![\"Farmyard](\"\/blog\/images\/farmyard_sheep1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFarmyard Sheep<\/a> is a mix-and-match pattern that lets you choose the options you want, to make different types of rams, ewes and lambs:<\/p>\n You choose! Make any of my pictured options in any colour(s), or assemble your own custom sheep and lambs from the included options – it’s up to you.<\/p>\n This pattern has been a long<\/em> time coming – I’ve been adding to my notes with ideas for my sheep design since 2014 (that’s 11 years)! In that time I’ve tried several times to try to figure out how to make the fleece, but although my ideas all sounded promising on paper, none of them gave me a result I was happy with. <\/p>\n In the end, after a lot of experimentation, I developed my own crochet stitch to create a fleece that had specific properties I couldn’t find anywhere else: <\/p>\n I’ve called the end result the pip stitch<\/strong>, as it creates very<\/em> small bobbles on the surface without forming a loose or gappy fabric. But even that wasn’t the end of the story; I still needed to figure out how to use this stitch to create the sheep design of my dreams, and that took the best part of another year to get right!<\/p>\n My first prototype looked very realistic, but just didn’t have my trademark PlanetJune cuteness, so it was back to the drawing board until I could find my signature blend of cuteness and realism… and I’m thrilled with the result! I actually gasped aloud when I added the nose and saw that adorable little face looking back at me for the first time.<\/p>\n And I’m delighted to report that those impressively-curved horns are achieved without any wires. All you need is yarn, a crochet hook, and a little technique magic – you’re going to love how it works!<\/p>\n There is a magic in design… It doesn’t come easy for me – creating clear instructions is my natural forte, not imagination – but I keep going, trying different things and tweaking my prototypes until it all comes together and it suddenly becomes exactly what it was always supposed to be. Although I don’t know it until I see it, suddenly it’s completely obvious: how could a PlanetJune sheep look any way other than this?<\/p>\n From the end result, it looks simple and straightforward, but you can’t see the 90% of mistakes and failed attempts that form the hidden mass of my design icebergs. But the delight when it all comes together makes it all worthwhile – there’s no other feeling like this! <\/p>\n\n
![\"Farmyard](\"\/blog\/images\/farmyard_sheep3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Farmyard](\"\/blog\/images\/farmyard_sheep2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAbout the Design<\/h2>\n
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![\"Farmyard](\"\/blog\/images\/farmyard_sheep5.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Farmyard](\"\/blog\/images\/farmyard_sheep4.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Farmyard](\"\/blog\/images\/farmyard_sheep6.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDesign Reflections<\/h2>\n
Ready to Crochet?<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/api.ravelry.com\/badges\/projects?p=farmyard-sheep&t=.svg\")
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