I think the process is more interesting than the result with this sweater: having only 4 balls of a worsted weight yarn in a speckled colourway added constraints that shaped what I ended up designing. Read on if you’d like to see my thought process, and how I adapted when things didn’t go as expected…

Design Decisions

1. Worsted weight yarn. Although Simply Soft is one of the thinnest of all the ‘worsted weight’ yarns I’ve tested and compared, I wasn’t sure how well any worsted weight would knit up on my mid-gauge machine. (To check this, I made a quick swatch on the machine, varying the tension every few inches until I found the settings that made a fabric I liked.)

2. Limited yarn quantity. Four balls of yarn is definitely on the low end for a sweater. I decided to design it with a fitted shape so I wouldn’t waste yarn on extra volume, and keep my fingers crossed that I’d have enough to complete the project!

3. Speckled yarn. Yarns that change colour can often look nicer in the ball (where the colours are all spread out nicely) than when they’re worked up (where the colours can pool or clump together strangely). But my bigger concern was that colour changes can also interact with a stitch pattern, so I hand-knitted a swatch with a few different ribbing options and decided that this yarn looks best in plain stockinette where the speckles are the main feature and don’t have to compete with any texture.

So that gave me the design constraints:

• Smooth stockinette fabric without ribbing at the collar and cuffs
• A fitted shape that still looks good in a chunkier yarn (so nothing too tightly fitted)

And, to stop the project from being too boring to make, and to give a tidy end result, I decided to build in some hidden features: folded hems, set-in sleeves, and interior waist shaping.

Problem 1: Knots!

I quickly discovered that this yarn was frustratingly full of knots where the yarn had been joined. I thought I might get away with ignoring them and kept knitting, hoping for the best. Once I realised that some of the knots were showing from the front (ugh!) I had to frog the whole thing and start again. I cut out all the knots as I re-wound the yarn, and made sure to change to a new ball at the end of a row as I re-knitted it, so all the extra yarn ends would end up along the side seams.

So much frogging! So many little balls to wind!

Problem 2: Bulky Hem

When I calculated the size for this sweater, I tried to leave plenty of ease so I can wear a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath, and I got that just right: the result is a smooth but not at all tight fit. But when I came to try it on: disaster!

The folded hem that looked so neat on the cuffs (you’ll see that in a later photo) looked overly bulky and flared around my hips. With the rest of the sweater being so fitted, that really wasn’t a good look, so I unravelled the entire hem from the bottom so I could hand-knit a new bottom edge.

Bottom stitches picked up and ready to hand-knit

I was still trying to keep the smooth look I’d envisioned for this sweater, so I found tutorials for several different folded hem methods and tried them all. But I didn’t like any of the results – I think the folded hem would have worked out much better with a finer yarn or a boxier, larger-fitting sweater – so I had to abandon the idea and try to think of a different bottom edging.

After a few more experiments, I figured out that a 3×1 rib with the purl columns twisted to keep them tight looks pretty good – it has enough ribbing to keep the bottom from curling up, but with narrow vertical lines breaking up the smooth fabric instead of a fully ribbed appearance.

The bulky folded hem on a cuff, and the subtle ribbing around the bottom

Finishing

I finished the very bottom edge with a narrow i-cord to match my neckline finish, which I intentionally left minimal for that smooth look I was going for. It’s not obvious that these are matching i-cords, but it made me feel a bit better to have some continuity, as I’ve ended up with three different edge treatments: folded hem cuffs, twisted rib bottom hem and i-cord neckline…

A 2-stitch applied i-cord to finish the neckline

With the i-cords finished, I just had many (many, many) ends to weave in! It’s so frustrating when yarn is full of knots from the factory, but I didn’t have the luxury of extra yarn, so I re-used all the small balls I’d made when I cut out the knots, and each new ball meant two extra yarn ends to weave in.

But finally, the sweater was complete! I’m happy with how it turned out: it fits very well thanks to the waist shaping, the speckles are nicely spaced, and, despite my unmatched edge treatments, I don’t think the design looks too chaotic. It’s a cozy addition to my wardrobe, and I’m feeling much more confident with designing and knitting with the machine now.

Reflections & What’s Next?

I did have some yarn leftover at the end, and if I were remaking this sweater I’d keep the shaping but add a little more all-over ease; I think that would be a better design choice, especially with a bulkier yarn like this. And I’m not going to do any more frogging(!), but if I did, I might change the cuffs to match the bottom edging.

One thing I’ve noticed about machine knitting: although it’s fast when you don’t make mistakes (and don’t add interior shaping by hand, which takes forever), I find the process of running the carriage back and forth to be quite tiring. It may be a knitting machine, but it’s a manual knitting machine – it’s still completely hand-powered!

I like having the option to knit plain parts more quickly, but I’ve missed the relaxation of forming stitches slowly by hand while I watch TV, so my next sweater will be the opposite of this one – a fine-gauge, completely hand-knitted pullover with a textured stitch pattern. It’s going to take a looong time to finish, and that’s just fine by me!

The post speckled machine-knit sweater appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

Ready to get started? You can find the pattern here: Axolotl amigurumi crochet pattern!

Axolotl Fun Facts

• Axolotls are a type of Mexican salamander that doesn’t go through metamorphosis like most amphibians (the way that tadpoles turn into frogs). They stay in ‘tadpole’ stage for their whole life, retaining their fins and external gills and never leaving the water.
• They live in freshwater lakes and eat any small insects, worms and snails they find.
• Axolotls have an amazing superpower: when injured, they can perfectly regenerate many parts of their bodies without any scarring! They can regrow limbs, tail, eyes, and even parts of their spine, heart and brain.
• Wild axolotls have a mottled dark brown colour, but captive-bred axolotls are found in many different colour morphs, including pink, gold, black, and glow-in-the-dark!

About the Design

My axolotl is roughly life-sized and realistically shaped, at about 9″ (23cm) long. It has a wide head, fins along the top of its body and underside of its tail, tiny pointed toes, and fanned-out gills on either side of its head that give it that unmistakable axolotl cuteness:

About the Pattern

As with my lizard and frog patterns, the realistic legs are wired with pipe cleaners, but the pattern also includes tips for omitting the pipe cleaners if you want your axolotl to be baby-safe.

The pattern includes stitch diagrams for the fins and gills in addition to the written instructions, so you can use whichever instructions work best for your learning style.

And, as always, close-up photos aid with every step of the assembly, so you can be confident you’ll be able to make a perfect axolotl too.

Get Creative with Yarn and Colour!

I pre-released this pattern for the Ravellenic Games CAL, so I can show you a range of projects made by Team PlanetJune. Look how cute this pattern is in a wide range of colours – I think they look adorable in any shade, realistic or fantastical!

Projects by Nethilia, Pawluh, Pandabugcreations, Klopferli, PsychoGryphon

And I made a double-size axolotl for the CAL (using blanket yarn and a K hook) – at almost 18″ long, this is a lovely size for a cuddly toy:

Goldy and Lucy with their big sister Lavender. (In case you’re wondering about the names, I loosely based all my axolotls’ colourings on real colour morphs: golden, leucistic, and lavender!)

If you’d like to try making an extra cuddly axolotl too, I used blanket yarn and a K/6.5mm hook for mine, and the tips from my Complete Guide to Giant Amigurumi. My secure magic ring tip is a game-changer for blanket yarn, which has an annoying tendency to snap when you try to pull your magic rings closed!

Ready to Crochet?

You can pick up the Axolotl pattern from my shop and start choosing colours for your own adorable axolotl!

Note: If you bought the CAL pre-release version, I’ve already emailed you with a notification, but you can download the final version of the pattern from your PlanetJune account now!

Or, if you’re not ready to buy just yet, add my Axolotl design to your queue or favourites on Ravelry, so you don’t forget about it:

I can’t wait to see our army of amigurumi axolotls continue to grow! Which colours will you choose for yours..?

The post Axolotl crochet pattern appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

I intentionally design my crochet patterns with clean, simple lines and structure, so they’re easy to follow and give a realistic, well-shaped result. But you can also use my patterns as a starting point to add your own details and modifications to more closely match a real-life animal.

Kendra does this incredibly well, and I thought you’d enjoy an insight into her journey. I’ll intersperse photos of some of her beautiful work (all based on PlanetJune patterns) together with their real-life counterparts, so you can admire her creations as you read. (Some of them are so realistic you may have to play spot the difference to tell the real pet from the crocheted version!)

UPDATE: Click each photo below to go straight to the pattern it was based on – some of the dogs will definitely surprise you!

Now, over to you, Kendra…

Kendra’s Story and Gallery

Hello, my name is Kendra, owner/creator of the Kendra’s Crafty Crafts amigurumi business.

I taught myself how to crochet as an adult, and I pretty much started with amigurumi. Animals have always been an inspiration to me with every craft I have tried, and crochet is the one that has stuck with me for the longest.

The first crochet animals I ever made were some (very unshapely) guinea pigs. Of course I had to keep practicing so that I could make them look like my own guinea pigs. I shared a picture in a guinea pig Facebook group, and that’s where I learned about Etsy.

After some time making generic guinea pigs, I finally got brave enough to try custom markings. After that, I wanted to expand my pattern collection and try different animals, and that’s when I discovered PlanetJune and all of June’s amazing patterns!

I have since made many of June’s patterns, and played around with different techniques of customizing them to look like people’s pets.

After a lot of research and searching and watching videos on the internet, and more than a little bit of trial and error, I have come up with a lot of different ways to make a crocheted animal look similar to photos of people’s pets.

(Almost all of the techniques I have discovered on my own are in June’s book: The Essential Guide to Amigurumi. Isn’t that convenient?)

Now, 7 years after first learning to crochet, I’ve moved on from Etsy and have my own website where I sell my crocheted animals.

I’ve made hundreds of pet memorials and pet look-alikes in that time, and every year they get better and better!

It’s so much fun to look back and see how much I’ve improved my skills, and that wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t get to make so many unique pets for all of my wonderful customers!

(Back to me, June, again!)

Isn’t Kendra’s work fantastic? I love to see the details she adds to each custom piece, to turn my patterns into true pet replicas.

Thank you so much, Kendra, for sharing your story with us today.

Please leave Kendra a comment if you’ve enjoyed this post!

Links

• How to customize: For guidance on how you can start to incorporate these techniques into your own work, Part 2 of The Essential Guide to Amigurumi is devoted to customizing amigurumi, whether you’re trying to add extra details, make a likeness of a specific person, or recreate your favourite pets in yarn!
• Dog patterns: Kendra’s dogs are all based on mix-and-match versions of various AmiDogs patterns. You can find all 24 AmiDogs crochet patterns in the shop. They’re available individually, or you can choose a value-priced custom set of any 3 breeds so you can mix-and-match pieces to better match your pup.
• Other pet patterns: You’ll also find the patterns Kendra used as the basis for all the other pets pictured here in the Pet Animals category of the PlanetJune shop

Do you have a PlanetJune Story you’d like to share? I’d love to hear it! Please email your story to june@planetjune.com, together with one or more high quality photos showing what you’ve made from PlanetJune patterns. If I choose your story to feature here on the blog, I’ll send you your choice of pattern from my shop to say thank you!

The post PlanetJune Stories: Kendra’s Custom Amigurumi Pets appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

It’s an Axolotl! The axolotl is one of the most fascinating and unusual creatures in the world, and adding a crocheted version to the PlanetJune menagerie is long overdue

This cutie has the Golden colour morph (yellow with orange gills), and before I can release the pattern I still have to make another one in the more common pinkish Leucistic colourway, and shoot the final cover photos.

I’ll be crocheting my next axolotl during the Ravellenic Games (a big knit-and-crochet-along that coincides with a certain global sporting event) which start tomorrow, February 6th.

And to make it all more fun, if you’d like to join Team PlanetJune for the games, I’ll give you exclusive access to buy a pre-release version of the Axolotl pattern so you can crochet along with me as I make my sample for the cover photos!

Early Access for Team PlanetJune

The pre-release pattern will be available in two stages, so you can get started crocheting the pieces while I edit the assembly instructions. It won’t be quite perfect – e.g. you’ll get my hand-drawn stitch diagrams instead of the final professional vectors – but that’s all part of the CAL fun. You’ll have everything you need to make your axolotl over the next 16 days, plus full access to me (as always) if you have any questions.

Ravellenic Games CAL Details

This CAL runs from Feb 6-22 and you can participate by making any PlanetJune pattern. (It doesn’t have to be an axolotl, if you have a different project in mind, or would like some encouragement to finish a languishing WIP!)

Please join us in the PlanetJune Discord and/or Ravelry groups – where I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have – or see the Team PlanetJune Gallery page for the full CAL instructions.

Can I Just Buy the Pattern Instead?

Of course! If you’d prefer to wait for the full pattern launch, the final Axolotl pattern should be ready in my shop around the end of Feb – check back here, or sign up for my monthly-ish newsletter if you’d like me to let you know when it’s ready.

And if you do grab the early access version for the CAL, you’ll automatically receive the full final pattern PDF when it launches too, so you won’t miss out on anything.

Let’s Go!

If you’re ready to join me with exclusive early access to the PlanetJune Axolotl pattern:

1. Pick up the pre-release pattern now and choose your yarn colours
2. Join Team PlanetJune on Ravelry or Discord
3. Start crocheting from Friday
4. Share your Axolotl pic in the Team PlanetJune gallery!

I can’t wait to see our adorable axolotl army forming over the next 16 days, and I hope you’ll join the fun!

The post Sneak Peek + Early Access: Axolotl Pattern appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

Over the 2-month CAL, we had a total of 85 completed projects split between the PJ Ravelry group and the PJ Discord group:

Don’t they all look wonderful?

• Rudolph’s Gingerbread House (home/décor projects) was the top stall this year, gathering half the entries thanks to lots of entries using my new Gingerbread Tree Ornaments pattern, and Susanna’s giant tree project.
• Santa’s Toy Shop (toys) came in second, with a nice selection of dinosaurs, cats, mice, and more.
• Prancer’s WIPs Wrapping (completing works in progress) rounded out the top 3 stalls, which I’m very happy about – I always hope this CAL will help to motivate people to pick any languishing WIPs back up and get them finished.

You can see all the projects, along with the full CAL statistics, in the Reindeer Games 2025 Gallery, which includes credits for all the participants and all the (virtual) medals they won for their achievements!

Join us next time!

The next Reindeer Games will start on November 1, 2026 (and I bet those ten months will fly by!) Look out for my announcement in October if you’d like to take part in the 2026 CAL (or sign up for my monthly newsletter now so I can send you a reminder).

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the 2025 Reindeer Games – all your projects are beautiful, and I hope it encouraged you to finish some older WIPs or inspired you to try a new-to-you pattern.

It’s always a joy to end each year with my online friends in the PlanetJune community, crocheting along with you, and I’m already looking forward to the 2026 games!

The post Reindeer Games 2025 roundup appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

2025 has been a year of invention in my patterns – almost all of them include new techniques that took much longer to figure out how to explain clearly than to come up with in the first place! That makes for slow going, but I’d much prefer to have a few fantastic new designs than a couple of dozen forgettable ones, and I’m pleased with my innovations this year:

The bestseller so far from my 2025 new releases is the Farmyard Sheep. With a new stitch I invented just to make that bouncy textured fleece, it’s been selling very well all year, and placed near the top of my bestsellers chart. New patterns usually take time to climb the chart, and my Loon also only just missed out on placing (coming in at number 11), so that’s a big win for me!

2025’s Top 10 PlanetJune patterns:

1. Temperature Snake
2. Tortoise & Simple-Shell Tortoise, Turtle & Terrapin
3. Farmyard Sheep
4. Baby Sea Turtle Applique & Hatchlings
5. Bearded Dragon
6. Turtle Beach Blanket (Teal Ombre version)
7. Polyhedral Balls & Gaming Dice
8. Beaver
9. Emperor Penguin
10. AmiCats Tuxedo

I also had two new tutorials this year (Crocheted Eyes for Amigurumi and How to Crochet Double-Size Amigurumi).

Business Report

Early in 2025, I had the wonderful opportunity to complete a certification in growth marketing from Growclass, funded by a government scholarship. The six-week intensive course was focused on providing helpful, delightful products to the right people – exactly what I’ve always aimed for with PlanetJune – and I learned so much from the experience.

Since I completed the course, I’ve been working on updates throughout the PlanetJune website, to improve the ways people can find, trust and buy from me. The biggest example of that is the PlanetJune project galleries you’ll now find on every pattern page in my shop.

This has been a huge success, with over 1600 photos submitted already! It’s so helpful to see projects made by other people when you’re deciding whether to buy a pattern, and I’m hoping that seeing real photos and reviews from genuine customers like you will show PJ newcomers that they can trust my patterns.

I’ve also added my You Can Do It! Guarantee to every page in the shop, so people can see they’ll be supported with clear instructions, helpful tutorials, and direct help as needed when they choose to buy from PlanetJune. My service hasn’t changed – I’ve always offered email support with every pattern purchase – but potential customers may not have realised that.

There are a couple of dozen smaller projects that I’ve completed so far; mostly things you wouldn’t notice unless I pointed them out, like now you’ll see a thumbnail image and text snippet for every result when you search the blog where previously it only showed the text. I have lots more plans, and I really enjoy the challenges of coding, so I’ll keep making these small changes to improve your experience!

The Changing Landscape…

2025 has been an interesting time to run an online business. Apart from the general state of the global economy, the trend that’s most affected me has been the rise of generative AI, especially as the early (and obviously fake) AI-generated photos have been replaced by far more sophisticated results.

You may have noticed that our crafty little corner of the internet is being flooded with fake or misleading crochet pattern listings, with convincing fake crochet photos, AI text in descriptions and social media posts, and even fake reviews on Etsy. I have no idea why a relatively low-priced niche like crochet patterns would be a target for scammers, but this is what’s happening, so it’s not hard to understand why shoppers are becoming more suspicious as the scams become less obvious and more compelling.

Etsy, Facebook etc are filled with fake crochet listings, posts, ads and photos, and it’s hard to find the gems and know who to trust among all that trash. My sales from these other platforms have dropped sharply in recent months, and I’m sure this is why. And, while I hope things will course-correct, I don’t think we can rely on that happening on these platforms…

At least I can guarantee that PlanetJune.com is clean and free from ads and AI junk (and that will never change!) so my direct sales haven’t been affected, and I hope they may even increase if shoppers desert Etsy and turn more to Ravelry or Google to find genuine high quality crochet patterns. And, on the plus side, I’m thrilled to have built a significant side-income from my books: The Essential Guide to Amigurumi and Everyday Crochet are selling well enough to give me a little safety net against horrible setbacks like this.

Personal Report

2025 was a year of backyard wonders: we were lucky enough to have our dove family return to their nesting platform (with our new upgraded camera to monitor them) and a robin family nesting in my honeysuckle where I could peek at the babies every day and watch them grow.

Of course I did some crafting – mostly knitting, crochet, cross stitch, diamond painting, and paper crafts:

…but my creative pastimes have been mostly edible this year. I ramped up my food growing, with over 75kg (165lb!) of organic vegetables (and fruit) grown in my garden, and ramped up my cooking skills to take advantage of all that delicious produce! From seeds to plants to harvest to food, the cycle has kept me happily occupied for most of the year.

It’s a joy to have a hobby that I have no intention of turning into a business (although it has saved us many hundred dollars in food costs!) and, while my skills are definitely improving from a few years ago when I couldn’t even keep a tomato plant alive, it’s exciting that I still have a lot to learn.

The garden is slowly turning into the combination wildlife haven and food farm I’ve been dreaming of, and if I don’t have the energy to go adventuring, I can still experience nature and peacefulness, and delicious edible treats, literally on my doorstep.

Looking Back

I can’t operate the way I used to – I don’t know if this is part of getting older, or a reaction against the fast pace of today’s always-on, always-online life, but I find myself wanting to be slow and calm and to appreciate the process of everything in my life.

I’m getting so much satisfaction from growing food and learning how to prepare delicious things from my garden produce. My attitude to food has completely changed through the process of learning how to grow vegetables, and I really appreciate the luxury of eating simple meals made from fresh, natural ingredients.

Last year, I said “In the end I’d much prefer to create a few richly detailed patterns, tutorials and blog posts in a year than hundreds of pieces of lightweight fluff… I’m looking for a simple, quiet, and valuable life” and by that measure I think I’ve succeeded with my goals this year! There’s always a part of me that wishes I had more energy, a faster working pace, and the capacity to bring more of my ideas into the world, but I remind myself that life should be about finding enjoyment every day.

It wouldn’t be possible for me to make the work I really want to make without the time and space for creative experimentation, and giving myself permission to keep going, no matter how long it takes to get it right. My process may be frustratingly slow, but it’s ultimately incredibly satisfying. Looking at my new designs this year, I see that I’ve added some truly original and innovative pieces to my body of work, and I think I should be proud of that.

Looking Forward

2026 will be my 20th year in business as a crochet designer – isn’t that astonishing? The world has changed so much since I started PlanetJune, and I’ve changed too, of course. But the one thing that hasn’t changed is how much I love being able to express my love of nature through my love of making, and translate the results into crochet patterns.

It’s such a privilege to have been able to earn my living by sharing my designs and techniques with you for almost two decades now, and, while I need to accept my limitations and keep to this slower pace from now on, I’m not done yet! I have countless pattern ideas that I haven’t made yet, and with so much beauty to be found in the natural world, I’ll never run out of inspiration.

2026 Wishes

Last year, I wished to be calm, wholesome, and honest; for a healthy, positive and good-hearted life, both in my pastimes and outlook.

Those still resonate strongly for me, but for the coming year I hope to find the quiet in the eye of the storm of the wider world. So my wishes for 2026 are for:

• peace amongst the noise
• appreciation of the small daily joys of life
• intention to concentrate on what matters most

I wish the same for you too, no matter what your goals for the coming year may be, and I hope 2026 brings you health, happiness, and a fresh chapter. Happy New Year!

The post 2025: year in review appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

If you’ve been following the Reindeer Games CAL, you’ll have seen Susanna (sujavo) crocheting up a storm, making ornament after ornament, and I absolutely had to show you the result of all her work. I was thrilled to hear that Susanna had been inspired by my own Giant Christmas Tree to make a giant PlanetJune tree of her own, and I’m sure you’ll agree that the result is spectacular!

Note: Looking for pattern links? You’ll find links to all the PJ patterns shown here at the end of this post!

Now, over to Susanna, to tell us all about this impressive project…

As someone who LOVES Christmas decorating, I’ve made many of June’s holiday patterns in the past for use in various wreaths and décor, including a giant tree using Christmas Trees Set 1, which measures about 20″ high (using June’s Complete Guide to Giant Amigurumi ebook.)

For 2025, I decided to go all out and make the biggest tree I could possibly manage using Christmas Trees Set 2, and fill it entirely with ornaments from PlanetJune. From June’s blog on making this project herself, I knew I’d need to figure out some internal support for the tree, so I decided to begin work on that back in January, and then decorate the tree at the end of the year for the PlanetJune Reindeer Games.

I don’t have the resources or skill to build a perfect structure, but I managed sufficiently with a foam cone wedged on top of a slightly cut-down tomato cage, so the completed tree stood about 44″ high – and then it went into storage until the 2025 Reindeer Games began in November!

I was a little anxious about finishing in time to enjoy it displayed for a little while before Christmas, but these patterns are so incredibly quick and fun to make, I fairly flew through them. Many of the Christmas Décor sets are very clever designs, yet very simple to execute. Once you complete the first one, you find yourself easily whipping out several poinsettias, holly and berries, or baubles while watching a holiday movie or Sunday football.

I used a total of 25 distinct patterns from PlanetJune in creating my tree, including the 8 Christmas Décor patterns and other multi-pattern sets. I made multiples of several of the patterns to fill out the tree – particularly the Christmas Baubles – and had fun choosing some singles that are not specifically ornament patterns but also work as one, like the PocketAmi Elf and Reindeer (the reindeer may be my favorite – he’s so adorable!)

The final ornament added was June’s latest pattern release, the Gingerbread Tree, and I topped off the tree with a Snow Star Ornament, using a bamboo skewer to anchor it in the foam support. There’s still room to add a few more ornaments if I choose to, and I may not be able to stop myself!

One of the best things about all of these patterns is their diversity of use: you can choose to make the more traditional pieces with warmer reds and greens and achieve a very classic, Victorian look; or you can lean more heavily on brighter colors and fun patterns for a cheerful modern style. Baubles in particular can be made in any number of color combinations. I chose sparkly yarn in a variety of colors for all but a handful of ornaments. Everything can also be sized up or down by using different yarn and hook sizes, like my mini bow in thread.

Being crafted entirely of yarn gives this tree a very warm, cozy feel, and adding fairy lights really gives it a nice glow from within all the soft yarn. For a little final element, I put the tree on top of a Lazy Susan so I can easily rotate it around to all sides. It makes me very happy to enjoy my beautiful tree, front and center among my Christmas décor!

(Back to me, June, again!)

Wow! Congratulations, Susanna – I’m honoured that you chose to make a completely PlanetJune tree, and I’m sure everyone will agree that you executed this ambitious project to perfection and your tree is absolutely beautiful. (And I love your tomato cage and Lazy Susan ideas too – so smart!)

Please leave Susanna a comment if you’ve enjoyed this post!

Pattern Links & References

Here are all the PlanetJune Christmas-themed crochet patterns Susanna used to decorate her tree. And there’s still time to join us for the 2025 Reindeer Games crochet-along, if you want to whip up a PJ ornament or three for this year’s tree!

If you’d like to make your own giant tree for next year:

• Christmas Trees Set 2 (the Narrow Tree option from this pattern makes the ideal giant tree!)
• The Complete Guide to Giant Amigurumi ebook has all the tips you’ll need to scale up a pattern to giant size
• My Giant Crocheted Christmas Tree post (see my original giant Christmas tree and read about how I made it)

Do you have a PlanetJune Story you’d like to share? I’d love to hear it! Please email your story to june@planetjune.com, together with one or more high quality photos showing what you’ve made from PlanetJune patterns. If I choose your story to feature here on the blog, I’ll send you your choice of pattern from my shop to say thank you!

The post PlanetJune Stories: Susanna’s Giant Crochet Christmas Tree appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

Chunky and flat, just like the edible cookie version, the Gingerbread Tree ornament is a perfect blank canvas for decorating with beads, embroidery, or whatever crafty ‘icing’ you like. Or make the Christmas Tree version in green or white with a brown trunk.

Both versions are crocheted amigurumi-style (in a continuous spiral) from only 10 yds of yarn with no sewing, so the pattern works up quickly with minimal finishing!

Then you have the fun of decorating your trees to match your style – you can leave them plain, copy my suggestions, or use your imagination to create all sorts of designs. Keep your embellishments in classic white, or match the colours to your seasonal décor – there are so many possibilities for these trees!

And my Gingerbread Family are happy to welcome the new trees into the gingerbread pattern collection!

As I like to reward people who chose to donate for my donationware patterns, the PDF version of the Gingerbread Tree & Christmas Tree Ornaments pattern includes a 2-page guide to all the embroidery and embellishments I used on my sample trees, additional info, and an appendix of left-handed photos. As always, the pattern is free for you to use, and you need only donate if you’d like to thank me for my time in creating it, or if you’d like the easy-to-print PDF version.

Go to the free Gingerbread Tree & Christmas Tree Ornaments crochet pattern >>

Or jump straight to donate:

Order the Gingerbread Tree & Christmas Tree Ornaments pattern >>

Not ready to make it yet? Add it to your Ravelry queue:

The post free crochet pattern: Gingerbread Tree & Christmas Tree Ornaments appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

Today’s PlanetJune Story comes from Paula Gross from Vancouver, WA, who took on the challenge of crocheting every project from my book, Everyday Crochet, by the end of last year’s Reindeer Games CAL.

I knew you’d love to hear this impressive story and see all Paula’s projects, so I’ll let her tell you all about it in her own words.

Over to you, Paula…

My Year of Everyday Crochet

During my first Reindeer Games in 2023, I bought a copy of Everyday Crochet for myself. The first project I made was a tiny version of the Flecked Scarf for a PlanetJune teddy bear I’d already made. I had previously only made June’s amigurumi patterns so that’s what I expected I’d be making during the games, but seeing all the different antlers and stalls made me want to branch out.

I ended up falling in love with the Flecked Scarf pattern. It worked up so quickly and looked much more complex than it actually was. I started to dream about various color combinations I could make for myself! I ended up making two of the full size Flecked Scarves during that Reindeer Games.

Looking back through the 2023 Reindeer Games Discord chat, I found a post from just after the games where I decided to spend 2024 making all the patterns from the book.

Initially I thought that meant just the patterns from the last chapter of the book, but someone else mentioned all of the practice projects in the book and all of the stitch patterns as well. Suddenly, the year of Everyday Crochet became much bigger! Since I tend to be a completionist and I love giving myself a year-end goal, I decided to go for it and make every project and stitch pattern in the whole book.

One of the biggest challenges for me was figuring out how to use all the stitch patterns in the book. I decided to make squares of each pattern and join them all together to make a pillow in colors matching the Rolling Waves Blanket. The pillow is one of the pieces I am the most proud of because it took a lot of time and I absolutely love how it turned out. The pillow and matching blanket have a place of honor on the arm chair in my reading nook.

I also had fun combining patterns, such as adding a spike stitch edge and a simple flower to the phone slipcover.

By the 2024 Reindeer Games, I had made quite a few of the patterns already. The Double Diagonals Shawl was one of the final patterns I made. I love how it turned out and it was a challenge for me using fingering weight yarn and figuring out the intricacies of the lace. I leveled up as a crocheter making that shawl.

Overall I cannot say enough good things about Everyday Crochet. I love all of the patterns. My favorites, that I will make again and again for myself and as gifts, are the Flecked Scarf, the Handy Baskets set and the Solid Stripes Bag.

I love learning new stitches and June’s ability to write patterns that are easy to follow but produce complex-looking finished pieces is really unmatched. This is now the book I recommend to absolutely anyone wanting to learn to crochet.

(Back to me, June, again!)

Isn’t that impressive?! I designed Everyday Crochet so you could work through it from start to finish, developing new crochet skills along the way, but Paula is one of only a few people I know of who’ve crocheted through the entire book, start to finish. It was so much fun seeing Paula’s projects popping up throughout last year’s Reindeer Games CAL, and we were all cheering her on to finish the final projects by the end of the year – what an achievement!

Thank you so much, Paula, for sharing your story with us today. It makes me so happy to see how much you’ve enjoyed my book

Please leave Paula a comment if you’ve enjoyed this post!

Links: Everyday Crochet and the Reindeer Games

• If you’d like to make some – or all – of these projects, you’ll find all the patterns in my book, Everyday Crochet, available on amazon and wherever good books are sold.
  Hint: This book makes a great Christmas present for beginner to intermediate crocheters, with hundreds of full-color photos and clear instructions for all the crochet stitches and techniques you’ll need.
• And if you’d like to join us for the 2025 Reindeer Games crochet-along, we’d love for you to crochet along with us as you make these or any other PlanetJune projects!

Do you have a PlanetJune Story you’d like to share? I’d love to hear it! Please email your story to june@planetjune.com, together with one or more high quality photos showing what you’ve made from PlanetJune patterns. If I choose your story to feature here on the blog, I’ll send you your choice of pattern from my shop to say thank you!

The post PlanetJune Stories: Paula’s Year of Everyday Crochet appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.

The Reindeer Games is PlanetJune’s annual end-of-year crochet-along and online community event. You can join by submitting photos of your PJ projects to the gallery, and chatting with us in the CAL threads on Discord and Ravelry.

I can’t wait to see the gallery of beautiful projects that will emerge as we head toward the end of the year – I hope you’ll join us!

Reindeer Games 2025 CAL

Crochet anything PlanetJune as part of the PlanetJune Reindeer Games 2025 (Friday, Nov 1 – Tuesday, Dec 31).

The idea of the games is to challenge yourself by starting and finishing crochet project(s) before the end of the year. It’s just for fun, like a CAL but you get to choose your projects – anything PlanetJune, including projects from my books – and earn virtual awards! Here’s last year’s gallery to give you an idea:

The Reindeer Games are always so much fun, whether you’re making one tiny decoration, trying to finish that WIP you’ve been neglecting, or crocheting a dozen holiday gifts – we’re a cozy group of crafty friends from all over the world, crocheting and chatting away. It’s all text chat, so you can pop in and catch up whenever you want.

If you’re looking for low-pressure online socializing with warm and friendly crocheters, you’ll find your people here, and we’d love to welcome you.

How to Join

1. Pick any PlanetJune pattern
2. Join us on Discord (#reindeer-games-2025 channel) or Ravelry (Reindeer Games 2025 thread)
3. Add your project photos to the Reindeer Games gallery

(We’re most active on Discord, but you can choose the platform that works best for you, or join us in both places!)

Visit the Reindeer Games site for full instructions, the list of stalls (categories) and antlers (bonus awards) you can win, the 2025 gallery and awards, plus archives from previous years.

Project Ideas

You can enter the Reindeer Games by making absolutely anything based on a PlanetJune pattern (or something from any of my books) – so you have hundreds of crochet patterns to choose from (including dozens of free options, if cashflow is tight).

Realistic animals, elegant accessories, unique toys, seasonal decor – there’s something for everyone…

Take a look at the PlanetJune shop for more pattern inspiration, or grab your copy of any of my books and pick a pattern.

More Cozy Fun

While we’re mostly here for the crochet and chat, we also have a couple of optional side quests in the Discord group:

This year, the talented Kimberly B. (PsychoGryphon) has created a Reindeer Games Village map for us, so we can finally see our village, with an added bonus game: she’s scattered PlanetJune references throughout the virtual world she built to create the map, so you can explore the photo albums for each area and see how many references to PJ patterns and Reindeer Games antlers you can find!

And we’re also having a different kind of CAL – a Christmas Cake-along! We use my traditional British recipe (with as many adaptations as you like) as the base for holiday fruitcakes: we’ll start our cakes in the next couple of weeks and let them mature before covering them in marzipan and icing (if you want) and decorating them for the holidays.

Some of our 2024 Christmas cakes – iced and sliced!

You can also share your own holiday tradition recipes for us to all try, so we can bake and enjoy together from anywhere in the world. It’s like a virtual cookie swap for our little community ♥

Join Us!

I do hope you’ll join us for the Reindeer Games 2025 – it’s going to be so much fun, and I can’t wait to see the project gallery start to fill up with our beautiful crocheted projects by the end of the year. Whether you’re trying to finish some WIPs, crocheting Christmas gifts, treating yourself to a new PlanetJune pattern, or just want some company as we head into the holidays, we’ll cheer you on as you work towards your crochet goals, and we’re ready to celebrate your successes with you!

The post join the Reindeer Games 2025 crochet-along! appeared first on PlanetJune Blog.