When I started this blog, I wrote an article with four amis among my firsts in order to show you examples of what one shouldn’t do. ^^ And, one day, a friend of mine came by my place and saw Toothless…He kept on congratulate me about it while I was shameful because of the big holes between his stitches and his inside out ears. That’s how I’ve decided to make a new one, to see what I was able to do with more experience. Quite happy with the result, I then made a new version for the 3 others too ! 

Ready for the before/after pictures?

1. Lil’ Jawa (Star Wars)

Designer : Lucyravenscar (the patterns doesn’t seem to be available anymore at the moment)

Price : 3,50$

Before/after: As I told you in the previous article, I used different type of yarn to make the first Jawa, which was causing proportions issues. This time, he is all made in Drops Safran. Still, his hoodie was too tight and I had to add some stitches. You can also see that my old Jawa’s arms are crocheted on the wrong side, which is now fixed ! 

2. Sackboy (Little big planet)

Designer : Nerdigurumi

Price : free 

Before/after: First, I would like to draw your attention on the embroidered mouth. It could have been the perfect example to illustrate my How to embroider your amigurumi details article : Don’t use regular yarn to embroider details ! It’s way to thick. Look at how cuter the other mouth made with embroidery thread is ! Neither did I know how to attach my thread to the back, so I’ve sewn the eyes just like I would have with buttons, that’s why they pop out of the head like this. 
Now, to the biggest issue : the arms. At the time, I did crochet them on the wrong side, which made them too bulky. So, this time, I made them on the right side…But it wasn’t much better ! I looked back at the original model picture, and noticed that the arms were indeed a bit big. That’s why I’ve decided to make them much thinner (as you can see on the right) : 

 

Isn’t he cuter like this ?

 

3. Toothless (How to train your dragon 1 and 2)

 

Designer : Sarselgurumi

Price : Free 

Before/after : Still that wrong side issue with the ears ! That’s why they don’t bend well. But, that wasn’t the biggest problem with Toothless… The real problem are on one hand those big holes on his belly where you can see the stuffing showing through, and, on the other hand those way too soft legs ! And that’s all an issue of stuffing : I’ve learned that the right amount is between too much and not enough :D 

4. Scrat (Ice Age)

Designer : Greatgreycrochet

Price : Free

Before/after : My old Scrat was entirely crocheted on the wrong side…I have to admit it’s not THAT ugly, but I really like the right side better ! In the beginner mistakes article, I also talked about the badly attached security nose… Well, this issue is still one, I really tried my best at pushing the washer…unsuccessfully !
This time, I also made him a fluffy tail by using Drops Vienna ! I love the way it looks but it’s very difficult to crochet as the “hair” hide the stitches. I wouldn’t have been able to make it at the time of the first Scrat.
Finally, I also made him a new acorn as I found the old one a bit simple. Maybe does it hide something by the way…To be continued ;)

 

As I was under way, I also decided to come back on one of my oldest pattern available on Etsy : José Jalapeno…on a stick !

At that time, the head was crocheted and the details were made out of felt (left). This time, I add a 100% crocheted version, with still loads of pictures and step by step instructions for assembling all the parts. 

I also left the possibility to make the felt details version as it’s way easier for beginners to make as it doesn’t call for a lot of sewing. 

 

If you are interested by this pattern, it’s available in my Etsy shop here, in English and French (3.20€ / approx : 3.7$)

 

I hope you enjoyed this before/after ! It’s said that one need 10 000 hours to master a field…So there’s still more to be done :)