Baby Bunny Tutorial

Hello Lovelies ,
Well , what was going to be a simple pattern has actually turned out to be a detailed tutorial. It's taken quite a lot of work , but I wanted to make things as straight forward as possible . I'm hoping a few of you who haven't tried this sort of crochet before will be encouraged to give it a go .Or if you have struggled in the past this will explain a few things .

As with all amigurumi this bunny is worked in a spiral so no joining rounds.However this means you will need a stitch marker ( I'm using a safety pin ) to keep track of where each round begins . Its also important to have some paper and a pen handy to write down where you are up to.

The only stitch is U.S. single crochet = sc      ( U.K.double)

So here goes :0)....

Round 1

Start with chain 2 ....

Make 6 sc in second chain from hook....insert hook here

1 sc made

6 sc made

Round 2

make 2 sc in each stitch around. starting with number 1 in the previous image. If you are not sure where to start , I find it easiest to count backwards from my hook. As you go round remember to count up to 12 then you will know when to stop.

Note working 2 stitches together in 1 stitch from the previous row is an increase stitch but I don't refer to them as that.

 At this stage I start marking the beginning of each row with a safety pin, which is removed at the end of each round and reinserted in the first stitch of the following round .So the start of round 3,after I've made the first stitch , looks like this....

Round 3

sc in the next stitch,2 sc in the following stitch.Repeat this pattern 6 times (18 stitches)

Round 4

sc in the next 2 stitches, 2sc in following stitch,repeat around (24 stitches)

Round 5

sc in the next 3 stitches ,2 sc in the following stitch, repeat around (30 stitches)

Round 6

 sc in the next 4 stitches , 2sc in the following stitch , repeat around ( 36 stitches)

Rounds 7 to 13

sc in each stitch around ( 36 stitches)

Round 14..this is where we begin to decrease for her neck.

sc in next 4 stitches ,sc decrease ( sc dec). repeat around (30 stitches)

 This is how you make an sc decrease.....

insert hook in next stitch,yarn over and pull through ( 2 loops on hook) ....

Insert hook in following stitch , yarn over pull through , 3 loops on hook....

Yarn over and pull through all three loops...sc decrease made ....

Round 15

sc in next 3 stitches, sc dec , continue around (30 stitches)

Round 16

sc in next 2 stitches,sc dec, continue around (24 stitches)

Round 17

sc in next 2 stitches ,sc dec , continue around ,this round will finish with 2 sc (14 stitches)

Round 18

sc in each stitch around (14 stitches)

Hurray you've finished the head..

carry on for the body with...

Round 19

sc in next 2 stitches,2 sc in next sc, continue around , this round will finish with 2 sc(18 stitches)

Round 20

2 sc in first stitch, sc in next 2 stitches ,continue around(24 stitches)

Round 21

2 sc in next stitch , sc in next 3 stitches ( 30 stitches)

Rounds 22 to 26

sc in each stitch around

Round 27

sc in next 2 stitches , sc dec, continue around , this round will end with 2sc.

At this stage add her stuffing( and possibly a little bell if this is for a baby)....

Round 28

sc in next stitch , sc dec, continue around , this round has to end with 2 sc (16 stitches)

Round 29

sc dec 8 times around (8 stitches)
finish off leaning a long tail for sewing ( you can add a bit more stuffing at this stage if needed )....

Sew a running stitch around the bottom stitches and close up hole...

Next make 2 ears ....

These are also worked as a spiral.Begin in the same way you did for the head.

Round 1

chain 2 , then 5 sc in second chain from hook

Round 2

make 2 sc in each stitch around (10 stitches )

Rounds 3 to 12

sc in each stitch around .
When working with little tubes of crochet like this I find it easiest to insert my middle finger in the centre , but just do what seems easiest for you and don't forget to mark the round with a marker of some description and write down the rounds as you go ......

Round 13

sc in next stitch, sc dec around (7 stitches). Finish off.
Remember to leave a long tail for sewing

Repeat for ear 2.

Last bit of crochet now , the....
 little white tail ....

Again begin the same way and mark rounds

Round 1

Chain 2 , 4 sc in second chain from hook

Round 2

2 sc in each stitch around (8 stitches)

Round 3

sc in next stitch, 2 sc in the following stitch, repeat around ( 12 stitches )

Round 4

sc in each stitch around

Round 5

sc in next stitch, sc dec in following stitches ,repeat around (8 stitches)

Stuff

Round 6

sc dec around ( 4 stitches )

Finish off leaving long tail for sewing .

Next add fabric to the ears ....

cut out an fabric shape slightly larger than the ear

turn under a hem and pin in place

                                         
Sew fabric to crochet using any stitch you prefer

Bend in bottom of ear and sew using tail of wool....

Use the same yarn to attach ear to head and repeat for second ear....

Next attach her tail using the same method . Then there's just the face to add.
For my second bunny I've tried a different style of face .This one has a mouth ( coz the boys said the first bunny didn't look right without one)
I've also used beads for the eyes as this bunny is not intended as a small children's toy so it is safe to do so.

As you can see lovely lilac bunny was not sure what to think when she met her turquoise cousin ....

But they soon got chatting and became good friends....

Boy this has taken ages
we are all pretty pooped now ....

So it's goodbye from me and its goodbye from them...

.

Happy Amigurumi-ing
Jacquie x

Do You Amigurumi ???

Hello Lovelies ,
I'm in the process of writing out the tutorial for my baby bunny . It should be ready Wednesday I hope .
In the mean time I thought we could have a little chat about Amigurumi.
Strange word that ...just seeing it written down , and being a touch dyslexic , it took me ages to work out how to pronounce it.In fact I probably still haven't got it right :0)
However you want to say it here's a good description.

The first time I attempted this type of crochet was a couple of years ago. .....

This cute little fella was made using a free pattern on the talented Anna Paula Rimolis' blog. There are currently 16 free patterns on her site , just click on patterns ,which are listed under Labels in her side bar.
This chap was quickly snapped up by my eldest ,which led to a request from the other two for their own .
So I invested in this book also by Anna.I made these two cuties....

First I made the dog ...took quite a while ....all that single crochet( U.S.) worked in a spiral. There's lots of marking rounds and counting stitches.

I'm O.K. with the head and body but I must admit to getting a bit fed up with the fiddly limbs and ears....there's so many of them .Eleven separate parts for the dog.The Octopus cured me of Amigurumi for a LONG time, even though it had less parts , making eight identical legs was rather tedious :0)....

That said ,I do like these cute creatures so I wanted to have another try.My baby bunny is simple....just 4 parts as I made the head and body as one piece and didn't bother with any limbs .....

I think she still looks cute and is very simple to make . I'll be including some tips in my tutorial for those who haven't done this type of crochet before .Hopefully she's an ideal first Amigurumi project .
Jacquie x