Whoops - made giant toys by accident

[SinkGirl]

Every year for my twins birthday I make them toys from a specific designer - last year I made them bigger than the first ones so I thought I’d go bigger this year...

Shit. Finished one and it’s massive. They weigh a ton. Have cost a bloody fortune too. Haven’t finished the other one yet...

This is why you always swatch 😂

That's humongous but it looks fantastic!!
I hope you've left yourself enough time to make another😅

I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!

Which designer is this please?

It’s Lalylala on Etsy - I’ve made loads of her stuff, sadly I’m running out of patterns!

Second one is nearly there - just finishing the head and hat, then they both need scarves.

Here you can see their first birthday ones on the bench (which now look tiny) and on the shelf aboveboard loads of her little characters. I love the Christmas tree and the pineapple best. I planned to make mobiles from them but never had time. Her patterns aren’t cheap but are totally worth it.

These are gorgeous!

They're lovely! Very well done you.

They are lovely and I love the big one!! You are clearly talented so can I ask you a question without derailing I hope. Your increase/decrease on the body looks so smooth and consistent - do you know what I am doing wrong?

Invisible decreases - totally changed how my toys look. Only learn about them recently and it makes so much difference.

I’ll try to explain it but I’m sure you can find a video if you google invisible decreases crochet.

For the decrease, insert your hook through the front loop of the first stitch, then immediately through the front loop of the second stitch, grab the yarn then pull through both front loops. Then yarn over and pull through the two loops on your hook.

You can honestly barely see them, which is tricky as I never use stitch markers and navigate by the increases and decreases!

Not much you can do about increases but making sure they’re not stacked on top of each other helps.

Also, the yarn itself makes a big difference. Mercerised cotton with a sheen or acrylic yarn highlights all the bumps.

For these I’ve used two strands of Scheepjes Stone Washed XL - it’s mainly cotton with some acrylic and has worked up really well. The head (White) is Drops Paris, and the previous bigger toys used Drops wool and alpaca blend. It’s more expensive to use natural fibres but the finish is so much better.

Those are fabulous. I love the Lalylala patterns but haven't tried any toys, just shawls, blankets and hats so far.

Thank you!

These are so lush!!!

If only I could crochet! 🙈 I can knit pretty well but crochet eludes me 🙈🙈🙈

Fantastic! How big are you going next year?

Toys are honestly so easy. In fact so easy that I designed and made my own toy bunnies when they were babies and I’m part way through a Duggee from Hey Duggee that I’ve been making up as I go along. I’ve always enjoyed knitting more but since I started making toys I much prefer crochet - it’s just so logical in how it works.

The little seasons patterns from Lalylala are a great intro to making toys - you figure out how the different shapes are made and then you’re off!

These are a couple of the bunnies I made and it was so easy to figure out as I went (you can tell which was first and which came second as I figured out better ways to go). They’re the only cuddly toys my boys will play with, I’m hoping they’ll appreciate these bigger ones when they’re older.

Definitely give it a go!

Hmm... maybe super chunky next year?! 😂

@PlinkPlink if you’re a knitter I love the Rebecca Danger monsters - made a few of them over the years and they are so cute

I am in absolute awe of your talent, OP! That is all.

Oooh I will check those out!! I've never made toys before but I have a valid excuse to make some (DS )

Also, what lovely kitchen worktops you have (random I know but I look at ours everyday and wish for something similar to yours).

Oh thanks everyone, that’s so kind. It’s really the designer who gets the credit. They’re not difficult to make - anyone can do it! I made my first crochet toys when they were babies, so 2.5 years or so. I don’t get much time with the twins around (they both have disabilities), so don’t get to make as much as I’d like. If I can do it you can!

I love the worktops too - our house was owned by an architect and an interior designer so I can’t take credit for any of it. They really need sanding and oiling though!

Argh, I’ve run out of yarn again! Toy 2 now has a head but only half a hat. I swear I could have bought them the poshest toys on earth for less money 😂

Ten days to go so hopefully I’ll have yarn on Monday.

What size hook do you use? I normally end up making things much smaller than they should be

I checked out those Rebecca Danger ones. Oh my goodness they're adorable!

The one I want to do though uses a few more advanced things that I haven't done before. But I'm going to give it a go!

Has your yarn arrived yet OP? Very excited to see the end!

@SinkGirl These are really, really lovely. You are very talented.

If you ever decide to make toys for a living please put me down for a pineapple! 💛

They are lovely. Please say you have an eBay shop,for these

oh yay, I lost the thread for a while there but I’ve found it now. Have finally finished - lots of mistakes in the lamb’s body but didn’t have time to rip back and start again so will have to live with it!

Do it PlinkPlink - when I was learning to knit I made sure every new project had a new technique in it, there are so many videos online if you’re struggling with a technique that you can definitely do it!

Sadly I don’t make these to sell because they just take so long, and at this size cost so bloody much, I’d have to charge a fortune! Plus I just don’t have the time. There are quite a lot of people on Etsy who sell finished toys from the Lalylala patterns though - just do an Etsy search for Lalylala and you’ll find lots. I’m sure one of them would make bigger ones if you asked.

In this pic the smaller ones used 1 strand of Aran weight and (I think) a 3.5mm hook. The bigger ones were 2 strands of Aran weight and a 6mm hook.