I feel this. All I care about is finding patterns and yarn for my patterns lol The only other supplies I’ve properly bought is hooks, the rest I improvise with things that I borrow from my boyfriend
I appreciate that you show these "bad" experiences just like you would the positive ones. It helps to remind us what crafting actually is - full of both ups and downs.
Cheers and I 100% agree about the ups and downs. I think it'd be a bit disingenuous to present everything as 'sunshine and rainbows' all the time when that's not exactly realistic.
As a British crocheter, I think we're long overdue for a total conversion to US terms. The slip stitch never was a full 'single' and nobody wants to do lines of it. Time to standardise!
as soon as i saw how much grey was included in the skein vs how much grey was used in the photo of the bird on the label, I knew there would be major issues with this "kit"
Yeah, it's a shame the images on the website where I purchased them focused mostly on the label rather than the yarn cake itself. Might've been a red flag if I'd seen it earlier.
Im so glad I'm not the only one who experiences worsening pain with smaller and larger hooks!!! As someone who also struggles with chronic pain and health issues, I truly appreciate your commitment and honesty with your own body's boundaries. I know how fustrating it is when you can't always do things the way you used to. You are an inspiration!!!
Here in the USA we had a similar product pre-covid times by Red Heart and it was geared towards people who wanted to try amigurumi without buying too much yarn as it gave you enough to make 2 but our patterns were made decently compared to the hell you just endured. I want the pattern that you got as its much cuter than the flamingo pattern we got.
The back loop only during the decrease rounds was likely a typo; there is a front loop only decrease that I use for all my amigurumi. It helps hide any holes/gaping that comes with decreasing
Just curious, could back loop only add texture to make it look like ruffled features? In the placement, it seems to be a typo, but it might be a thing to consider.
Yeah, I assume it was a typo. Perhaps carried over from the single round where working in the back loop was required. Might've been a bit of copy/paste going on and they forgot to delete it 😂
Checking the shop's website shows that the kit is made in China - so I'm going with Bad Translation fairy strikes again. From the greasy shine on it, the yarn looks a lot like the nasty stuff that sometimes comes free with a magazine. Well done for persevering, you masochist!
We have had similar concept yarn here in the U.S. from the company Red Heart and here the patterns are not on the label you have to download them from Yarnspirations. Our patterns are written so the same animal in two different color schemes using the same yarn so perhaps your kit is supposed to be done twice with the pinks being reversed in one of them, which is why there is almost the same amount of each of them. They have since discontinued this format and gone to kits more along the lines of the Woobles Kits. I found the discs give enough yarn for about 3 of whatever pattern they go with.
Having tried the red heart, granny square yard. I’m really glad that’s not how this project is laid out because your attention would be so important and frogging and un frogging and Amigarumi is so much worse than trying to frog and re-crochet a granny square.
I can see the appeal, as someone who didn’t really do amigurumi, it would be nice to have smaller amounts of the colors rather than having to buy full skeins that I would struggle to find uses for after, plus this has less packaging than a full kit. I do wish it included stuffing though! I don’t keep any around, and as cheap as poly fill is, I’d then have a big bag left over to find more uses for (which again, it’s been years since I’ve needed any, I don’t do these often). It’s super cute, but knowing the yarn is so splitty sucks.
You are so patient to finish this. I also have done other kits. The yarn seems to always be aweful. And when you looked at the hook size and said cancelled yes I would have stopped there. You are a talented person. Thank for showing this. I'm sure you just glad it's done. I hope you can get your Money back for the other one 😊
I picked up some of these a while ago at an outlet store. Much like you, thought it was a neat idea and the bee wheels I found were cute. I also found a hamburger one and I think I might have picked it up thinking I could use the yarn for something else. I see that isn't going to happen and that making the bee is going to be a major pain in the ass.
I love this!! This lincraft product was the first thing I ever bought for crochet and it was awful. I came back to try again after 3mths and again 6mths after starting. I've been crocheting 18months and still have not finished that stupid galah. Everyone of your thoughts I thought too haha
Saw these and got excited. Bought a few, started with the bird, got the body and beak done and haven't touched it since. The yarn couldn't be comfortably contained, which sends me mental, and was rough on the hands. From what I had completed all excitement to complete had drained out of me.
Same for me--the pain most relevant to crochet is in my finger joints, and I've realised that as long as the hook has a handle ... I kind-of really like working with smaller hooks.
I have noticed I switch grip from pen to knife hold if I have to use a bigger hook, but I fastly prefer smaller hooks too. The movements aren't as big and it gives me way less strain.
I really hope these kits weren't someone's first intro into making amigurumi because oof. Like tbh it kind of screams 'we've got woobles at home' except by woobles at home, they mean found at the bottom of the bin, dusted off, and declared: 'eh, good enough' As for bird species, i have a soft spot for eclectus parrots and magpies (both European and Australian)
I can absolutely see how this could put someone off amigurumi and that's kind of a shame. Eclectus parrots are gorgeous!! And then there's the option of crocheting both the male and female versions 🤔
My favourite birds are European Robins. But I think a Greenfinch or European Goldfinch always look striking in the garden. Love seeing them amongst the browns and blacks of the native birds.
I wonder if you weighed the left over yarn? Maybe the excess is to be able to make multiple? But also selling the _exact_ amount of yarn needed as per the patten would be so small that it wouldn't look "appealing" or the purchase price would be so small it wouldn't make sense to give it the shelf space in relation to other products?
I'll finish watching the vid in a moment, but, yeah, I've seen those things. A friend of mine gifted about 4 or 5 different ones to me for my birthday this year. Have I done anything with them yet? Nope. They are currently residing in my yarn storage boxes. Birds? Cardinals, hawks, and Indigo Buntings.
I re-twist the working yarn sometimes to make the strand tighter when yarn is really splitty. A couple spins between the fingers to re-establish the yarn twist for like 6 inches or a foot of yarn saves me frustration usually. (Don't go too overboard twisting or the yarn gets really compressed, and looks a lot different than the rest of your stitches.)
In my experience, dec BLO are used for rapid decreases so the gaps between rounds is minimized. This really is only in amigurumi, not hats or anything. I have biceps tendinitis and my shoulder will tell me very strongly when I need to stop crafting (knit, sew, crochet). So I feel the frustration of a project taking longer. I hate cheap splitty yarn 😑
I drafted a pattern that used a BLO section to add a patch of a different color, and the texture difference was interesting to play with before I finished the whole thing... I wonder if that's why those last body rows were BLO?
There's certainly interesting things you can do by working in the BLO, like the examples you give,. I'm just not sure that's what they were going for here given that the majority of the BL rounds are under the body and aren't visible. Plus from what I can see of the image on the label, they actually haven't worked in the BLO 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
The blo decreases is a beginner technique to hide the decreases. Like a faux invisible decrease. Not sure why not just teach the invisible but its came up a few times in crochet groups.
I’m a Norwegian crocheter and I found this video really interesting. I don’t think we have those kits here in Norway, but I could probably find it online 😊
To be honest, I'm probably not the best person to make kit recommendations as I've only ever used one previous to this video. There is a creator though, The Faded Wildflower Crochet or @Tfwcrochet who's done a bunch of kit reviews, you might have some luck if you try her channel.
I got a couple of these at a thrift store. I only did one and I actually really liked it. I don't have a lot of storage space so not having to buy a whole scane of yarn for one project and only having a little left over yarn was nice. I do agree about the quality tho. It split a lot, tho I dolike the look of a smaller yarn and hook size. I think mine was a different brand tho. I'm form the US so I think it was red heart or something
It's a "kit" with a gimmick. Instead of little skeins of yarn with the amounts you need in a bag they tied them together and wound it in a cake so you can see the colours. In your defense you, you are testing this out to share with us if it's worth while so totally forgivable to cave for yarn in this case. We thank you for your sacrifice. I will say I think the end result is pretty cute and I like the bird. Not enough to be worth going through all that torture or buying crummy yarn to get a confusing pattern though. I look forward to seeing your take on this concept.
I'm sorry that was such a frustrating experience for you. Honestly, I think the idea of having the kit like that isn't bad; you get enough yarn to make multiple, and I feel like having them cut apart makes them more beginner friendly. I've watched people really struggle with getting the all in one granny square yarn to line up- people who have been crocheting for years, I think this kit only makes sense for people who want to get a feel for amigurumi, but don't want to commit to buying multiple skeins of yarn for their first project. It's just sad that it seems like a lot of the kits also go for the worst possible yarns, which makes them not beginner friendly at all.
The BLO Dec St does have a genuine purpose. Though in my 15 years of crocheting I've found it to be the poorest way to achieve it's purpose.... The reason for this is to reduce bulk within a Dec St to reduce the subtle bulking that a standard Dec St gives, especially in the final few rows of Dec where there are many Dec St close together. It does however exchange that subtle bulging with exposed FL, which I think just looks a bit sloppy. There are a few ways to achieve the same desired result in a much cleaner way. The easiest is to work FLO Dec St. Still not my favourite as it's cleaner, but the FL end up a bit loose. Invisible Dec St will achieve the desired effect and as promised it's invisible in the finish project: Insert hook FLO of first St, insert hook through FLO second st, YO, pull through 2, YO pull through 2. I use invisible Dec St in all Ami patterns, regardless of what kind of Dec St the pattern calls for.
These kits were completely designed as a way to condense all the packaging and put out a cheap product with a novelty idea that appeals to individuals that have no idea how to crochet. In a normal amigurumi kit, you have a nice book.with instructions, a hook, and several smallish balls of yarn and a bag of stuffing. This kit requires no special packaging with divisions. However, I could see this being a cute yarn cake for a baby blanket. Definately not worth the price 😂 I did buy a bumble bee one a few years ago because it was on clearence for $2.00 I used it to make a doll blanket for my daughter's raccoon stuffy❤
I was doing a crosstitch proyect, i stoped for the lack of yard provided! And I have it in a bag for more than 4 years! (Before quarantine) boring in quarantine I didn't wanted to do it, and now being at stay in home the same! 😂😂
If I remember correctly, I beleive that crocheting in the back loops only when crocheting should make the decreases less "bulky" for lack of a better term. So the decreases sit nicely and are a bit easier to crochet. I think i've seen someone decrease in the front loops only for a nearly invisible decrease.
Scissors I have as many as hooks. The color wheel amigurmi I have a few of these I bought a few years ago from Joann’s, but they are called amigurmi. I have a flamingo and not sure what else. Still haven’t made them yet, need to get on that.
The pattern writer is probably older. Back in the day, you usually crocheted in the back loop only when decreasing. It makes it get smaller faster. Easy enough to alter this. Looks like you did just fine without it.
I thought that might be what they were going for too at first but like you, I couldn't see any evidence of it on the label. Plus, it'd be kind of weird that the texture was only created on the bottom section and therefore hidden when the bird was sitting down 🤷♀️. I don't know lol, I'm sticking with the 'it was a typo' theory.
The only store near me that sells yarn never gets any of these gimmick yarns. It's a small store that sells other stuff other than yarn, so it makes sense. I don't think I've even seen that brand either.
I can't believe yarn companies getting rich (or trying to) with unnecessary (IMHO) products like these. Not everybody has the same tension - even under similar circumstances. It really isn't THAT hard to join a new color the old way - a lot of these "products" are claiming to make crocheting easier, but that isn't so. Save your money for more yarn colors :)
Ouchies, I really felt your pain on this one >.< Was it fingering yarn? For the amount of detail they actually achieved, I don't know why they couldn't give you worsted weight and a 4mm hook, would take less than half the stitches but achieve pretty much the same outcome.
I'm not an ami maker but I have seen some maker's and they did front loop only while decreasing ??? Am i correct ?? So the blo is weird, but I like this video cuz I respect you and ur knowledge so I think I will never buy one of those cuz of splitty yarn , I don't think I wud of known that it is UK terminology lol great video 📷 !! Thank You for struggling on this for us our here , Thank You !! Oh btw blue jay bird !! Or colorful parrot 🐦🦜
Yeah, an invisible decrease is usually worked across the front loops only. Working in the back loops only for one round will give you a sharp 'corner', so that would've been understandable but it's very weird that the instructions said to do it for multiple rounds.
IF (sadly that's a huge "if" in this case) the yarn was good quality and the pattern beginner friendly I could see a tiny niche for the puck of yarn: a gift to a beginner to see if they like crochet. Otherwise it's just more work
"so anyway, I looked at the yarn" Yeah. That checks out. Maybe look at the scissors next time too, lol But I hate that IMMEDIATELY upon beginning this pattern, you have given yourself half collapsed and very easily tangle-able hollow yarn rings. If I were to get one of these kits, I would have to wind up those loose rings into balls, otherwise, I would just get them tangled up, because never once in my life have a I finished an amigurumi in a single sitting. That stuff is gonna get thrown in a travel bag for 6-12 business weeks (or permanently). But also, what's wild to me is that they had to TIE THESE DIFFERENT YARNS TOGETHER in order to make them into a single cake, only for you to cut them apart. Why not just sell them as separate balls? Is it just the eye-catching factor of the cake/wheel? because yarn cakes are "in" right now? Like I genuinely don't understand what the POINT of this concept... I feel like a crafter was not involved in this project at all. oh interesting. I've watched a lot of creators try to follow ai patterns and I've noticed an interesting trend is that a lot of them have random rows worked in backloops-only for... no real discernable reason. And a lot of them don't define their colors (like you talked about). Did it have specific instructions on how and where to attach the different pieces? A lot of AI patterns just say "attach to front" and little else; where as most amigurumi patterns I've done by people tell you to mark specific stitches or work in front/back loops and tell you in the pattern as you go "this is where you'll attach the arms later; mark this with a stitch marker" or later in the instructions "attach beak at row 7, between stitches 10 and 12" or something. a lot of ai patterns also have issues adding up their stitches at the end of a row and have stitches that are unaccounted for. Was any of this present in this pattern? I would be so very disappointed to find that Ai has worked its way into retail fiber arts already. But it would not surprise me for big businesses to be jumping at any chance to make more money with less effort, especially preying on newer artists who don't know better. And it really disappointing that a project like this is aimed at beginners and may very well turn them away from the craft entirely. :C edit: So i went looking for more reviews of this product and can't find any because the name (color wheel amigurumi) is so generic that all it get are references to the color spectrum wheel as "spin the wheel" amigurumi challenges. Only by typing in the brand did I find their ad for this product, but still not one other video.
Giving a little benefit of doubt to the pattern, maybe the BLO section is a stylistic choice on the part of the designer? But yeah, I saw something similar (if not the same thing) at Ollie's (an American discount closeout store) a few years ago and wasn't interested enough to buy one. Glad I didn't!
I thought the question at the beginning was going to be ‘have you seen …….my scissors’. But then you started talking about yarn. Must just be me that always misplaces scissors. 🤦🏼♀️ Vindicated when you immediately wanted another pair of scissors.
I bought some of these when our lincraft closed like 5 years ago for $2 each. They’re still in the drawer. This justifies my decision to leave them there.
I looked at those little amigurumi "kits" in a Joann once and the "yarn" looked an awful lot like embroidery floss. If I want to struggle with my tiny yarn constantly splitting, I'll just buy embroidery floss - it's cheaper and you don't have to cut your colors apart. That was such a weird part to me. Why did they connect them in the first place if the first thing the pattern does is tell you to separate them, so stupid.
Patterns with weird choices used to come from poorly skilled, underpaid designers, often badly translated through one or more languages. Honestly these days I’d suspect AI, if not for the full creation of the pattern then at least an edit of a pattern they copied from someone else and didn’t pay. The repetition of the working in back sounds like a robot thinking it’s copying a complete instruction repeatedly without realising that was only needed on the turning edge row. It would also explain the weird row numbering as AI won’t know the convention of a magic loop or whatever start as being row 1. It’s counting like a robot.
Buying yarn unnecessarily, but months of needing scissors but still haven’t bought scissors…. We are cut from the same cloth, you and I
Or you would be cut from the same cloth if you had scissors😂
@@Cathy-f7m 😂
Reminding you to get scissors!
I feel this. All I care about is finding patterns and yarn for my patterns lol
The only other supplies I’ve properly bought is hooks, the rest I improvise with things that I borrow from my boyfriend
"So anyway I went and looked at the yarn" 😂😂😂 Subscribed obviously without needing to hear any more...
I appreciate that you show these "bad" experiences just like you would the positive ones. It helps to remind us what crafting actually is - full of both ups and downs.
Cheers and I 100% agree about the ups and downs. I think it'd be a bit disingenuous to present everything as 'sunshine and rainbows' all the time when that's not exactly realistic.
After all the disappointment you had you turn the bird look better ❤
As a British crocheter, I think we're long overdue for a total conversion to US terms.
The slip stitch never was a full 'single' and nobody wants to do lines of it.
Time to standardise!
... as long as we keep measuring the hooks in mm.
@carmenjoydoucette8488 oh yes, definitely
as soon as i saw how much grey was included in the skein vs how much grey was used in the photo of the bird on the label, I knew there would be major issues with this "kit"
Yeah, it's a shame the images on the website where I purchased them focused mostly on the label rather than the yarn cake itself. Might've been a red flag if I'd seen it earlier.
It's not always easy to judge, because the centre is going to look bigger than the outer
wow I thought itd be like that granny square yarn, this is just more work haha
Nothing has ever resonated with me as deeply as hearing, “So, anyway, I looked at the yarn.”
Im so glad I'm not the only one who experiences worsening pain with smaller and larger hooks!!! As someone who also struggles with chronic pain and health issues, I truly appreciate your commitment and honesty with your own body's boundaries. I know how fustrating it is when you can't always do things the way you used to. You are an inspiration!!!
Here in the USA we had a similar product pre-covid times by Red Heart and it was geared towards people who wanted to try amigurumi without buying too much yarn as it gave you enough to make 2 but our patterns were made decently compared to the hell you just endured.
I want the pattern that you got as its much cuter than the flamingo pattern we got.
I remember trying it and liking that I didn't have to plan the colors, only bought it one time though lol
The back loop only during the decrease rounds was likely a typo; there is a front loop only decrease that I use for all my amigurumi. It helps hide any holes/gaping that comes with decreasing
Just curious, could back loop only add texture to make it look like ruffled features? In the placement, it seems to be a typo, but it might be a thing to consider.
@@cjkagdisThis was exactly what I was thinking. Perhaps the backloop stitches in the decrease was to create a kind of feather texture. But who knows
😅
Yeah, I assume it was a typo. Perhaps carried over from the single round where working in the back loop was required. Might've been a bit of copy/paste going on and they forgot to delete it 😂
came here to say just that , amigurumi decrease
Checking the shop's website shows that the kit is made in China - so I'm going with Bad Translation fairy strikes again. From the greasy shine on it, the yarn looks a lot like the nasty stuff that sometimes comes free with a magazine.
Well done for persevering, you masochist!
We have had similar concept yarn here in the U.S. from the company Red Heart and here the patterns are not on the label you have to download them from Yarnspirations. Our patterns are written so the same animal in two different color schemes using the same yarn so perhaps your kit is supposed to be done twice with the pinks being reversed in one of them, which is why there is almost the same amount of each of them. They have since discontinued this format and gone to kits more along the lines of the Woobles Kits. I found the discs give enough yarn for about 3 of whatever pattern they go with.
Having tried the red heart, granny square yard. I’m really glad that’s not how this project is laid out because your attention would be so important and frogging and un frogging and Amigarumi is so much worse than trying to frog and re-crochet a granny square.
“In my defense…” 😂. I’ve never seen this type of ami kit. Very interesting & fun video! 🧡
So, it's a solid yeah-nah from me. I foresee tears, f-bombs, and yeeting if I dared to dabble. Thank you for taking one for the team 😆👍🏽🧶
Tears, f-bombs and yeeting sums it up nicely 😂😂😂
I can see the appeal, as someone who didn’t really do amigurumi, it would be nice to have smaller amounts of the colors rather than having to buy full skeins that I would struggle to find uses for after, plus this has less packaging than a full kit. I do wish it included stuffing though! I don’t keep any around, and as cheap as poly fill is, I’d then have a big bag left over to find more uses for (which again, it’s been years since I’ve needed any, I don’t do these often).
It’s super cute, but knowing the yarn is so splitty sucks.
My best idea for why they might be doing back loop only for the bottom is so it sits nicely and has a flat bottom, idk though
You are so patient to finish this. I also have done other kits. The yarn seems to always be aweful. And when you looked at the hook size and said cancelled yes I would have stopped there.
You are a talented person. Thank for showing this.
I'm sure you just glad it's done.
I hope you can get your Money back for the other one 😊
I picked up some of these a while ago at an outlet store. Much like you, thought it was a neat idea and the bee wheels I found were cute. I also found a hamburger one and I think I might have picked it up thinking I could use the yarn for something else. I see that isn't going to happen and that making the bee is going to be a major pain in the ass.
I almost grabbed the bee as well. Kind of glad I didn't at this point. Would definitely recommend re-purposing the yarn for a different project.
I love this!! This lincraft product was the first thing I ever bought for crochet and it was awful. I came back to try again after 3mths and again 6mths after starting. I've been crocheting 18months and still have not finished that stupid galah. Everyone of your thoughts I thought too haha
What a shame! The bird looks adorable to me, & the presentation is so appealing, but neither of those things make up for the poor kit quality.
Saw these and got excited. Bought a few, started with the bird, got the body and beak done and haven't touched it since. The yarn couldn't be comfortably contained, which sends me mental, and was rough on the hands. From what I had completed all excitement to complete had drained out of me.
I almost clicked out of the video but when you said “anyway I went to look at the yarn..” I came back to hear more lol
I'm in UK and haven't seen these yarn wheels anywhere, and I now know to give them a wide berth. Already crocheting a Mimikyu for a niece's birthday
Don't worry about same sizing for a future recreation! Make a big galah with thicker yarn and a bigger hook!
African Grey, Sun Conure, Gray and Lutino Cockatiels, Eclectus, and Scarlet Macaw... those are my favorites... I'd love to see any and all
Hot take: small hooks are great, big yarn and hooks make my arms hurt. Have you have support under hands/arms for those big boys!
Same for me--the pain most relevant to crochet is in my finger joints, and I've realised that as long as the hook has a handle ... I kind-of really like working with smaller hooks.
I have noticed I switch grip from pen to knife hold if I have to use a bigger hook, but I fastly prefer smaller hooks too. The movements aren't as big and it gives me way less strain.
I really hope these kits weren't someone's first intro into making amigurumi because oof.
Like tbh it kind of screams 'we've got woobles at home' except by woobles at home, they mean found at the bottom of the bin, dusted off, and declared: 'eh, good enough'
As for bird species, i have a soft spot for eclectus parrots and magpies (both European and Australian)
I can absolutely see how this could put someone off amigurumi and that's kind of a shame.
Eclectus parrots are gorgeous!! And then there's the option of crocheting both the male and female versions 🤔
Looking forward to the remake!! Thanks for this video, very thorough and helpful!
Just stumbled in here. Is this the right place for addicts? Ah, yes, I see I’m in the right place. Subscribed. ❤
The bird was pretty cute. Took me a while but finally saw that the 2nd one was for an astronaut, which also looked pretty cute
My favourite birds are European Robins. But I think a Greenfinch or European Goldfinch always look striking in the garden. Love seeing them amongst the browns and blacks of the native birds.
I would have automatically assumed they worked the way you thought also!
Someone just recently told me that buying yarn from a grocery store like meijer isn’t buying yarn, it’s buying groceries- and I can’t argue with that…
A macaw would be so fun to see! Or the umbrella bird, or a kiwi!!
I wonder if you weighed the left over yarn? Maybe the excess is to be able to make multiple?
But also selling the _exact_ amount of yarn needed as per the patten would be so small that it wouldn't look "appealing" or the purchase price would be so small it wouldn't make sense to give it the shelf space in relation to other products?
The label says "make one or two" so i hope it should be enough 😅
I'll finish watching the vid in a moment, but, yeah, I've seen those things. A friend of mine gifted about 4 or 5 different ones to me for my birthday this year. Have I done anything with them yet? Nope. They are currently residing in my yarn storage boxes.
Birds? Cardinals, hawks, and Indigo Buntings.
I love the hummingbird ❤
I empathize so much, I’m only a newer crocheter but I bought a similar kit with small gauge and it’s torture to motivate myself to finish 😅
The concept of this kit has so much potential that unfortunately was not met
Backloop only decrease is supposed to be a less visible option but im not sure how it helps for that bird.
I re-twist the working yarn sometimes to make the strand tighter when yarn is really splitty. A couple spins between the fingers to re-establish the yarn twist for like 6 inches or a foot of yarn saves me frustration usually. (Don't go too overboard twisting or the yarn gets really compressed, and looks a lot different than the rest of your stitches.)
In my experience, dec BLO are used for rapid decreases so the gaps between rounds is minimized. This really is only in amigurumi, not hats or anything.
I have biceps tendinitis and my shoulder will tell me very strongly when I need to stop crafting (knit, sew, crochet). So I feel the frustration of a project taking longer.
I hate cheap splitty yarn 😑
Black cap chickadees are my favourite bird, but hawks, ospreys, and snowy owls are right up there for me too
I drafted a pattern that used a BLO section to add a patch of a different color, and the texture difference was interesting to play with before I finished the whole thing... I wonder if that's why those last body rows were BLO?
There's certainly interesting things you can do by working in the BLO, like the examples you give,. I'm just not sure that's what they were going for here given that the majority of the BL rounds are under the body and aren't visible. Plus from what I can see of the image on the label, they actually haven't worked in the BLO 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
@@SkeinSpider Yeah, it's disappointing that the picture didn't match the written pattern. Very frustrating!
The blo decreases is a beginner technique to hide the decreases. Like a faux invisible decrease. Not sure why not just teach the invisible but its came up a few times in crochet groups.
They have been around for years. The brand name changed at some stage. They used to come in a slightly thicker gauge at first also
We really need a Yarnaholics Anonymous! 😂 Of course, we'd probably spend all our meeting time enabling each other and working on our projects. 🤣
I’m a Norwegian crocheter and I found this video really interesting. I don’t think we have those kits here in Norway, but I could probably find it online 😊
Thank you SO very much for this video, and my gosh how timely?! Which kits *would* you suggest, and for which talent range, please?
To be honest, I'm probably not the best person to make kit recommendations as I've only ever used one previous to this video. There is a creator though, The Faded Wildflower Crochet or @Tfwcrochet who's done a bunch of kit reviews, you might have some luck if you try her channel.
About suggestions for birds: what about a big moth? (Yeah, I know, not a bird at all... but it got wings?)
I got a couple of these at a thrift store. I only did one and I actually really liked it. I don't have a lot of storage space so not having to buy a whole scane of yarn for one project and only having a little left over yarn was nice. I do agree about the quality tho. It split a lot, tho I dolike the look of a smaller yarn and hook size. I think mine was a different brand tho. I'm form the US so I think it was red heart or something
It's a "kit" with a gimmick. Instead of little skeins of yarn with the amounts you need in a bag they tied them together and wound it in a cake so you can see the colours. In your defense you, you are testing this out to share with us if it's worth while so totally forgivable to cave for yarn in this case. We thank you for your sacrifice. I will say I think the end result is pretty cute and I like the bird. Not enough to be worth going through all that torture or buying crummy yarn to get a confusing pattern though. I look forward to seeing your take on this concept.
I'm sorry that was such a frustrating experience for you. Honestly, I think the idea of having the kit like that isn't bad; you get enough yarn to make multiple, and I feel like having them cut apart makes them more beginner friendly. I've watched people really struggle with getting the all in one granny square yarn to line up- people who have been crocheting for years,
I think this kit only makes sense for people who want to get a feel for amigurumi, but don't want to commit to buying multiple skeins of yarn for their first project. It's just sad that it seems like a lot of the kits also go for the worst possible yarns, which makes them not beginner friendly at all.
The BLO Dec St does have a genuine purpose. Though in my 15 years of crocheting I've found it to be the poorest way to achieve it's purpose....
The reason for this is to reduce bulk within a Dec St to reduce the subtle bulking that a standard Dec St gives, especially in the final few rows of Dec where there are many Dec St close together. It does however exchange that subtle bulging with exposed FL, which I think just looks a bit sloppy.
There are a few ways to achieve the same desired result in a much cleaner way.
The easiest is to work FLO Dec St. Still not my favourite as it's cleaner, but the FL end up a bit loose.
Invisible Dec St will achieve the desired effect and as promised it's invisible in the finish project:
Insert hook FLO of first St, insert hook through FLO second st, YO, pull through 2, YO pull through 2.
I use invisible Dec St in all Ami patterns, regardless of what kind of Dec St the pattern calls for.
These kits were completely designed as a way to condense all the packaging and put out a cheap product with a novelty idea that appeals to individuals that have no idea how to crochet.
In a normal amigurumi kit, you have a nice book.with instructions, a hook, and several smallish balls of yarn and a bag of stuffing. This kit requires no special packaging with divisions. However, I could see this being a cute yarn cake for a baby blanket. Definately not worth the price 😂
I did buy a bumble bee one a few years ago because it was on clearence for $2.00
I used it to make a doll blanket for my daughter's raccoon stuffy❤
Gallah. Always enjoy gallah patterns. 😁
I was doing a crosstitch proyect, i stoped for the lack of yard provided! And I have it in a bag for more than 4 years! (Before quarantine) boring in quarantine I didn't wanted to do it, and now being at stay in home the same! 😂😂
If I remember correctly, I beleive that crocheting in the back loops only when crocheting should make the decreases less "bulky" for lack of a better term. So the decreases sit nicely and are a bit easier to crochet. I think i've seen someone decrease in the front loops only for a nearly invisible decrease.
Scissors I have as many as hooks. The color wheel amigurmi I have a few of these I bought a few years ago from Joann’s, but they are called amigurmi. I have a flamingo and not sure what else. Still haven’t made them yet, need to get on that.
"So any way I looked at the yarn.." XD Same.
Bird suggestion: Eastern Rosella!
The pattern writer is probably older. Back in the day, you usually crocheted in the back loop only when decreasing. It makes it get smaller faster. Easy enough to alter this. Looks like you did just fine without it.
I have a few of these but haven't used them yet. I also thought it was going to be that you kept working and the colors changed for you.
I would .ove to see a rooster
you could make a roseate spoonbill with similar colours!
Leigh, your go to response for making unnecessary purchases should always be, “I bought it for my channel.” 😂😂😂
The blo may have been to create texture on the bottom.
After zooming in on the label I don't see the texture on their picture of the bird that blo would create.....
I thought that might be what they were going for too at first but like you, I couldn't see any evidence of it on the label. Plus, it'd be kind of weird that the texture was only created on the bottom section and therefore hidden when the bird was sitting down 🤷♀️.
I don't know lol, I'm sticking with the 'it was a typo' theory.
I use this yarn to make lined notion pouches.
Pigeon! 🐦
The only store near me that sells yarn never gets any of these gimmick yarns. It's a small store that sells other stuff other than yarn, so it makes sense. I don't think I've even seen that brand either.
This whole time I thought it was a flamingo until I saw the end product lol. Though looking back I see the label does say parrot.
As a beginner myself I would've gotten very frustrated, also my favourite birds are kea, kiwi, takahe, galah, rosella and kookaburra
I was thinking the BLO was possibly for texture? Like the bottoms of feathers on birds? I feel like that would be lost on yarn this small though.
I can't believe yarn companies getting rich (or trying to) with unnecessary (IMHO) products like these. Not everybody has the same tension - even under similar circumstances. It really isn't THAT hard to join a new color the old way - a lot of these "products" are claiming to make crocheting easier, but that isn't so. Save your money for more yarn colors :)
you do have a good defense XD You bought it to see if it worked or not so you could tell us whether it is worth the money or not XD
..."so anyway... I went over to look at the yarn"... 🤣
Ouchies, I really felt your pain on this one >.< Was it fingering yarn? For the amount of detail they actually achieved, I don't know why they couldn't give you worsted weight and a 4mm hook, would take less than half the stitches but achieve pretty much the same outcome.
The color wheel you are using, reminds me of the Red Heart amigurumi wheel from about 4 years ago. Is it possible, it is a similar product?
I think the back loop thing might be for texture
First time seeing your channel. Do you have a pattern for the large blue creature on the right?
I'm not an ami maker but I have seen some maker's and they did front loop only while decreasing ??? Am i correct ?? So the blo is weird, but I like this video cuz I respect you and ur knowledge so I think I will never buy one of those cuz of splitty yarn , I don't think I wud of known that it is UK terminology lol great video 📷 !! Thank You for struggling on this for us our here , Thank You !! Oh btw blue jay bird !! Or colorful parrot 🐦🦜
Yeah, an invisible decrease is usually worked across the front loops only. Working in the back loops only for one round will give you a sharp 'corner', so that would've been understandable but it's very weird that the instructions said to do it for multiple rounds.
Dang I'm never this early. The yarn is so pretty buts it's sad you have to pick it apart. 🤣
The colours are really nice but unfortunately the poor quality ruins the prettiness lol.
IF (sadly that's a huge "if" in this case) the yarn was good quality and the pattern beginner friendly I could see a tiny niche for the puck of yarn: a gift to a beginner to see if they like crochet. Otherwise it's just more work
blo could be there to create different texture
"so anyway, I looked at the yarn" Yeah. That checks out. Maybe look at the scissors next time too, lol
But I hate that IMMEDIATELY upon beginning this pattern, you have given yourself half collapsed and very easily tangle-able hollow yarn rings. If I were to get one of these kits, I would have to wind up those loose rings into balls, otherwise, I would just get them tangled up, because never once in my life have a I finished an amigurumi in a single sitting. That stuff is gonna get thrown in a travel bag for 6-12 business weeks (or permanently).
But also, what's wild to me is that they had to TIE THESE DIFFERENT YARNS TOGETHER in order to make them into a single cake, only for you to cut them apart. Why not just sell them as separate balls? Is it just the eye-catching factor of the cake/wheel? because yarn cakes are "in" right now?
Like I genuinely don't understand what the POINT of this concept... I feel like a crafter was not involved in this project at all.
oh interesting. I've watched a lot of creators try to follow ai patterns and I've noticed an interesting trend is that a lot of them have random rows worked in backloops-only for... no real discernable reason. And a lot of them don't define their colors (like you talked about). Did it have specific instructions on how and where to attach the different pieces? A lot of AI patterns just say "attach to front" and little else; where as most amigurumi patterns I've done by people tell you to mark specific stitches or work in front/back loops and tell you in the pattern as you go "this is where you'll attach the arms later; mark this with a stitch marker" or later in the instructions "attach beak at row 7, between stitches 10 and 12" or something. a lot of ai patterns also have issues adding up their stitches at the end of a row and have stitches that are unaccounted for.
Was any of this present in this pattern? I would be so very disappointed to find that Ai has worked its way into retail fiber arts already. But it would not surprise me for big businesses to be jumping at any chance to make more money with less effort, especially preying on newer artists who don't know better. And it really disappointing that a project like this is aimed at beginners and may very well turn them away from the craft entirely. :C
edit: So i went looking for more reviews of this product and can't find any because the name (color wheel amigurumi) is so generic that all it get are references to the color spectrum wheel as "spin the wheel" amigurumi challenges. Only by typing in the brand did I find their ad for this product, but still not one other video.
Scarlet MaCaw please!
Giving a little benefit of doubt to the pattern, maybe the BLO section is a stylistic choice on the part of the designer? But yeah, I saw something similar (if not the same thing) at Ollie's (an American discount closeout store) a few years ago and wasn't interested enough to buy one. Glad I didn't!
I could understand if it was a typo to do back loops only as I know in amigurumi FLO decreases create "invisible" dec, bit BLO?? makes no sense
Why risk temptation? So i looked at the yarn...😅 sounds like my brain trying to be logical but glitch and it's too late got more yarn 😂❤
I thought the question at the beginning was going to be ‘have you seen …….my scissors’. But then you started talking about yarn.
Must just be me that always misplaces scissors. 🤦🏼♀️
Vindicated when you immediately wanted another pair of scissors.
😂😂😂😂
I don't think it is a kit, woobles come to mind for that. it's more of a color way, so you don't have to buy all the colors separately.
BLO is unfortunately common in amigurumi, it's an aesthetic choice mostly and I ignore it whenever possible
2 pairs? Only 2? I have 7 pairs of scissors.
I bought some of these when our lincraft closed like 5 years ago for $2 each. They’re still in the drawer. This justifies my decision to leave them there.
I looked at those little amigurumi "kits" in a Joann once and the "yarn" looked an awful lot like embroidery floss. If I want to struggle with my tiny yarn constantly splitting, I'll just buy embroidery floss - it's cheaper and you don't have to cut your colors apart. That was such a weird part to me. Why did they connect them in the first place if the first thing the pattern does is tell you to separate them, so stupid.
I will tack the other one lol
In the spirit of your t-shirt would you like us to pour some yarn on you? lol
😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄
Also when the instructions are confusing it takes away the joy of crochet
Yes Leigh those kits are crap. I bought like three of them before I tried it biggest mistake I made
Patterns with weird choices used to come from poorly skilled, underpaid designers, often badly translated through one or more languages. Honestly these days I’d suspect AI, if not for the full creation of the pattern then at least an edit of a pattern they copied from someone else and didn’t pay. The repetition of the working in back sounds like a robot thinking it’s copying a complete instruction repeatedly without realising that was only needed on the turning edge row. It would also explain the weird row numbering as AI won’t know the convention of a magic loop or whatever start as being row 1. It’s counting like a robot.