What's more fun than buying a curated crochet amigurumi kit from an independent artist? Buying a curated crochet amigurumi kit from a local independent artist!
I'm excited to review the My Pet Kitty crochet amigurumi kit from Brooke's Yarn Barn, an Etsy store run by an artisan from Minnesota!
Admittedly, I am using 'local' a little loosely here since I'm counting anything in the state of Minnesota as local, but I've actually been surprised at the dearth of not only more locally-based fiber artist Etsy shops that sell crochet kits, but U.S. Etsy shops that do in general. It feels like most of the hand curated kits I've purchased have been from Europe.
The My Pet Kitty crochet kit from Brooke's Yarn Barn was $35.00, plus $7.64 shipping and $3.16 tax, for a total of $45.80, making it one of the more expensive kits I've purchased. However, this kit is so well put together and with such an eye for detail, that I think it's 100% worth it!
You get enough materials to create one kitty plush, and you can pick between the brown, grey, or orange cat. I went with grey since I like the softer look, but all three colors are cute. I was a bit hesitant to purchase this kit at first since the more folksy-look of the plush isn't my usual aesthetic, but I really wanted to support a Minnesotan artist and try a bunch of different kinds of kits. I am very happy I did purchase it, though, since the final product is super cute and very huggable!
My kit arrived in a cardboard box and was wrapped inside a plastic bag for protection. It was then wrapped in glittery tissue paper (this kind of tissue paper is really nostalgic for me; I remember getting gifts from my grandparents that were wrapped in it), and everything was safely stored in a super cure canvas drawstring bag.
At this point, I already knew this kit was more than worth the purchase price just due to the care and attention that was put into packaging it. I also got a really nice personalized thank you note!
This kit includes everything you need to create your pet kitty, except for scissors. It even includes a pattern printed on thick cardstock and tied together with a cute twine bow (as seen in the first photo).
All the yarn included is wound and wrapped in thematically appropriate (and cute!) paper wrappers. One plastic baggie includes scrap yarn in pink and thread in black wrapped around labelled plastic floss bobbins and two black 12mm plastic safety eyes, and another includes a metal yarn needle (yay!), some stitch markers, and a metal collar charm (the grey kitty comes with a paw print with a jewel). My favorite part, though, is that you get a brand new Clover Soft Touch crochet hook in size G/4.00mm!
I appreciated that the pattern lists what actual yarns you get, including brand and color, so if you wanted to make the other two colors on your own, it would be super easy. The yarn you get isn't super premium or anything (Red Heart and I Love This Yarn), but they work just fine.
You also get just enough stuffing to finish your kitty; I ended up using a little of my own stuffing stash to finish my plush, but I prefer a more firm plush and changed the pattern slightly, which likely affected how much I needed.
Here's my beautiful jellybean kitty! I made some minor changes (I changed the face slightly to make it sad and added whiskers, I embroidered the inside of the ears and added pads on the feet, and gave it a flatter bottom so it would sit better on its own), but overall I am very impressed with the pattern! It was extremely easy to follow, and the final product looks way more complicated than it actually is to make due to clever way the toes/fingers are done. The collar charm is the perfect finishing touch!
A unique aspect to this pattern that I especially liked is how the limbs are added; you attach them as you are crocheting the body instead of sewing them on at the end. This gives the plushie a seamless look and it is much more secure than sewing. It also makes it easier to attach the limbs to right place (I stress a lot about sewing my plushies together correctly because I'm a perfectionist...)!
Even with the changes I made, I had plenty of yarn left over (though I will say that I probably wouldn't have had enough light pink yarn for the nose, ears, and foot pads; I substituted my own yarn since I wanted all three to be the same, but you definitely have enough for the nose and could probably do the ear embroidery, too). The only material I would be cautious about is the stuffing as, like I said, I had just enough to finish my plushie, though it would have been a bit softer if I hadn't added my own.
Overall, this is such a great kit! Even though it is a little more expensive, it includes some great tools (A Clover crochet hook! A metal yarn needle!) and is extremely well-curated. It's very clear that a lot of thought and love went into this kit, and the plushie you can make is adorable!
I highly recommend checking out Brooke's Yarn Barn on Etsy for this kit (there's also a cow kit!) and other handmade crocheted goodies!
Thank you for reading! <3
Comments
Post a Comment