crochet

A is For Amigurumi

Karen

After a little while of not quite being sure what to blog about and feeling stuck in a rut, I had a think and decided to write an A-Z of crochet. It’s going to cover crochet techniques, stitches and other random facts and snippets. I’m hoping to write a post a day but for some posts I’ll have to make things to photograph so we’ll see how it pans out.

Amigurumi is basically a Japanese form of crocheting small (and cute!) stuffed toys. It’s pretty easy to pick up if you’ve got a basic knowledge of crochet stitches. Many of the patterns I’ve come across use double crochet (US single) which is one of the easiest stitches to make, and is often the the first stitch learned by beginners. Increasing and decreasing is also simple enough once you’ve got the hang of it and, unlike knitted toys, it is usually worked in the round so there are no seams to sew. (Nothing wrong with knitted toys, I’ve made a fair few of those in my time too!) Obviously you have to join the little pieces together at the end but I think that’s part of the fun. 

I’ve dabbled in Amigurumi a few times, today I whipped up this little fella using leftover yarn from a cardigan I made for Jess last year. This pattern from 1dogwoof is really easy to follow, it took me about 2.5 hours to make from start to finish. (He does have 8 tentacles, but he was feeling a little camera shy!)

One of my favourite Amigurumi pieces though is this golden crab.

Apologies for the rubbish photo, I made it for Christmas 2013 for my sister in law as a joke from Dave linking back to a legendary golden crab on one of their childhood holidays. I still don’t understand it! Anyway, the photo was never meant to make it to the Internet but I can’t take a more flattering one now. I do know there was a lot of laughter when she opened the present!

I had to make it in an evening as we had left our bag of Christmas shopping (containing a jigsaw puzzle featuring a golden crab they like to buy each other the most bizarre presents!) in the shop and it was too late to buy anything else. It was quite fun to make, though I remember the claws being tricky.  Unfortunately I can’t remember where I found the pattern. However, there are thousands (maybe even tens of thousands, or even more?) of Amigurumi patterns out there that are free, or at least very cheap. Pinterest is your friend here!

It’s amazing what you can make in a short time. It’s also great for using up yarn scraps as it is often made up of small pieces which can be made even using a couple of metres of yarn.The pieces you trim off after darning in the ends on larger projects are also perfect to save for stuffing tiny parts of Amigurumi.  

Have you ever tried Amigurumi? What did you make?  

37 thoughts on “A is For Amigurumi”

    1. The tiny pieces can be a bit fiddly but it is quick! I see every new challenge as a learning opportunity even if it doesn’t turn out perfect (I’m sure it will be perfect!) you’ll have learned something. What are you making? It’s good fun, I can almost guarantee you’ll get addicted. 😊

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      1. Ah thanks! It’s a character from my little boys favourite programme Bing. It’s definitely the least complicated one out of the two patterns. It’s for my son so he won’t mind if it’s a bit wonky! I wanted to challenge myself, and if it doesn’t work out then at least I gave it a try. Thank you! X

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  11. These are ADORABLE! One of my best friends gave me this amigurumi present a few years back. It’s apparently meant to be a sun, but it’s made of left-over lilac colored yarn. I’ve got the thing somewhere in my closet. It was the cutest thing, honestly. Haven’t tried my hands at Amigurumi just yet, but hopefully, someday.

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  16. I love amigurumi. I’m in the model of making a crochet owl pattern. It’s such a fun (and easy, I think) way to make great toys. I’ve made so many for my boys, their dresser is littered with them!
    Great post

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