{"id":15175,"date":"2015-06-19T10:07:43","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T14:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/?p=15175"},"modified":"2015-06-19T10:07:43","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T14:07:43","slug":"summer-of-dinosaurs-cal-tutorials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/summer-of-dinosaurs-cal-tutorials\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer of Dinosaurs CAL: Tutorials"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re only 1\u00a0week into the Summer of Dinosaurs crochet-along<\/a>, and the PlanetJune Ravelry group is already teeming\u00a0with dinos. Just look…<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nRawr! <\/em><\/p>\n

It’s a thrill\u00a0to see new\u00a0unique colourful dinosaurs popping up every day, and to have lots of new participants joining our regular band of CALers! There are 6 more weeks to go, so that’s plenty of time for even a complete beginner to crochet\u00a0a dinosaur to join our virtual herd…<\/p>\n

If you’re tempted to join the CAL but you’re new to amigurumi, or haven’t made a PlanetJune pattern before, this is a great opportunity to have a go.\u00a0Even if you’ve been crocheting for years, amigurumi (and my patterns in particular) use a specific set of techniques that you may not be familiar with.<\/p>\n

\"PlanetJune<\/p>\n

For your first dinosaur (or even your first amigurumi!) I recommend you choose the Brachiosaurus<\/a> (who’s\u00a0also our CAL mascot,\u00a0pictured above left), as it has simple shaping, only a few pieces to stitch together, and an undeniably cute result.<\/p>\n

I have a comprehensive range of amigurumi tutorials at www.planetjune.com\/help<\/a>, but you’ll only need a few of them for this CAL.\u00a0To set you on the track to success, let’s take a look at the tutorials for making the best-looking dinosaurs…<\/p>\n

\n

The Essential Tutorials<\/h2>\n

To make beautiful amigurumi with no lumps, bumps or holes, all you need are these 4 absolutely essential techniques:<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Magic Ring for Crochet<\/strong>
\nStart crocheting in the round with no hole in the middle.
\n\"video<\/a>\"photo<\/a>\"photo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Invisible Decrease for Amigurumi<\/strong>
\nDecrease without leaving any bumps or gaps.
\n\"video<\/a>\"photo<\/a>\"photo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ultimate Finish for Amigurumi<\/strong>
\nClose up the remaining hole neatly with a smooth, gap-free finish.
\n\"video<\/a>\"photo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Amigurumi Seamless Join<\/strong>
\nCreate a smooth, almost invisible join when you stitch an open-ended piece to a closed piece.
\n\"video<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Bonus Tips for Dinosaurs<\/h2>\n

For those dinos with horns, spikes, plates, wings and flippers, these tutorials have you covered:<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Flattened Pieces<\/strong>
\nWhat does it mean when a pattern says to flatten a piece of an amigurumi after crocheting?
\n\"photo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Narrow Pointed Tubes for Amigurumi<\/strong>
\nMy tips for making thin pointy bits on amigurumi, such as spikes, legs, horns and tails.
\n\"video<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Basic Techniques and Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n

If you’re new to amigurumi-making or find your stitches don’t quite look right, try these tutorials (or see my Amigurumi Troubleshooter<\/a> for further assistance):<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Which is the ‘Right’ Side?<\/strong>
\nWhich side of your work should face outwards? (And does it matter?)
\n\"video<\/a>\"photo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Front, Back, Both Loops<\/strong>
\nWhich loop(s) should you work into to make a crochet stitch?
\n\"video<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yarn Over<\/strong>
\nHow exactly should you wrap the yarn over your hook for crochet?
\n\"video<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

And if you still have any questions, that’s what the PlanetJune community is here for: we have\u00a0lots of friendly crocheters in the PlanetJune Ravelry group<\/a> who understand\u00a0exactly what you’re going through, and are waiting to offer any help and advice you need. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\n

\"PlanetJune<\/p>\n

I hope this post has tempted you to\u00a0join the dino fun<\/a> this summer (and, don’t forget you may win a great prize too, thanks to our\u00a0CAL sponsor, Lion Brand!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re only 1\u00a0week into the Summer of Dinosaurs crochet-along, and the PlanetJune Ravelry group is already teeming\u00a0with dinos. Just look… Rawr! It’s a thrill\u00a0to see new\u00a0unique colourful dinosaurs popping up every day, and to have lots of new participants joining our regular band of CALers! There are 6 more weeks to go, so that’s plenty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[33,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cal-roundups","category-crochet"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}