc, dec) 6 times (36) 31. (4 sc, dec) 6 times (30) 32. (3 sc, dec) 6 times (24) 33. (2 sc, dec) 6 times (18) 34. (Sc, dec) 6 times (12) Stuff with poly-fil (or whatever you intend to use as stuffing). Stuff generously! 35. 6 dec (6) FO!

LEGS In Color A, make 4

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. Inc in each st around (8) 3-5. Sc in each st around (8) FO!

Sew these to the bottom of the body, both front paws on top pointing to the front, and both hind paws pointing outwards. (This is how the actual Disney plushies are designed.) Here’s a reference picture: 

If you’ve tried out any of the other Tsum Tsum patterns (like the Perry ones or the Pooh ones), you’ll already know exactly how to do this bit. 

  TAIL In Color A, work the following in rows, not in the round.

1. Ch 6 2. Ch 1 and turn. In the 2nd st from the hook, 2 sc, 4 hdc. FO!

EARS (When I made the ears, I split the ply of my yarn into half. You can do the same or use a matching color in a lighter weight. Correspondingly, I used a smaller crochet hook, a US size E hook, to go with the thinner yarn.) In Color A, make 2

1. 3 sc in magic ring (3) 2. Inc in each st around (6) 3. (Sc, inc) 3 times (9) 4. (2 sc, inc) 3 times (12) 5. (3 sc, inc) 3 times (15) 6. (4 sc, inc) 3 times (18) 7. (5 sc, inc) 3 times (21) 8-9. Sc in each st around (21 each round) FO!

In Color B, make 2 (For this bit where we’re making the pink insides of the ears, I split the yarn into half again.)

1. 3 sc in magic ring (3) 2. Inc in each st around (6) 3. (Sc, inc) 3 times (9) 4. (2 sc, inc) 3 times (12) 5. (3 sc, inc) 3 times (15) 6. (4 sc, inc) 3 times (18) 7. Sc in each st around (18) 

Sew one pink triangle inside each white triangle to create the ears. Attach these to the front of the body. Using pins to secure their position might help at this point. You may also want to curve the insides of the ear like I did by folding the inner corner slightly when sewing the ear onto the body. Again, I did this because the Disney plushies are designed this way. Refer to the pictures if you need to!

BOW (on the front tuft of hair) In Color B, work the following in rows, not in the round.

1. Ch 5 2. Ch 1, turn. In the 2nd st from the hook, 5 sc. (5) Repeat row 2 nine more times to get ten rows in total, creating a rectangular piece of fabric. Sl st around the whole rectangle (optional - this is to pretty up the edges by making it more uniform). FO

Make a string of 15 ch sts. Wrap this around the middle of the length of the rectangle, pulling tight so it forms a bow. Secure with stitches or with glue as needed. 15 chain stitches should be more than sufficient to do this. Leave the remainder of the string for later when you attach the bow onto the little tuft of fur on top of Marie’s head.

RIBBON STRAP (around the neck) In Color B,

Make a chain of ch sts long enough to wrap around the body, and attach it (with glue or by stitching it on) to the body. Mine was approximately 48 chain stitches long (the same number of stitches in each round of the main length of the body, if you recall).

TUFTS OF FUR In Color A,

For the one on top of her head, I measured out two pieces of yarn that were both double the length I wanted the tuft to be. I then secured them in position by slipping half their lengths through the fabric, and knotting it tightly. Gently tease the yarn with your fingers or brush it out with a dog slicker brush so it looks more like a soft tuft of fur, rather than a few strands of yarn. (Using the slicker brush is really not required - I tried it with my fingers and separating the strands with a regular needle and I achieved the same effect.) Trim as required. (I especially like this bit because it feels like I’m giving Marie a haircut, hehe.) Attach the bow to the front of the tuft of fur by wrapping the remainder of the string of chain stitches around the base of the tuft and glue it in place for extra security.

For the two tufts on either of her cheeks (her sideburns????), I basically tied more pieces of yarn along the section I wanted the tufts to be like how I made the tuft on top of her head and then fluffed out the yarn like with the first tuft. Again, trim as required.

Et voila! You’re done with your Marie tsum tsum! If you haven’t already, check out the others and make a whole horde! Also, if you haven’t gotten enough of Marie, keep an eye out for the smaller version that I’ll share with you guys soon, too! Hope you guys had fun! Feel free to drop me any questions here, here, here, here, ANYWHERE!

Lastly - remember that I kindly that you not use this pattern for commercial use since I’m sharing these patterns for free, and so the only way I make any money is through selling the completed plushies at my Etsy shop. Feel free to use it for personal use, or to share the pattern too as long as I get credited somehow! If there’s anything you’re unsure of, just drop me a message and I’ll be more than happy to make clarifications!

Hope you’re having a great summer!

Love, Abi

[mybackyardmonsters]

PATTERN ERROR!

Hi guys, I’m so sorry but I only just realized yesterday that there was an error in my Medium Perry Tsum Tsum pattern after someone kindly pointed it out! I’d stupidly accidentally typed out the pattern for the little Perry Tsum Tsum’s tail instead. Besides the tail portion though, everything else is correct. Sorry for the error! )))):

[mybackyardmonsters]

hi! love yr tsum tsum design very much! Do u hv the pattern for tsum tsum Marie cat? she's so cute! my girl will love it. hope u can post the pattern soon😀

Hi!! Sorry it’ll be the next pattern up I promise!!

[mybackyardmonsters]

do u hv pattern for tsum tsum Marie cat? thank you!

Hi!! Sorry it’ll be up soon, promise!

[mybackyardmonsters]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for Pooh my teenage granddaughter loves loves loves him!!!

Awww thank you so much this makes me so happy!!

[mybackyardmonsters]

Kodama pattern please could you tell me yarn weight and hook size you used, Thanks : )

Hi! I used worsted weight yarn, and a US size G hook, sorry for not mentioning it in the pattern!

[mybackyardmonsters]

Firstly, I LOVE how cute these two are! So, I'm making the hooded cloak, and am on step 16. Your instructions say to sl st along the fold, not an open side, so do you want me to sl st starting from the curved corner along an open side to the fold? Then the illustrations say to FO the corner you come to and reattach your yarn at the pointed corner of the two open sides, right? You wouldn't happen to have a video showing how to do this part, do you? That'd be more helpful. Thank you so much!!

Hi Anon! Sorry for the terribly late reply. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I meant for the slip stitches to be like a seam to join the folded edges (the shorter of the two edges that should be just 18 stitches long). Reattaching the yarn to the bottom is so you can start to make the cape part of the hood! I don’t have a video of the whole process, but I probably should get around to making one since it is pretty complicated. I might, now that I have the time! I hope the pattern worked out well for you though! :/

[mybackyardmonsters]

HI EVERYONE

Okay. I say this all the time. But once again - HERE I AM, SORRY FOR THE LONG HIATUS!

Anyway, I’ve just graduated from college (YAY!), and it’ll be a long summer of job/internship searching ahead, so I’ll be on here much more often! I’ll be catching up on old patterns I promised to post but never got round to typing up, and sharing the new projects I’ve been tinkering around with! Also, I’ll be answering questions in the comments and in my ask box too. Thanks for being patient and sticking around!

I’LL BE BACK!

[mybackyardmonsters]

BAYMAX! ●—●

Hey guys! If you've been following me on Instagram recently, you must have been expecting this! (If you're not, you totally should follow me @mybackyardmonsters. Just saying.)

Also, can I just say I really love that picture?

Anyway, here's the pattern for this little chibi-esque/Funko Pop inspired Baymax amigurumi! Let's dive right in.

MATERIALS

- Worsted weight yarn

Colour A/White

- Crochet hook G (US size)

- Black felt

- Hot glue gun (or any sort of glue)

- Fiber fill

- Yarn needle

- Scissors

PATTERN BAYMAX (SMALL)

Head In Color A,

1. 5 sc in magic ring (5) 2. Inc in each st around (10) 3. (Sc, inc) 5 times (15) 4. (2 sc, inc) 5 times (20) 5. (3 sc, inc) 6 times (25) 6-7. Sc in each st around (25 each round) 8. (4 sc, inc) 5 times (30) 9-10. Sc in each st around (30 each round) 11. 15 dec (15) 12. (Sc, dec) 5 times (10) 13. 5 dec (5) FO, and stuff!

Body In Color A,

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. Inc in each st around (8) 3. (Sc, inc) 4 times (12) 4. (2 sc, inc) 4 times (16) 5-7. Sc in each st around (16 each round) 8. 4 dec, 8 sc (12) 9. Sc, dec, 9 sc (11) 10. 3 sc, (2 sc, dec) 2 times (9) 11. Sc in each st around (9) FO. and stuff!

Arms (make 2) In Color A,

1. 3 sc in magic ring (3) 2. Inc, sc, inc (5) 3. Sc, inc, sc, inc, sc (7) 4-6. Sc in each st around (7 each round) 7. Turn, ch 3 (incomplete row - this makes sewing the arm on easier) FO! Do not stuff or stuff lighty.

Legs (make 2) In Color A,

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. Inc in each st around (8) 3-5. Sc in each st around (8 each round) FO! Stuff lightly.

And that's all the crocheting required! Stitch everything together with that big ole yarn needle. Make sure the little tummy bump is facing FRONT! Then, cut out that adorable ●—● with black felt, and attach them.

Et voila! You now have your very own miniature personal healthcare companion! ヽ(๏∀๏ )ﾉ

As always, if you'd rather, you can purchase one ready-made here at my Etsy store!

See you guys soon with tsum more patterns ;)

Love, Abi

P.S. Please don't use this pattern for anything other than personal purposes; I'm sharing these patterns for free so the only way I get any moolah is by selling amigurumi on my Etsy site. Thanks for understanding!

[mybackyardmonsters]

Have "Tsum" More Tsum Tsums - Winnie the Pooh(s)

Get it? Get it? Heh heh. Okay fine I suck at puns. I also suck at uploading things in a timely fashion, but hey here's a new one! And not only is it a new pattern, it is a new DOUBLE pattern! Huzzah! 

Yes, today I'm sharing both patterns for the littler and the bigger Winnie the Pooh Tsum Tsums! Winnie the Pooh is one of my favourite Disney cartoon characters (tied with Stitch) so I wasted no time crocheting the Tsum-ified versions when I saw them in the game. If you've attempted either of my Perry Tsum Tsums, then these should be easy peasy since it's basically a derivated pattern (and if you haven't you really should check them out, just saying).

Since the materials are the same I'll just do one section for both patterns.

MATERIALS

- Worsted weight yarn

Colour A/Pooh-yellow

Colour B/Red

- Crochet hook G (US size)

- Embroidery needle and thread (in brown)

- Fiber fill

- Yarn needle

- Scissors

Let's start small!

(If this picture is grainy and weird I apologize so so much but Tumblr was being so weird and it didn't want to upload this photo so I uploaded a screenshot of the photo :/ Sorry about that!)

PATTERN WINNIE THE POOH (SMALL)

Body In Color A,

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. Inc in each st around (8) 3. (Sc, inc) 4 times (12) 4. (2 sc, inc) 4 times (16) 5. (3 sc, inc) 4 times (20) 6. (4 sc, inc) 4 times (24) 7-19. Sc in each st around (24 each round) 20. (4 sc, dec) 4 times (20) 21. (3 sc, dec) 4 times (16) 22. (2 sc, dec) 4 times (12) 23. (Sc, dec) 4 times (8) Stuff with poly-fil (or whatever you intend to use as stuffing). Stuff generously! 24. 4 dec (4) FO!

LEGS In Colour A, make 4

1. 3 sc in magic ring (3) 2. Inc, sc, inc (5) 3. Sc in each st around (5) FO!

EARS In Colour A, make 2

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. (Inc, sc) 2 times (6) 3-4. Sc in each st around (6 each round)

SHIRT In Colour B,

1. Ch 25, sl st into first ch to make a continuous loop (24) 2-6. Sc in each st around (24)

And that's all! Slide the shirt onto the body, and sew on the ears and limbs; I suggest that you position the front paws right at the edge of the shirt (refer to the pictures) so they look like they're coming out of the shirt (without having to actually make tiny sleeves), otherwise it'll look like he's wearing a really wide belt or something! Finally, embroider his facial features.

Now on to making a bigger one!

PATTERN WINNIE THE POOH (MEDIUM)

BODY In Colour A,

1. 6 sc in magic ring (6) 2. Inc in each st around (12) 3. (Sc, inc) 6 times (18) 4. (2 sc, inc) 6 times (24) 5. (3 sc, inc) 6 times (30) 6. (4 sc, inc) 6 times (36) 7. (5 sc, inc) 6 times (42) 8-29. Sc in each st around (42 each round) 30. (5 sc, dec) 6 times (36) 31. (4 sc, dec) 6 times (30) 32. (3 sc, dec) 6 times (24) 33. (2 sc, dec) 6 times (18) 34. (Sc, dec) 6 times (12) Stuff with poly-fil (or whatever you intend to use as stuffing). Stuff generously! 35. 6 dec (6) FO!

LEGS Make 4 in Colour A

1. 3 sc in magic ring (3) 2. Inc, sc, inc (5) 3. Sc in each st around (5) FO!

EARS Make 2 in Colour A

1. 5 sc in magic ring (5) 2. Inc in each st around (10) 3. Sc in each st around (10) 4. (4 sc, inc) 2 times (12) 5. Sc in each st around (12) 6. (4 sc, dec) 2 times (10) FO! Do not stuff! Unless maybe the look you're going for is something like Miley Cyrus' double bun hairdo. Flatten (you can sew them flat by inconspicuously stitching according to the existing yarn directions) before attaching to the top of the head.

SHIRT In Colour B,

1. Ch 43, sl st in first ch to make a continuous loop (42) 2-10. Sc in each st around (42) FO!

And you're done with the crocheting! Slide the shirt on (mine is about 8 rows (of 42 stitches, not from the beginning) in), attach the ears and limbs, and embroider on his facial features. Point the front paws forward, and the back paws outward if you want to be as accurate as possible! Like with the small pooh, I suggest attaching the front paws on the body right up against the shirt.

Now I know I said that for the larger Pooh you shouldn't stuff the ears, but I didn't say that for the smaller one, and in the pictures you can see that I made the ears for the smaller one sliiiightly stuffed. (I basically stuffed the yarn tail in.) It's a personal aesthetical choice thing I guess; I just thought the poofy look was cute when it was on the smaller one, whereas the bigger one was too big to pull it off. Judgment call I guess!

But anyway, YAY! That's another set of Tsum Tsums completed! Wanna guess which one I'll post next? ;)

See y'all soon!

Love. Abi

[EDIT (02/04/15 UPDATE): Sorry I forgot to mention! Just like my other projects, I would really really like for you guys to not use it to make stuff to sell because I'm putting them up for free, and the only way I get any money from this is through my Etsy store (where you can find both the small and medium Poohs for sale, btw!), so please and thank you very much!]

[mybackyardmonsters]

Disney's Tsum Tsum - Medium Perry the Platypus

Hey guys!

Sorry for the wait, but here's the pattern for the medium Perry Tsum! Now you can finally get some size variation going for some serious stacking! ( °٢° )

As you probably can tell from the picture, I planned for this to be a Christmas post but... I was late... so now it's a New Year's post! Yay! :D On a side note, I really like how it seems like Perry's kinda floating in that picture - as expected of Agent P! Wonder what happened to his hat.

Anyways, here's what you'll need:

MATERIALS

- Worsted weight yarn

Colour A/Blue (for Perry’s body)

Colour B/Light Orange (for his bill and feet)

Colour C/Darker Orange (for his tail)

- Crochet hook G (US size)

- Felt (for Perry’s eyes) (preferably stiffened - makes it easier to cut, and gives a ‘cleaner’ look)

White

Brown

- Fiber fill

- Yarn needle

- Scissors

- Glue gun/fabric glue

PATTERN PERRY (SMALL)

BODY In Colour A,

1. 6 sc in magic ring (6) 2. Inc in each st around (12) 3. (Sc, inc) 6 times (18) 4. (2 sc, inc) 6 times (24) 5. (3 sc, inc) 6 times (30) 6. (4 sc, inc) 6 times (36) 7. (5 sc, inc) 6 times (42) 8-29. Sc in each st around (42 each round) 30. (5 sc, dec) 6 times (36) 31. (4 sc, dec) 6 times (30) 32. (3 sc, dec) 6 times (24) 33. (2 sc, dec) 6 times (18) 34. (Sc, dec) 6 times (12) Stuff with poly-fil (or whatever you intend to use as stuffing). Stuff generously! 35. 6 dec (6) FO!

LEGS Make 2 each in Colour A and Colour B

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. Inc in each st around (8) 3-5. Sc in each st around (8) FO! Sew these to the bottom of the body, both blue ones on top pointing to the front, and both orange ones (the flippers) pointing outwards. (This is how the actual Disney plushies are designed.) Here's a reference picture:

BILL In Colour B,

(for the bottom half,) 1. Ch 5 2. Turn, sc in immediate st, 3 hdc, sc (*by immediate st, I mean the 3rd ch you just made. In most patterns, you skip one ch and sc in the following one after turning your work.) 3. Sl st in the side (i.e. the breadth of the sort-of-rectangle you now have), rotate the work in the direction of this sl st, and continue to do 5 sc in the other side of the starting ch (i.e. the other length of the rectangle; DO NOT TURN YOUR WORK! ROTATE IT! You're basically wrapping around the beginning chain stitches) so you're working in the back rib of the starting chain stitches. 4. Ch 1, turn (this one is the traditional turn where you flip your work), 5 sc FO!

(for the top half,)

Repeat rows 1-4 from above

5. Ch 1, turn, sl st, hdc, (dc, Ch 2, dc) in next st, hdc, sl st In essence, the top and bottom halves are identical except for the extra row in the top half which will be the triangular top part of the bill that attaches to the face.

Sew the bottom half to the part of the top half (just the semicircular-ish part) leaving the triangular part of the top half pointing upwards. Stuff lightly. Sew to the front of the body with the triangle pointing upwards, and the apex of the triangle in the center of the "circle". (Why is it so hard to explain this part in words?!)

Reference picture:

(Actually an excuse to post another picture of "floating" Agent P.)

TAIL In Colour C,

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. Inc in each st around (8) 3. (2 sc, 2 inc) 2 times (12) 4. Inc in each st around (24) 5-6. Sc in each st around (24 each round) 7. (6 sc, 2 dec, 2 sc) 2 times (20) 8-9. Inc in each st around (20 each round) 10. (5 sc, 2 dec, sc) 2 times (16) 11-12. Sc in each st around (16 each round) 13. (4 sc, 2 dec) 2 times (12) 14-16. Inc in each st around (12 each round) 17. 6 dec (6)  FO!

[EDIT (07/07/15): Sorry guys, I only just realized that I’d posted the wrong pattern for the tail after someone kindly pointed it out to me yesterday, I’m sorry for the confusion! I’d accidentally typed out the pattern for the LITTLE Perry’s tail instead. Sorry for the error!]

Sew to the middle of the back of the body piece. Optional: Make discrete stitches throughout the whole tail so it lies flat (instead of kinda looking like a deflated balloon).

Now for the finishing touches - cut out the eyes and glue them on (pretty simple - oval, oval, tiny circle), and stitch on three little strands of hair on his forehead.

Here are a couple of pictures that may help with the whole assembly process:

And you're done!! Admire your handiwork. Take pictures of Perry in random positions in random places so he looks like he's doing the spy work he should be doing instead of loafing about. And then maybe make two or three more. And then, if you haven't already, maybe make some of the small Perrys (Perries? ENGRISH.) and go crazy with the stacking and rolling! Have fun; I know you will!

As always, if you do make little Perrys of your own, it would make me so so happy to see photos of them so I know I'm not just shouting into the void (TFIOS fans anyone?). Send them along here on Tumblr or on Facebook, or email me!

Also, if you have any questions at all (I know my rambling often doesn't make sense), please ask! I won't get annoyed or anything, promise.

Alright, TTFN, ta ta for now (house points for those of ye who get the reference)! Abi

P.S. I NEARLY FORGOT! If you'd rather just purchase one, he's available at my Etsy store!

P.P.S. ALSO! Please don't use my patterns for anything other than personal use; ergo don't make stuff make from this pattern (or any of my other patterns for that matter) for the purpose of selling them. I know there are lots of nice people out there whose patterns can be used to make items for sale, but please understand that I'm putting these patterns out there for free, and so the only way I earn money is through my Etsy store. Thanks for your understanding!

[mybackyardmonsters]

I'm wondering if it's ok to make things using your patterns to sell? I haven't found anything on your blog about it so I thought I'd just ask :)

HI Anon,

Sorry but no, I really would not like that because I'm sharing these patterns for free, and the only way I'm receiving anything monetary is through my etsy store where I sell the finished products. I hope you understand! Thanks for reminding me; I should go check on my posts because I'm pretty sure I put this disclaimer on all the patterns I released (except the latest one I posted because I realized I didn't afterwards and totally forgot to go back to do it - thank you!).

[mybackyardmonsters]

Disney Tsum Tsum - Little Perry the Platypus

Hey guys!

MATERIALS

- Worsted weight yarn

Colour A/Blue (for Perry's body)

Colour B/Light Orange (for his bill and feet)

Colour C/Darker Orange (for his tail)

- Crochet hook G (US size)

- Felt (for Perry's eyes) (preferably stiffened - makes it easier to cut, and gives a 'cleaner' look)

White

Brown

- Fiber fill

- Yarn needle

- Scissors

PATTERN PERRY (SMALL)

Body In Colour A,

1. 4 sc in magic ring (4) 2. Inc in each st around (8) 3. (Sc, inc) 4 times (12) 4. (2 sc, inc) 4 times (16) 5. (3 sc, inc) 4 times (20) 6. (4 sc, inc) 4 times (24) 7-19. Sc in each st around (24 each round) 20. (4 sc, dec) 4 times (20) 21. (3 sc, dec) 4 times (16) 22. (2 sc, dec) 4 times (12) 23. (Sc, dec) 4 times (8) Stuff with poly-fil (or whatever you intend to use as stuffing). Stuff generously! 24. 4 dec (4) FO!

LEGS Make 2 each in colour A and colour B

1. 3 sc in magic ring (3) 2. Inc, sc, inc (5) 3. Sc in each st around (5) FO!

BILL In Colour B,

1. Ch 3 2. Turn, sc in immediate st, hdc, sc (*by immediate st, I mean the 3rd ch you just made. In most patterns, you skip one ch and sc in the following one after turning your work.) 3. Sl st around the whole rectangle-y shape you have. Try to make these slip stitches prominent.

TAIL In Colour C,

1. 3 sc in magic ring (3) 2. Inc in each st around (6) 3. (2 sc, inc) 2 times (8) 4. (Sc, inc) 4 times (12) 5-7. Sc in each st around (12 each round) 8. 6 dec (6) 9. Sc in each st around (6) FO!

And that's all the crocheting you have to do! Assemble all the parts and sew/weave together. If it helps at all, here are a few pictures for reference! When sewing on the bill, embroider a little triangle on top of the bill to make the top part of the bill that connects to the face! Refer to the pictures if that statement didn't really make sense. Here's the underside if it helps.

Also, remember to add three little strands of hair to the top of Little Perry's head! You can do that by tying little strands of yarn there. If you want to prevent them from fraying, as I should have (because as you can see in the pictures, they no longer look like three strands... hahaha!), you can coat it with fabric stiffener, or a thin coat of glue that dries clear. 

To make the eyes, cut two oval shapes from the white felt, two similar but smaller oval shapes from the brown felt, and two small circles from the white felt. I glued mine together with my hot glue gun, but you can use any craft glue that works with fabric. Because the pieces are so small, and because I think it looks better, I tend to not sew felt pieces together.

TADA! You made your first Tsum Tsum!! Go show it off everywhere! I would really really love to see your little Perrys too, so send along pictures on the Facebook page, or send me a message right here on Tumblr!

Little Perry is also available for purchase at my Etsy store, along with his older brother Medium Perry, and some of the other Tsums I've made. Go check them out!

Lastly, I always hate to do this, but I would request that you use this pattern only for private, non-commercial purposes. Thanks!

Love, Abi!

[mybackyardmonsters]

The Disney Tsum Tsums are Finally Here!

Hey guys!

As promised, I've decided to post about the Disney Tsum Tsums I've been making as of late! This will be a short introductory post, and then the patterns will be posted individually for ease of access. Once they're up I'll update this post so there'll be links to the respective patterns!

For those of you who don't yet know, Tsum Tsum is actually a game for mobile devices, launched through the Japanese chatting app LINE, which has become mega-popular not only in Asia, but also increasingly so in America. Apparently, in just 19 months they got 100 million users, greatly outstripping FB and Twitter which took 54 and 49 months respectively to get there. A lot of its popularity stems from its super cute interface and their stickers that feature not just cute cartoons but famous icons from anime and manga characters, to K-pop stars and Disney/Pixar characters (which I believe FB totally copied).

           It also definitely helped that many celebrities have created official accounts people can add to their friends list, allowing fans to communicate directly with their favourite celebs like they were best buds. Also, LINE does a whole lot more, coming up with related apps like photo editors, games, and even webcomics and anime series based on their trademark sticker characters.

Anyway, on to the game! This collaboration LINE did with Japan resulted in the most poplar LINE game thus far: Tsum Tsum. While it is basically a connect-and-clear game, the set-up and the characters are so teeth-grittingly cute, the popularity of the game is such that even the guys at NY Times and Forbes have picked up on it.

Basically, the setting is a Disney store after closing time. The little Disney plush toys are having loads of fun playing, but oh dear look at the time! They must return to their shelves in time!

They hurry their little hamster-like bodies along as fast as they can, but their body shape makes it such that they stack up on each other, making it oh so hard to just get back to those darn shelves!

So this is where you come in to help these poor little critters!

Within 60 seconds, connect three or more Tsums to clear them. As per the usual, connect more for bonuses and stuff. You also get hero characters you can purchase from the shop with the coins that you earn from playing or inviting friends, and these hero characters have specific skills you can use once they're all charged up. I really like that you don't really have to use actual money to buy Tsums, because to get coins all you have to do is either play a lot, or invite a lot of friends. Of course, you can buy coins if you're impatient, but at least it isn't like some other games where you absolutely cannot get something unless you pay real money.

They've become so wildly popular that they're being made into bentos! Who cares about N American stores underestimating the demand and selling out on Tsum Tsum merchandise; when you're made into bentos, you must be hecka famous.

I have to admit, I've gotten really addicted to this game ever since I saw my friend playing it once. I got my dude really into it too, which is really amusing to watch sometimes! He's constantly trying to beat my high score *flips hair* HAHAHA!

I'm even guilty of buying a few plushies. I'm sorry but they are so insanely cute they somehow managed to overwrite my usual I-won't-buy-what-I-can-make DIY tendencies until a few days after I bought them. Despite all the Tsum Tsum hype, and the bento, my initial search on Etsy yielded surprisingly no results. I was really surprised, but I guess that was some motivation to be the first to put something Tsum Tsum-related on Etsy. Midway through my efforts though, a couple days later, I did another search and found that someone had beat me to it - clay Tsum Tsums were for sale! And then a little while after that, vinyl computer stickers featuring Tsum Tsums were for sale too! I was a little disappointed, but since I had yet to see any crocheted Tsum Tsums, I was still kinda relieved. If anything, I was spurred on to quicken my pace! To this day I don't know if this crazy competitiveness in me was a blessing or a curse... sighh!

Anyway, here are the ones I've made so far:

Perry the Platypus (from Phineas and Ferb) - Medium & Small

Marie (from the Aristocats) - Medium

Winnie the Pooh (from - oh you know where!) - Medium & Small

Totally adorable and stackable and everything!

Again, once I have their patterns up, I'll update these to link to the patterns so they'll be easy to find. I'm so excited! It's always exciting to be the forerunner of something hurhurhur.

See you guys soon!

Love, Abi

[mybackyardmonsters]

UPDATES! (Sorry, no patterns yet)

Hello. Please don't kill me. Again, I'm so sorry for not updating more often. But as it turns out, this past (current? ending?) summer has been really busy despite the fact that I'm not taking classes. Life seems to be that way doesn't it? Basically my mom bought a farm (OMG), and she's starting a business, and we've all been roped in to help, Also, my dude came over to stay and for all my lovely new followers who may not be in the loop, we're in a LDR and so it was a pretty big deal, and so a lot of time went into planning the trip, and then there was the actual trip, and then post-trip picture reviewing and editing and stuff. And then my family had went on a short trip to Osaka, Japan because my brother's been on a student exchange thing there for the past half year and he wanted to bring us around. Also, I've been busy with uni stuff even though I'm not taking classes this summer quarter because I'm in the psychology department honor program and there's always work to be done there... Overall, it was a lovely busy, but I was crocheting and crafting much less than I'd like for sure.

Anyway, I wanted to just let you guys know what I have lined up, so you guys won't abandon me in case you think I'm never coming back (I'm really trying guys D:). Always too much to do and too little time... So anyway here's the gist of it, basically the highest-priority stuff that should be coming out soon:

Bilbo Baggins (I hope I make it by the time the Battle of the Five Armies comes out this December!)

Disney Tsum Tsums (BE EXCITED FOR THIS K?!)

Gintama's Sadaharu and Elizabeth (any anime fans out there?)

Another thing I did this summer was rework my room. I was wondering if you guys would be interested in seeing a room remodeling post sort of a thing? Let me know! I DIYed a lot of things, but to be completely honest I bought a fair amount of things too hahaha.

For some miraculous miracle-thing, I've gotten a bunch of new followers this summer (which really surprised me because I was being a really bad blogger and not posting anything, but in a good way of course), and so now I feel kinda even more guilty for not posting so I'm trying even harder! Hopefully if I get a momentum going things will pick up. But anyway, thank you, you new fellaz, I love you and you are awesome. And you faithful old-timers, thank you for sticking by me! I love you guys too, and you're amazeballs.

See all of you again real soon!

Love, Abi