A beginner’s guide to this adorable yarn art

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Amigurumi is the Japanese art of making crochet animals and toys. The word comes from the words “friend”, which means crocheted or knitted, and “nuigurumi”, which means doll or stuffed toy.

Amigurumi began in the 1950s in Japan, but became a worldwide hit with the popularity of Kawaii-branded products and the rise of Japanese anime, cosplay, and games.

The best thing about amigurumi is that you don’t need a lot of supplies. As long as you have yarn, a hook or knitting needle, and a fun pattern, you can make adorable amigurumi projects.

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Can beginners try Amigurumi?

If you’ve recently started learning to crochet or knit, you’re probably wondering if you still have the skills to make amigurumi. Even beginners can create a range of amazing patterns with just a few stitches, like slip stitch and single crochet.

Although you can make amigurumi with knitting techniques, most people use crochet to create these adorable creatures.

The trick is to choose the right model for a beginner. Usually, you can find amigurumi patterns online that come with simple tutorials that are great for teaching you the basics and understanding how to create miniature toys.

When you see the finished amigurumi toy, it can seem daunting trying to pick up your crochet hook and make it yourself. But believe me, with the right tools, you can learn it in no time!

What you need to start your project

The first thing you need to pick up is a beginner’s amigurumi book with simple, small patterns. You don’t want to start with a gigantic, complex teddy lion/bear if you’ve never tried amigurumi before.

Large models can take a long time to complete, so you need to consider the time commitment and learn how to read the models. There are books that have designs ranging from food to magical unicorns and animals, so you’re not limited.

You can easily find something that matches your personality and create a fun new crochet toy!

Ideally, you want to start with a ball-shaped amigurumi and work on adding different components like arms, faces, and legs. Things like fruits and vegetables are perfect. Once you’ve mastered the basic shape, you can move on to more complicated designs.

1. Thread

The right thread is essential for making tight, neat stitches, so you need to think carefully when choosing which type to use. One of the most popular yarn sizes for amigurumi is three (also called DK or light weight) because it’s easy to work with and generally affordable.

But, if you want to make a stuffed animal for a child, you might want to use super chunky yarns or cotton blends with a softer feel. A heavier yarn weight will mean a softer, more cartoonish design, and a soft yarn will be much nicer to hug.

You should also be aware of colors when selecting your amigurumi yarn. Look at your pattern requirements and how much you need of each color. Most patterns will give you the exact amount and weight of yarn for each section.

Requirements are usually listed as “one bale”, “one skein”, or length in yards. Make sure you buy the right amount all at once, because if you run out and have to go back to the store, you might get a different dye lot and the colors won’t match.

2. Decorative details

You’ll also need decorative details for your amigurumi, such as eyes and embroidery floss to make mouths, noses, clothes, or nails. These elements are necessary to give your toy the appearance of an animal or a character.

You can sew these details or you can use felt and a glue gun.

Felt is more versatile and you can easily change the design by replacing the piece of felt. For example, you can use soft felt to make big eyes that take up half the face or add a cuddly belly to your teddy bear.

If you want to add more detail, you will also need embroidery floss and fabric. As a beginner, you don’t have to worry about learning to sew or having a sewing machine. But it is important that you understand how to do basic stitches by hand:

At a minimum, some hand sewing is required to close the opening at the bottom of your amigurumi. Otherwise, your lovely toy will have a big hole in the bottom and the plastic stuffing will fall out of it. But you can also sew the details by hand.

Another option for decorating your amigurumi is to embroider details like flowers, hearts, or names onto the toy. To embroider, you will need a thread and a needle. You can quickly learn how to embroider online as there are many tutorials that give you techniques for making embellishments.

If you want something simple, you can buy a bunch of colorful buttons in the shape of butterflies, hearts, and other designs and sew them onto your project. Buttons look great on teddy bears or stuffed animals when you use them as eyes.

There are no set rules for decorating your amigurumi, so get creative and try new styles!

3. Stitch markers and hooks

You cannot forget your stitch markers when making amigurumi. These are essential for counting your rows and making sure you don’t miss any steps.

It’s easy to forget a stitch when you’re just starting out, so buy yourself a pack of stitch markers.

It’s a good idea to keep a jar or bag of these near your crochet corner, as you can grab one each time you start a new section. If you want to recycle your yarn, you can use leftover yarn strands as stitch markers.

It’s a great way to use up your yarn stash and avoid buying new stitch markers.

The next thing to organize is your hooks. This is the tricky part of amigurumi that can make or break your final design. Beginner amigurumi makers don’t always realize that the hook suggested on a yarn tag is not the correct hook to make toys.

To keep it simple, you should always use a hook size a few sizes smaller than the size recommended on the yarn label. Most yarn companies sell yarn for making garments and blankets, and they recommend larger hook sizes for these projects.

Amigurumi requires small, tight stitches, so you can’t use a big hook that will leave gaps. Larger hooks are great for making clothes or decorative home items, but they won’t work for your amigurumi projects.

Ideally, you should use anything G-6 and below when making amigurumi. Some people use the smaller size to create intricate miniature designs with lots of detail. It’s yours.

4. Toy stuffing

The last thing you’ll need before tackling your first amigurumi project is stuffing. You can find great stuffing bags online, but you can also recycle the materials at home or use up leftover yarn.

Depending on how many projects you plan to do, you’ll need to work out an estimate and gather enough stuffing. If you want to try amigurumi but aren’t sure you want to make a big investment, you can always use toilet paper.

Just be aware that it will compress and break down quickly.

Tips for making amigurumi

Now that we’ve covered the basic stitch requirements and the items you’ll need to get started, there are a few more tips to note as a beginner amigurmi maker.

Creating a magic circle is the hardest part of amigurumi because you have to get the right stitches in the right places at first or your toy will be unbalanced and messy when you’re done. Practice making magic circles until you feel comfortable with the technique.

Once you master the “magic circle”, you can feel confident to tackle different patterns and design your own without a tutorial.

Always count your rows as you crochet! It can be tiring to count each row as you crochet, but it’s worth it when you don’t need to frog your entire project because counting is off. Frogging means undoing your stitches, and you want to avoid that!

You need to be careful with your stuffing because it’s easy to put too much stuffing in your toy. This can stretch the stitches and push the filling through the holes. The best way to control stuffing is to fill in the center but stop as soon as you start to see the stitches getting bigger.

It may take some time to figure out what works best and what you prefer for your amigurumi style. In the meantime, enjoy discovering the world of amigurumi and all the kindness!

Remember to use a smaller hook, keep your stitch markers close, and practice as much as possible.

Now grab a beginner’s stitch, or an entire book, along with your supplies, and get started!

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