What is it that makes fungus so compelling? Mushrooms. They're yummy, they're deadly, they're an adventure at every step on the wet ground. And, darnit, they're cute. This one has a flip-top, which is a nifty added bonus.

• Worsted weight scraps of yarn
• Size G/7 (4.50mm) hook to make a 5” Shroom
• Size I/9 (5.50mm) hook to make a 7” Shroom
• 5/8” button
• Buttons of various sizes
• Sewing thread and needle
• Fiberfill/stuffing
• Stitch marker

If worked with a single strand of worsted weight yarn and smaller hook, 5".

If worked with a double strand of worsted weight yarn and larger hook, 7".

Gauge is not critical.

Shroom is worked in continuous rounds. To help keep track of rounds, place a marker in the first stitch of the round. Move the marker to the first stitch of each round as you go. 

Ch - chain
Sc - single crochet
St - stitch
Sc2tog - single crochet two stitches together

Amigurumi means “knitted or crocheted doll” in Japanese. They're the simplest of simple, worked in the round in single crochet. I don't even join my rounds, preferring to work in a spiral. The thing I love most about amigurumi is that their interest lies entirely in your imagination. There's no clever design detail to woo your keen eye. No lovely stitch pattern to make you go “ah.” Just rounds of single crochet. The fun comes in the shapes you make, the colours you pick, and the embellishments you add on after the fact.

To illustrate, check out the banner photo up there. Each Crochet me designer used the exact same pattern. So, my point has been made, no? We can't wait to see what you'll create. Share photos of your own Amigurumi Dudes on the Flickr group.

Edited to add: Use common sense when making toys for young kids. 

• Yarn and a complementary hook
• Polyfil for stuffing
• Beans (optional, for weighing down legless dudes)
• Yarn needle for finishing
• Embroidery needle (optional, for fitting through small holes in eyes and/or buttons)
• Embellishments, as desired

Variable. This pattern calls for a pretty enormous head. Mine (the purple dude with the headband) was worked in Lion Brand Chunky yarn with a 5.0mm hook, and the head measures 4" in diameter and a whopping 14" in circumference. (This is the same size as an infant's head.) Adjust yarn weight and hook size according to your whim.

Gauge is unimportant. Your stitches should be tight enough that stuffing won't poke through.

Head

Start with an adjustable loop.

Round 1: Work 6 sc into loop (join or do not join -- it's your call); tighten the loop.

Keep your little piggies as warm as bacon with these cute and cheery Mary-Jane slippers. They will add a bounce to your step, reminiscent of spring lambs, and the flowers will remind you of the happy spring flowers hiding under the snow. Suddenly, it just feels like spring...

• Milano Crepe double knit wool, 50g, 1 and a half balls. Yarn scraps for flowers.
• 4.5mm (US G) hook
• Yarn needle

Slipper measures approximately 23cm (9 inches) along bottom from toe to heel (unstretched).

• Slipper is worked from the toe to heel in circular and regular crochet.
• If you want a longer or shorter slipper, adjust the pattern between the rows 14-23 or 26-51.

Sc = single crochet
Sl st = slip stitch
Ch = chain
St(s) = stitch(es)

Early spring in Oregon is a fickle thing. Some days it’s nice out, some days it rains, most days it does both. And of course, as soon as I see a 55- or 60-degree day, I’m unpacking my summery clothes, even if it’s still March. This seasonal wardrobe change requires a safety net for the first few weeks, though, in the form of a shrug. Shrug Off Winter is just the thing – a bit lacy so it can be worn with jeans or with a skirt, but not so lacy that you’ll freeze in your summery top. Crochet it in a springy color and you can wear it all day; crochet a darker one and it can take you all the way through the cooler nights in summer and into early fall.

• Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (55% Merino Wool, 33% Microfibre, 12% Cashmere; 137 yds/50g) - 8 (8, 8, 9) balls in color 202
• 3.5mm/Size E hook
• 2 small buttons
• yarn needle

Small (Medium, Large, Extra-Large)

Sleeve Width: 17 (17.5, 18, 18.5) inches
Sleeve length: 11 (11, 11, 12) inches
Bottom back width: 16 (17, 18.5, 19) inches
Back length (from neck to bottom hem): 8.5 (8.5, 9, 9.5) inches

(Shown in size Large in photos) 

2 motifs and 2 rows = 1"

Cluster Stitch: Ch 3. Make three dc around post of previous dc worked but leave last loop of dc on hook.  Dc in next ch-3 sp and leave last loop on hook. Yo and draw through all five loops.

Inc Cluster: Ch 3. Make three dc around post of previous dc worked but leave last loop of dc on hook.  Tr in second turning ch (or through the center of the post of the last tr worked) of previous row and leave last loop on hook. Yo and draw through all five loops.

Sleeves (make 2)

Ch 108 (111, 114, 117).

I like to recycle everything I can, so I’ve been collecting all my swatches, convinced that I would find a use for them. Just as I was reaching my storage limit, I thought up a way to use them all: Swatchies are little creatures made out of swatches, using leftover craft materials and a little imagination.

• Two swatches of similar size
• A handful of Polyfill
• A tapestry needle
• Crochet hook of choice
• Scraps of yarn and felt
• Any other crafty materials you have left over from other projects (ribbons, buttons, beads, Fun Fur, etc.)

There is no set pattern for making a Swatchie; everyone's will be different. Following is the way to make the body of a Swatchie and ideas on how to fancy it up. Be creative, and most importantly, recycle, reuse, and re-purpose!

Shrugs don't get any easier than this: it's a simple rectangle and there's NO seamin', NO sizin', NO shapin'. It's also probably the only 1-skein shrug out there, but if you want to use 2 skeins, you can add an edging or make the sleeves longer or make it plus-sized. It works because the yarn is so stretchy, so it does the shaping and sizing for you. There's no seaming because you lace up the sleeves with ribbon. Remove the ribbon and it becomes a scarf/neckwarmer. As an added bonus, the stitch pattern is eye-catching, so this handy shrug will even turn heads. Now, if it would only balance your checkbook...

• Patons Katrina yarn (163yds/150m per 100g/3.5oz.), "Dusk," 1 (2) skeins
• Pattern instructions will include tips for using alternate yarns. (Ed. note: I'm told by Patons that Katrina will be discontinued, but should still be available for purchase at press time.)
• Some stretchy substitutes to experiment with, of roughly similar weight, are:
• Classic Elite's Star, 2+ balls (cotton and lycra)
• Cascade Fixation, 2+ balls (cotton and elastic)
• Sock it to Me Collection's Esprit, 2+ balls (seems similar to Cascade's Fixation; available at www.elann.com)
• Schoeller Stahl's Merino Stretch, 1 ball (44% Merino)
• Schachenmayr Only Stretch, 2 balls (40% superwash wool)
• Size US8-H / 5.0mm crochet hook
• 2 lengths of 1.5-inch-wide ribbon, each 1.5 yds long
• Yarn needle for weaving in ends

Small (Large)

5" X 33", unstretched (6.5" x 43", approximately)

The goal is to end up with a rectangle that measures 5" X 33" unstretched (for small size) because that's what I got out of 1 skein of Katrina. The width (# of stitches across) could be up to 5.5" and still fit average upper arms the same; or 6" to 6.5" for plus-sized upper arms. The length (total # of rows) could go as low as about 30" for comfortably short sleeves, up to maybe 60" for long sleeves, depending on how long your arms are.

Gauge is not a big deal. Here's the gauge I got: 4 pattern repeats, plus the stitches that begin and end each row = 5". Four rows = 3.5".

Just follow the pattern, because the shrug is like one long gauge swatch anyway. If you are experimenting with one of the cotton yarns listed above, you'll probably need to go down a hook size and and do 5 pattern repeats instead of 4.

Ch(s) – chain
Sc – single crochet
Sl st – slip stitch

Picot - ch 4 then sl st in the 4th ch from hook

Instant Perfect-fit Shrug

Once upon a time there was a little inchworm named Inga. She was bright green and lived underneath a rhododendron shrub. Like all inchworms, Inga was obsessed with measuring. She meticulously counted every step, every bit of progress. She measured it against previous progress. She forecasted it against future progress. Of course, all of this calculating made her very critical of herself.

One day as Inga was having her breakfast, a beautiful brown moth landed on the leaf next to her. "Hello, moth!  How does the world look from way up in the sky?" "It looks wonderful!" replied the moth. "You should go up to the top of the rhododendron and see it!" "Oh, I could never make it all the way up there," Inga sighed.  "I'm far too slow, and each step is so small…" "Nonsense!" laughed the moth. "Let go of all those judgments you hold against yourself. Even inchworms can eventually fly!"

Inga thought about what the moth said all night. But she couldn't stop judging, measuring, recording.

The next morning Inga felt wonderful. She stretched and yawned… and when she looked down she realized she'd grown wings! She had finally grown into a moth! Inga zoomed into the air, twice as high as the shrub, and looked down on the entire world. She had let go of her calculations and self-judgments, and was free!

• Bright green (or brown) worsted weight yarn
• Size H/5.0mm hook
• Small amount of black yarn
• Yarn needle
• Small amount of Polyfil stuffing

One size.

Gauge is unimportant, but stitches should be tight.

You will be working in a spiral without joining rounds.  Place a stitch marker at the beginning of each round to help keep track.

The turning chain in the short rows does not count as a stitch.

Ch – chain
Sl st – slip stitch
Sc – single crochet
St(s) - stitch(es)
Fpsc – front post single crochet
Tr – treble
Sc2tog – single crochet 2 stitches together

Head

Make 6 sc into an adjustable loop.

Round 1.  Work 2 sc in each st around (12 sts).

This is a light scarf for spring that can also be used as a belt, tied at the hip. It is made up of triangular, rather unusal motifs. The beaded fringe adds a little glamour – and it looks great with jeans!

• Yarn: Phildar Licorne (100% cotton, 120 m/131 yards per 50 g/1.75 oz ball), 2 balls colour Jacinthe
• Hook: 3.5 mm / US E-4
• Tapestry needle
• Beads for fringe. When purchasing beads, bring a needle threaded with the yarn to check that the hole in the bead is large enough.

Approximately 12 x 157 cm / 4 ¾ x 62 inches, excluding fringe. The scarf pictured is composed of 16 motifs.

The side of a triangle measures 10 cm / 4 inches. Please note that gauge is not critical for this project.

Ch – chain
Sc – single crochet
Sl st – slip stitch
Dc – double crochet
St(s) – stitch(es)

Triangle motif

Start with a magic adjustable ring.