PlanetJune Blog: Latest News, Patterns and Tutorials

A few weeks ago I was browsing the time-suck known as Pinterest and this caught my eye:

Faux wood grain polymer clay tutorial from art-rukodelie

I loved the wood-grain effect and it gave me an idea: I had a shawl that needed photographing, and I hadn’t played with my polymer clay for months, so it seemed like a good use of my time to see if I could make my own polymer clay shawl pin.

Now, in case you’re expecting a highly-skilled project from me, I should probably preface my results by saying that I like to use polymer clay in a similar way to how I crochet amigurumi: I combine shaped pieces into 3D sculptures. Patterned clay isn’t something I’m good with – you have to get the shape right immediately, because you lose the colour pattern if you try to do much reshaping or add/remove pieces. Okay, now onto my pin…

I made a ring shape from leftover scrap clay, and covered it with a sheet of faux wood clay that I made by (loosely) following the tutorial, which was written in Russian but you can easily get the gist of it from the photos. Here’s the result, on my Rippled Lace shawl:

I’m fairly pleased with how it turned out – it polished up nicely, although it doesn’t have the warmth and depth of real wood. I was a bit disappointed to see that the pattern I ended up with on my ring doesn’t really show any of the concentric ring grain alignment from the tutorial(!), but it’s still an interesting pattern and fairly realistic.

I had to scrap my original idea for the actual pin (I was planning to make it from clay-covered wire) as I couldn’t get the clay to form around the wire without completely smooshing my wood-grain pattern into a murky brown mess. So, before my clay veneer got too brittle to work with, I cut two more small disks from it and baked them at the same time as the main piece so I could try to figure out a solution for a matching pin later.

(I couldn’t wait any longer to release my shawl pattern, so I had to stage the photos without the aid of a shawl pin. So much for my justification for embarking on this project, but at least it’ll be ready for my next shawl design!)

In the end, I figured out what to do to make the pin: I found a single ivory-coloured knitting needle in a thrift shop that complemented the natural look of my ‘wood’ quite well. I cut the needle in half, then carved a groove into the back of each of my baked disks and sandwiched them together around the cut end of the needle with some more clay smoothed into the join. After baking, it made a secure and decorative pinhead, so the pin matches the ring.

I enjoyed making this, and it works exactly as I’d hoped it would – it holds my shawls securely in place without damaging them. Hopefully it’ll look photogenic enough to use in future pattern photography too – if not, I’ll just have to treat myself to a real one 😉

I think my handmade pin looks pretty good for a first attempt, but this project has reminded me why I prefer sculpting to patterning, and I think I’ll stick with what I’m good at for future clay projects. Hopefully I won’t wait so long before I play with the clay again… I wonder what I’ll be inspired to make next time!

Earn more with the PlanetJune Affiliate program

Did you know you can join the PlanetJune Affiliate program, and make 5% of the total of any orders that come when you refer people to my shop?

When I sent out the third-quarter payments to members, I noticed that some affiliates hadn’t reached the $2 minimum for payout, and a few hadn’t made any sales through their affiliate links. I want you to succeed – larger affiliate payments to you means more new customers for me, so we all win!

I’ve come up with some Top Earning Tips to help you earn more through the program. If you’re a new affiliate, or would like to earn more through the program, read on for my top 3 tips for success…

Go to PlanetJune Affiliates: Top Earning Tips >>

Review and Win contest

October’s ‘Review and Win’ winner is Brigitta W, with her review of the pattern that launched my PlanetJune business, Fuzzy Bear:

Just finished my first bear and it looks just like the pictures! (which is not always the case, lol) The pattern is written so well and was so easy to follow I completed the bear in only a couple of hours. As it was for a baby I used a soft baby yarn with very little fuzz. (I didn’t want alot of fuzz for the baby to suck on) Although the stiches could be seen it did not take away fron the cuteness of the bear. I also stictched on the eyes and nose with yarn (and thanks to Junes recent post on eye placement, went very smoothly) I did have a little trouble with attaching the pieces but nothing that caused a great problem and I figured out some tricks to help me the next time. This will be a pattern I will use again and again. I highly recomend it!

Congrats Brigitta – I’ll email you to find out which pattern you’d like as your prize 🙂

To be entered into this month’s draw for a free pattern of your choice, just write a review of any product in my shop – thank you!

New Donationware

With Christmas approaching, I wanted to make sure I had all my seasonal craft tutorials available as easy-to-print donationware for you. Now you can find all 5 Poinsettias (made with crochet, punchneedle, beaded, felt, and polymer clay) and my Pom-Pom Christmas Tree instructions available as PDFs in the shop for a minimum donation of $1 apiece:

You can easily find them all – and my other seasonal patterns – by searching for Christmas in my shop.

And my new Christmas crochet pattern is on its way too – all being well, I hope to launch it later this week…

Amigurumi Acorn was one of my first free patterns, from 2007. I created it before I came up with the idea of donationware patterns and I’ve been meaning to add it to my donationware library for a long time. I wanted to show that this popular pattern is far more versatile than just the cute smiley acorns I originally made, so I’ve made a second example set of acorns to showcase the more realistic look you can also easily achieve with this pattern:

Cute acorns and realistic acorns – both from the same pattern

To bring the pattern up to standard before adding it to my shop, I’ve revisited and updated the text, and reprocessed the photos to be brighter and clearer. If you’d like to donate for this sweet pattern, I’ve also included lots of additional bonus info in the PDF version:

• Eye positioning tips
• How to invisibly stitch the acorn to the cup
• An unwired (child-safe) twig pattern (you can see this on my realistic acorns, below)
• Suggestions for use, and bonus tips

My new realistic acorns have a child-safe wire-free twig (bonus pattern only in the PDF)

The improved Amigurumi Acorn pattern is perfect for an autumn wreath or other fall-themed decor; I hear that some people even have an autumn-themed Christmas tree! Although the worsted weight acorns are about 2″ tall, you can miniaturise the pattern with finer yarn or thread and a smaller hook and make adorable acorns that are closer to life-sized.

As always, the basic pattern is free for your use, but you’ll get the bonus tips if you choose to donate for the PDF version. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Go to Amigurumi Acorn crochet pattern >>

Today I have a new PlanetJune Accessories donationware pattern for you: the Frosty Windows Scarf. With a pretty but easy-to-memorise stitch pattern, you can work up this scarf in almost any yarn. Once you’ve crocheted a couple of repeats, you’ll fly through it – it’s a perfect pattern for handmade gifts or for stashbusting!

Work it in any weight yarn – although I’d recommend DK weight (#3 light) or heavier for a snuggly scarf – with an appropriately sized hook. As with all my accessory patterns, this pattern has both written instructions and stitch diagrams, and it also includes full instructions for increasing the length and width if you’d like to make a wrap or shawl version!

As always with my donationware, the Frosty Windows Scarf pattern is free for your use, but if you’d like to send me a donation towards it (completely optional), you’ll receive the nicely formatted and easy-to-print PDF version of the pattern as a thank you. As a bonus, the PDF also includes some additional exclusive info:

• Step by step photo tutorial for the ‘tr2tog over next 5 st’
• How to calculate how much fringe you’ll need
• Step by step photos for making and attaching the fringe

I hope you’ll enjoy crocheting this scarf for yourself, and maybe you’ll make a few extras as Christmas gifts for friends and family?

Go to Frosty Windows Scarf pattern >>

Crochet Along with us!

Please share photos of scarves you’ve made from this pattern in the Accessory-Along CAL in the PJ ravelry group. We’ll be crocheting accessories from now until the end of the year, so you have plenty of time to join in and make even the largest, most ambitious accessory projects – or maybe multiples of the faster ones to give as gifts…

You can find all these patterns in the PlanetJune Accessories section of my shop.

Please join us at the Accessory-Along thread in the PlanetJune Ravelry group if you’d like to crochet a Frosty Windows Scarf – or any other PlanetJune Accessories – along with us!

This extended 6-week CAL was a BotaniCAL including all my patterns that fit the botanic theme (flowers, plants, fruits etc):

For October, the Ravelry group have decided to have two CALs: the main Accessory-Along, and a bonus Halloween CAL. (If you’d like to take part in one – or both! – see the end of this post for more details.)

Continuing with my plan to make video tutorials for every essential amigurumi technique, here’s the latest one: the Ultimate Finish. This is the neatest way to fasten off and close the remaining hole when you’ve finished crocheting a piece of amigurumi. Together with the invisible decrease, you’ll be able to make the bottom of your amigurumi look almost as neat as the top, with a smooth, gap-free base.

(If you already know this technique, you can skip this video, if you like – there’s nothing extra that I didn’t show you in my original ultimate finish photo tutorial – it’s just another addition to my essential crochet tutorials video library.)

And now to the video tutorial (in right- and left-handed versions, of course):

Ultimate Finish for Amigurumi (right-handed)

Click to watch this video on YouTube.

Ultimate Finish for Amigurumi (left-handed)

Click to watch this video on YouTube.

Note: The videos may look a little small embedded in the blog: if so, you can fullscreen them or click through to YouTube to watch them full-sized 🙂

If you enjoy my crochet tutorial videos, please help to spread the word about them, and/or subscribe to the PlanetJune YouTube channel. And let me know if you have any requests for crochet techniques you’d like me to explain in a future video tutorial!

Loved this tutorial? I have so many more amigurumi tips and tricks to share with you!

Boost your amigurumi skills with my latest book, The Essential Guide to Amigurumi, your comprehensive guide to amigurumi techniques and tips.

Do you find my tutorials helpful? If so, please consider making a contribution towards my time so I can continue to create clear and concise tutorials for you:

Thank you so much for your support! Now click below for loads more crochet video and photo tutorials (and do let me know what else you’d like me to cover in future tutorials…)

With the Accessory-Along crochet-along about to begin on October 1st, this was perfect timing for me to launch my latest PlanetJune Accessories design, the Rippled Lace Rectangular Shawl. Two harmonising shades of yarn undulate together to create a beautiful gossamer-fine shawl with airy lightness and amazing drape.

The lace pattern has a 2-row repeat, so you’ll pick it up in no time and be able to enjoy crocheting without having to worry about a complicated pattern. The clever stitch pattern is worked continuously from 2 balls of yarn; there’s no fastening off between stripes, or lengths of stranded yarn to worry about hiding. You can even omit the edging and the shawl will still look good!

My lace patterns are designed to be worked with normal-sized hooks into the spaces between stitches, which means that, after the foundation row, there’s no hunting for those tiny fine loops to work into, and they are a pleasure to work.

As always, I include full instructions for modifying the size of the shawl in both length and width – you can make it as narrow as a scarf, or as wide as a blanket, and the length is only determined by how long you want it (and how much yarn you have available).

My shawl uses an entire 400m/50g skein of the main darker colour, and 86% of the contrast colour skein – you can see that it’s very long and a shorter version would still be ample for most people. I used a laceweight baby alpaca yarn (KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Foxtrot Heather and Iris Heather) which is surprisingly warm, even with such an open lacy design – I’m really going to enjoy wearing this!

The Rippled Lace Rectangular Shawl is a versatile pattern; here are a few modification suggestions to get you started:

• Use contrasting colours of yarn to punch up the ‘wow’ factor of the rippled stripe effect.
• Work the design in a heavier yarn (fingering weight/sock yarns would look lovely) to give a more substantial shawl with more warmth and coverage.
• Omit the edging, or edge with a third colour, and you’ll be able to make the most of your 2 skeins of yarn in the shawl body.
• For a faster project, make a narrower scarf-width version.

I hope you’ll enjoy this shawl as much as I do! You can buy the Rippled Lace Rectangular Shawl pattern individually from my shop, or buy it as part of a custom set of any three PlanetJune Accessories designs for a bargain price.

If you’re not quite ready to buy though, how about queuing it on ravelry so you don’t forget about it?

If you’d like to make this shawl, or any of my other accessory designs, I hope you’ll join us in the PlanetJune Ravelry group for the Accessories crochet-along. The CAL officially starts on October 1st, but if you can’t wait to get going, feel free to start crocheting early!

I finished my new PlanetJune Accessories shawl design in June. The pattern was ready, the stitch diagrams were ready, the blocked and beautiful sample was ready. Only one thing remained to do before I could publish it: the cover photos.

I don’t feel comfortable here walking around by myself in a dress, carrying a (relatively) expensive camera on a tripod, and posing for photos with my back to the camera while hoping nobody is walking off with it at that very moment. I always felt safe doing that in Canada, but here it just feels like a stupid risk, and so the months ticked by with no shawl pattern…

The only solution I could see was to give up on trying for beautiful scenery – after all, the main focus of my pattern cover photos should be the shawl, not the background – and take the photos in the safety and privacy of my garden. But our garden is a scrappy mess: we’re both very busy, and gardening isn’t a high priority for either of us. (Plus, the birds and butterflies and geckos and chameleons seem to be very happy with the garden’s current state. It’s not a mess: it’s a natural wildlife garden!)

One particular wall in the garden was the most promising candidate for photos – it’s tall, wide, interestingly textured… and a complete mess. Flaking paint in 2 or 3 colours, bare areas, lichens and general grime made for a horrible dirty-looking background – not exactly the look I want people to associate with my beautiful accessories! So I gave myself a weekend project to fix up this wall:

I scraped off all the loose paint and other bits with a wire brush, then scrubbed the entire wall with a bleach solution to get rid of the dirt and lichen. As there were areas with no paint or primer, I used an exterior primer to cover the whole surface (very slow going on such a heavily textured surface) and bring it up to bright white:

And then I rolled on a coat of custom-tinted exterior paint. I chose this shade of green because it’s a fairly natural, neutral colour. It should also be easy to tweak in post-processing to make it yellower, brighter green, or grey, so I can customize the backdrop for each photoshoot.

After the paint dried, I can see it has some thin areas where the colour looks paler, so it’ll need a second coat at some point. But this was a good enough finish to finally take my shawl photos – phew!

Now I’ll have plenty of photography opportunities with beautiful natural lighting in my new outdoor studio: a couple of hours of shade in the mornings before the sun peeks over the wall; late afternoons once the sun has hidden behind the mountain; plus any time the sky is cloudy-but-bright. And now I don’t need to travel to get my shots, I don’t need to worry that the weather will change while I’m en route!

This may seem like an expensive and time-consuming solution (the paint wasn’t cheap, and it took a long time to prep and prime the wall), but, given my circumstances, I think this photo-studio-in-the-garden makes a lot of sense. It isn’t perfect – of course I’d prefer beautiful scenic views to a blank wall – but at this stage I don’t have the time to hunt for locations or the energy to deal with the stress and worry involved in trying to set up and photograph there. My choices were to abandon my Accessories range simply because getting cover photos was proving too difficult, or go for a compromise. I love creating new Accessories designs, so being able to take the photos in my own garden is definitely the best solution for my current situation.

A little teaser for the new pattern…

I think it’s really important to try to make the best of things and accept that not everything can be exactly the way you’d like it to be in an ideal world. Moving to Cape Town required some major adjustments, in my personal life, of course, but also in my business life. I’ve been here for well over a year now and I’m still struggling with some aspects of maintaining PlanetJune from a different continent – for example, just acquiring worsted weight yarn for new amigurumi designs is no easy task – so anything I can do to simplify my life and my business practices is worth it. In the end, I know what my priorities are: I can compromise on my photo backgrounds, but not on my pattern quality – and I don’t think anyone could argue with that decision!

And now I’m relieved and delighted to finally be able to say: look out for a beautiful new PlanetJune Accessories pattern, launching tomorrow! 😀