Today we have breaking news that I’ve been chomping at the bit to share with you: Hobbii and I have teamed up for a brand new crochet-along, and this one is sure to stirrup some excitement! Welcome to The Herd CAL 🐴💕
In collaboration with Hobbii, I’ve designed the cutest amigurumi horse pattern for you, but with a twist – it’s a bag! This post will give you a rundown of everything you you need to know about the event, but you can find even more info at Hobbii. In The Herd crochet-along, we’re going to create a herd of handbags together, so saddle up and come along for the ride 🙂
If you’ve followed my patterns for a while, you probably know that I love designing animal bags. Making them is extremely fun because the project feels like amigurumi except you end up with a piece that’s functional and wearable. An amigurumi bag is an eye-catching conversation starter for sure, and wearing one shows your fun streak.
This particular pony is a full-sized handbag that will fit your phone, wallet, keys and extras inside. The finished bag measures approximately 30 cm long X 36 cm high X 11 cm wide. It has a cross-body, NON-STRETCH strap which you can crochet to your own custom length. A cute quirk of this pony’s design is her tail, which is actually a removable tassel that you can clip on and off. Personally, my imagination runs away with the idea of using the tail to double as a keychain, or accessorizing it further like a bag charm with beads or something. You can also adjust the length of your horse’s mane to your personal taste when you make it. In short, she is practical, playful, customizable and full of personality.
🧶WHAT SUPPLIES TO USE 🧶
I highly recommend using The Herd CAL kit from Hobbii. These kits were specially created for this event and contain exclusive accessories you won’t be able to get elsewhere.
Your kit includes all the yarn you need for the project, along with custom accessories, hardware, and helpful tools to give your bag a polished finish. My personal favourite has to be the adorable horse-shaped stitch markers. They’ve even been custom coloured to match the yarns we’re using.
I had the absolute best time putting these kits together with Hobbii, and I genuinely think you’re going to love them.
Using the official kit means you’ll have exactly the right yarns, colours, and accessories from the start, with no guesswork.
Stock is limited, so if you want one, don’t hesitate. Gallop over to grab yours now!
HOW DOES A CAL WORK?
In a CAL (crochet-along), all participants will crochet the same pattern over several weeks together as a group event. During the CAL, you’ll get a new part of the pattern from Hobbii each week to crochet. It’s important to sign up here to receive the pattern. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll conveniently receive the pattern parts when they come out, as well as news about the CAL. The pattern will be free for the duration of the CAL. Afterward the crochet-along ends, it will become a paid pattern.
WHEN DO WE START?
📅Now is the time to get your supplies ready and prepare for the fun ahead. We’ll be crocheting together from May through June:
- Part 1: May 7
- Part 2: May 14
- Part 3: May 21
- Part 4: May 28
- Part 5: June 4
- Part 6: June 11
HOW TO PREPARE
The pattern itself will guide you carefully though everything you need to know with written instructions, photos and videos. Thers’s also an option to brush up on skills before we start, if you’d like to: Leading up to the CAL, I’ll post special tips on my Instagram to help you prepare, so make sure you’re following along over there. I’ll share CAL-specific tutorials teaching the techniques that the pattern uses, so you’ll be able to practice your skills before we begin, and jump in with confidence when the pattern comes out in May. In the meanwhile, you can make a gauge swatch to test your tension, following the directions here.
💞WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN
Group projects like this one are a great way to connect and share with other crocheters like you. Via the Hobbii Make-Alongs Facebook group, Projectarian’s group or #TheHerdCAL, you can share WIPs, support each other and make new friends. This is also a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills and try something new in an environment with maximum support, and a sense of fun and community. You can even stand the chance to win a $100 giftcard from Hobbii by posting a picture of your finished bag and tagging @projectarian and @hobbii_yarn. We can’t wait to see them!
SKILL LEVEL
This project is for crocheters who are already familiar with basic stitches such as the single crochet, chain and slip stitch. Extra skills will be taught as we go. The project is rated as intermediate in difficulty, but just like all my other patterns, I wrote it with lower skill levels in mind to make it accessible to everyone who’d like to participate.
If you’re already confident with easy patterns and you’re up for learning new skills, I will teach you everything you need to know as we progress through the project. I’ll guide you meticulously through every step with a detailed PDF pattern containing loads of pictures, PLUS a full video demonstration of the entire pattern. In addition to this, you can get support at the Hobbii Make-Alongs Facebook group or my Projectarian community forum so you won’t get lost or stuck along the way.
✨ADD TO YOUR SKILL-SET
In this project I’ll teach you how to:
- Make an invisible colour-change that’s used when working in the round for the most seamless, jogless, crispy bands of colour.
- Work in the round and use a running stitch marker to keep track of your rounds and stitches.
- Recognize the right and wrong side of a stitch.
- Work into the front or back loops only, work into slip stitches, and to work into the sides of stitches.
THANK YOU TO HOBBII – AND TO YOU!
I previously had the honor of designing a reversible amigurumi for the Underwater Tails CAL in collaboration with Hobbii where we made Gumdrop and Juju – a whale shark that can flip inside out to become an axolotl. The CAL was a great success and so much fun. I am super grateful to everyone who participated, tickled to be back for another collab with Hobbii and so excited to have you along for this one.
Thanks for trotting by and I’ll see you again soon with more.
xxx
Jessie
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