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Crocheted Animals or AMIGURUMI

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Amigurumi Crochet animals, dolls and inanimate objects

I love all things cute and funky. Amigurumi, pronounced (ah-mee-goo-roo-mee) is a Japanese word made up of: nuigurumi which means stuffed doll, and Ami: which means crocheted or knitted. At first I just thought the cute pictures and patterns were little animals, little did I know that there was a word, let alone a whole "movement" around Amigurumi. Join with me as we explore the world of cute, crazy, funky little crocheted animals.

Everyone wants to be cute!

Don't you?

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TODAY'S TO-DOS

BUY MORE YARN
FIND MORE PATTERNS
SEARCH AMAZON FOR NEW BOOKS
BUY SAFETY EYES
GET NEW EMBROIDERY THREAD
MIGHT AS WELL GET NEW EMBROIDERY NEEDLES TOO
UPDATE SQUIDOO PAGES WITH NEW LINKS

MAYBE TOMORROW I'LL FIND TIME TO CROCHET ;p

AMIGURUMI ME

Say no to the 80's crochet look

My foray back into the world of chrochet left me in need of a good reference book, since the woman who originally taught me to crochet (Aunt Doris) passed on many moons ago. So I visited my local Barnes & Noble looking for books that would both teach me the nitty gritty of technique and provide me with modern, cool patterns that I actually would want to crochet. I don't know about you, but I wonder who still buys the books with the sweaters from the 80's. They're still in the store, I've seen them. The models look like half the girls in my senior class with the big mall bangs and blue eyeshadow. But I digress...so there I am in the all too tiny crochet section in the back of Barnes & Nobel and I find the holy grail of crochet-Stitch & Bitch with the Happy Hooker.

Happy Hooking

Luckily a lot of the technique was still in my brain from my childhood. It's like that whole riding a bike thing. The first pattern I made and followed was the one skein scarf. It was nice. It was my first every completed project. But I wanted bigger and better. So, I made a hat. I was very excited about the hat with ear flaps. That started my passion for crochet hats. But, that's for another lens. Then I happened upon the pattern for the "bedfellows" and I thought, well this looks a little harder, there's some finishing involved, poly fiberfill, plastic eyes, stitch markers...I never had to deal with those when I learned to crochet granny squares, you know what I mean? But the little darlings were just so cute that I had to give it a try. There was no mention of the word "amigurumi" in the book, so I had no idea there was a whole movement around the art of it. I just thought they were super cute!

Is that...an onion?

Well, I have to admit that I tried to make the bear and since I didn't know what stitch markers were, I didn't use them. My bear's head had a cone shaped nose on it that made the head look more like an onion or scallion or something. And his body just ended up looking like a capsule of tylenol. I ditched my project, but not the search for cuteness like this. I had to learn more. I had to learn how.

crochet...animal...cute

The next day at work, during lunch of course, I Googled "crochet animal cute" and from that point on it was all over but the oohing and ahhing. Flickr, etsy, ebay, Amazon...everyone knew about these little cute things but me. I was appalled at myself for not knowing about them sooner. Don't let this happen to you! Get in the know NOW. Learn how to make your own little amigurumi friend to keep or to gift. And if you don't really want to make them for yourself, I'll show you where you can but the best of the best amigurumi friends.

Sit back, scroll down and get ready to learn!

Just a taste to get you inspired

Let your imagination run wild. With these critters of cuteness, you can't go wrong.

It's like the Tootsie Roll commercial..."Whatever it is I think I see, becomes amigurumi fodder for me" I've even seen an amigurumi toilet paper and a little poop. Slap some sweet little eyes and a smile on it and people will ooh and ahh. Okay, maybe the poop was over the top. But I think it's cute in an Unruly way.
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Gather your supplies


  1. An idea, a sketch, a thought

  2. Yarn to match your idea - fuzzy yellow yarn for a duckie, black cotton for a cat, you get the idea

  3. Crochet hooks to fit your selected yarn. I like to err on the smaller side so there aren't big holes in the finished product that show your stuffing.

  4. Poly Fiberfill

  5. plastic safety eyes, or you can embroider the eyes on with a needle and embroidery floss

  6. yarn needle to join together your appendages (sounds gross, but it's not)

  7. Stitch marker-I use a plastic coated paper clip

Step 1: Start with a Magical Ring

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

This lovely lady will walk you through the best magic ring tutorial I've seen on YouTube EVER!
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Step 2: It always starts with balls

Sounds dirty, but it's not.

A lot of the cute little amigurumi animals and such you see out there are made up of a round head that is generally proportionally large compared to the body. The body is generally just an elongated ball. That is, a sphere of yarny goodness with a few extra straight DC in each DC rounds thrown into the middle to draw it's length out so it resembles a capsule type shape.
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Step 3: You may want to add arms and legs

Or, you may not. But at least now you'll know how.

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Step 4: Ears really make a difference

These are too cute for words

This should just give you an idea of how creative you can get with your shapes in crochet, Anything is possible if you know the few simple ideas behind the stitches.
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Step 5: It's Hip to be Square (or rectangular)

I've never done it...yet...but maybe you want a square Amigurumi creature, now you'll know how to make one

I think this would be helpful to make a home for your little creatures. A brick house for 3 little amigurumi pigs, a little red barn for an amigurumi chicken, You get the idea...the juices are flowing for you now, right?

This tutorial is in two parts. The first part shows how to increase your shape and form it into a square shape. Once you get the size you want, you just keep adding SC on top of the previous SC to build your height. The second video below shows how to reign it back in once you reach your desired height. The decreasing is the hardest part for me, but this nice lady makes it look so simple I'm sure you'll catch on.
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Part 5b: Bringing home the crocheted cube

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Step 6: Putting it all together

Join those totally tubular arms and legs

Before seeing this video I didn't know a whip stitch from a straight stitch. Now, I'm an expert.
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Me and Mr. Funky 

Let's see if you can top this!

What could be better than Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful

This wasn't the first book I saw on Amigurumi, but it's the one I bought with my hard earned money. I just love Narumi Ogawa's style and the funky layout of the book and the personality in her creatures. So, there. Top that!

If you loved Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful, you might also enjoy:

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Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute by Elisabeth Doherty

Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute by Elisabeth Doherty

Crochet is not just about ponchos and scarves anym more...1 point

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Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli

Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli

Get hooked into the quirky world of Amigurumi! Cro more...1 point

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Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi by Chronicle Books

Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi by Chronicle Books

Kyuuto! = Cute! <p>Savvy crafters know that more...0 points

4

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The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo

The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo

The world of craftsters is full of things <i> more...0 points

5

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Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More! by Christen Haden

Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More! by Christen Haden

If you're a fan of amigurumi, you already know tha more...0 points

Holla Back, girl.

Let me know what you think.

What do you need to see more of?
What could you do without?
Is my conversational tone starting to bug you?
Do I ask too many questions?
Are you sick of hearing about how I like things to be cute?

Let me know about it. I promise to take it into consideration.

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Buy someone else's creative cuteness

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Some of my favorite amigurumi artists on etsy

Have you taken the handmade pledge? I have.

All sell amigurumi, most sell their patterns too! Cheap!
Support handmade!
Gourmet Amigurumi
Amigurumi Cuteness for sale at etsy.
Eternal Sunshine
Amigurumi Cuteness for sale at etsy.
SA Planet
Amigurumi Cuteness for sale at etsy.
Bekah Jan
Amigurumi Cuteness for sale at etsy.
Owlishly Etsy
I'll let you guess what she makes and sells in this shop...Amigurumi Cuteness for sale at etsy.
Delicious Crochet
Mmm...delicious cuteness...for sale at etsy.
Mr. Funky Herself - Narumi Ogawa
I bought the book, she sells the stuff...Amigurumi Cuteness for sale at etsy.

Free patterns for you to try

You can do it!!

Links, check them out.
PINK flamingo from ChrisCrochetCrazy
sweet and sentimental cute little pink flamingo.
From Crochet Me and Kat Marie Williams - Worm in Apple Finger Puppet
You just couldn't get any cuter than this. Go. Look. NOW!
Ana Paula's Sandwich Cookie pattern
I prefer chocolate thank you. Mine would be down in chocolate brown.
From Gnat on the Windshield comes this cute little turtle named "Afternoon Delight"
Am I not turtley enough for the turtle club...Turtle Turtle.
****Obscure movie quote alert***
Else's Bellas Artes: Simply a Gnome! Free Pattern!
cute and simple gnome ami
Cake Sachets by Norma Lynn Hood . Free Patterns
Cake Sachets crocheted for charity
Spreading love in a tangible way.
(C)2006-2009 Norma Lynn Cake Sachets. All rights reserved.

My own amigurumi designs

Amigurumi Love Owl
Inspired by a dish scrubber from Target, I designed this little amigurumi owl.

by

kristenuhess

Mother, Wife, eMarketing Empress and Crafter Supreme!

I've tried them all - from polymer clay, cross stitch, scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking,... more »

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