Pattern Review: Highland Cows and Woolly Mammoth by Leisure Arts

Namaste friends,

I hope you are having an amazing day.

I know many of you are frantically crafting, crocheting, knitting, or sewing to get those handmade gifts to the recipients.

Amigurumi is a popular choice for gifting, and in this post, I am sharing my review of two unique amigurumi patterns.

The patterns are 

1. Highland Cows Amigurumi

2. Woolly Mammoth Amigurumi

Thanks to Leisure Arts for providing me free copies of these digital patterns for my honest review. All opinions here are my own. 

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.

Title:           Highland Cow Amigurumi

Publisher:   Leisure Arts, Inc. 2024

SKU:          811020

Yarn:          Medium weight

Hook:         4 mm

Skill level:   Intermediate

This digital pattern is for adorable Highland Cows found in Scotland!

Now I had to Google them as we mainly have Desi and Jersey cows in India.

And they are so cute!!

The shaggy hair may look daunting, but the beauty of this pattern is that it includes detailed instructions for all body parts, such as legs, belly, ears, and horns as well as attaching the hair.

A wonderful thing about this pattern, something that I have come across for the first time, is that right at the beginning there is a QR code and when you scan it, you get access to a series of video tutorials required to make the cows. A video icon in the patterns shows you which techniques/stitches are demonstrated.

There are photos of all the important steps in the pattern.

The cows are shown in two different colours, brown and tan,  and they are super adorable with those cute horns and innocent faces.

If like me, you have fallen in love with these cows then here is one more book you will enjoy. It is the Highland Cows Crochet book. In this book, the cows adorn a pillow, blankets and there's even a pudgie.

Title:           Woolly Mammoth Amigurumi

Publisher:   Leisure Arts, Inc. 2024

SKU:          811022

Yarn:          Medium weight

Hook:         4 mm

Skill level:   Intermediate

This is a digital pattern for a Mammoth, a species of extinct elephant.

It would be a wonderful addition to a science project or an exhibit about extinct animals.

The pattern has all the details mentioned above.

Yes, it is much more hairy than the cows but there are detailed instructions on how and where to attach the hair. 

You can check out these two and many more gorgeous crochet patterns on leisurearts.com.

I have a wonderful surprise for you, use the code

SHAREASALE15 to get 15% off all digital books and patterns, and

SHAREASALE10 to get 10% off of anything on the website.

All images are used with permission from Leisure Arts, Inc. 

Happy crafting and Happy Holidays! 

Crochet Chevron Tulip Bag Free Pattern

Namaste Friends 🙏,

Hope you and your loved ones are in the pink of health and enjoying beautiful weather.

Mumbai is sweltering and we are desperately waiting for the rains.

I am on a stash busting spree and decided to use my worsted wt yarn to make a bag.

Ever thought you could make a bag with one granny square? Yes, that's right this bag is made with only one granny square. And if you use two or more colours, it brings out the chevron pattern in the bag beautifully!

* This post contains affiliate links which if you use for any purchase, may yield me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you. *

 

So let's begin,

 

Skill Level:    Easy                    

Size:  Bag measures approximately 16 inches wide and 16 inches tall.          .

          The handle measures around 21 inches after being attached.

Materials:

·        Yarn -  Worsted weight cotton yarn* around 225 gms/ approx. 8 oz OR

          (75 gms of each colour if using 3 colours)  

·        Hooks - US 7 (4.50 mm),*   UK 7

.        Stitch Markers - 4  (Check out these super-cute markers on Etsy*)

.        Scissors*

.        Yarn needle*

.        Buttons - 4* (optional)

     

Notes:

·        This pattern uses US terminology.

·        Ch 3 at beginning of the round counts as stitch. 

.        The last corner on each round is made with (ch 1, sc) instead of ch 2.

Abbreviations: 

beg – beginning,  

ch - chain,  

st - stitch,

sk - skip

sp - space

sl st - slip stitch

nxt - next,

sc – single crochet, 

dc - double crochet

dc2tog - double crochet 2 stitches together

 

Instructions:  

The Base:

Ch 5, join with sl st to form a ring. OR use the magic ring.

Round 1:  Using colour A - Ch 3, working into the ring - 3dc, (ch 2, 4dc) 3 times, ending with ch 1, sc into 3rd ch of beg ch. (16 dc, 4 corner spaces)

Round 2: Ch 3, dc into sp below sc, * dc in each st across, in nxt ch-2 sp work (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), rep from *   3 times ending with 2 dc in last sp, ch 1, sc into 3rd ch of beg ch. (32 dc)

Rounds 3 to 9: Rep Round 2. In each round you will be increasing by 16 stitches.

Work the above rounds to get a base of your desired size. 

Feel free to make more or less rounds as required, as it will depend on the yarn you are using.

The Sides:

Round 10: In this round we will pinch the centre of each side to form an additional "corner".

Count the number of stitches on each side and divide by 2.  Since I worked 9 rounds I have 36 stitches on each side. Now place a marker between the 18th and the 19th dcs, repeat on the other 3 sides. As shown in the pic below:

Your base may have a different number of stitches depending on how many rounds you made for your base. Now let's begin,

Ch 3, dc in sp below sc, *dc in next 15 sts, dc2tog in the next 2 sts, sk nxt 2 sts (ie. the 2 sts on either side of the marker), dc2tog in the nxt 2 sts, dc in nxt 15 sts, in nxt ch-2 sp work (2dc, ch 2, 2dc), rep from * 3 times, ending with 2dc in the last sp, ch1, sc in 3rd ch of beg ch 3.

Rounds 11 to 16: Using colour B repeat Round 10.

Rounds 17 to 22: Using colour C repeat Round 10.

Round 23: Ch 1, sc in each st around working 3 sc in the ch-2 sps in the corners. Fasten off. Weave in all yarn ends using yarn needle.

The Handles:

You could use readymade store bought handles.

Since I had a lot of yarn to consume I made yarn handles.

 

Row 1: Using colour A, ch 91, sk 1, sc in each st till the end. Fasten off. (90 sc)

Row 2: Using colour C, attach yarn with sl st in 1st sc, ch 1, sc in each st till end. Fasten off.

Row 3: Using colour B repeat Row 2. Fasten off, Weave in all ends using yarn needle. 

Attach the handles by threading the ends through the corner spaces, fold about an inch, and stitch together. 

Repeat for the second handle.

I added the buttons later just as a design feature.

Next time I am going to try Tunisian crochet for the handles.

I hope you try this pattern. I will be using this bag for carrying my projects with me because I crochet EVERYWHERE!!! 😄😄

 

 

If you have any questions, suggestions, comments or you find a mistake or a typo in the pattern, please do write to me. 

Thank you for your time.

 

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